Living History Reenactment
The 1864 Eastern Campaign: The Wilderness
May 4, 2019
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 4
The Battle of the Wilderness was the first battle of Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s “Overland Campaign.” Grant’s goal was to defeat Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and capture the South’s capital at Richmond. The battle took place in an area of Virginia where tangled underbrush and trees had grown up over abandoned farmland. The close-quarters fighting among the dense woods resulted in a bloody and inconclusive encounter that put the Confederates on the defensive, setting the stage for the aggressive war that followed and ultimately spelling the South’s defeat. Food is available for purchase at the event. $10 per family, $5 per adult, $4 per senior (60 & over)
Event Schedule
10:00 a.m. Camp Opens
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Military drills and demonstrations throughout the camps; Artisans demonstrating period crafts like blacksmithing, hearth cooking, and chair caning; House tours given by costumed docents
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Battle
12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Military drills and demonstrations throughout the camps; Artisans demonstrating period crafts like blacksmithing, hearth cooking, and chair caning; House tours given by costumed docents
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Ladies Social at the Farmhouse Pavilion
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Battle
5:00 p.m. Camps Close for the Day
*Food will be for sale from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.*