On November 5-6, 2005, Friends of Raymond sponsored the reenactment of the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, and Champion Hill. All three battles were fought in May of 1863 during Grant's march for Vicksburg. The event was co-hosted by Stanford's Mississippi Battery and assisted by the First Confederate Legion.

Friends of Raymond is a tax exempt organization whose goal is to preserve Raymond's historic sites. Since 1998, Friends of Raymond has acquired 64 acres of core battlefield known as the Raymond Military Park. The battlefield property is located one mile south of town along Fourteenmile Creek. The property includes: McPherson's Ridge where Union General James McPherson positioned himself during the battle; Artillery Ridge, where Union cannons were positioned; McGavock's Ridge where Colonel Randal McGavock, commander of the 10th Tennessee, was killed; and sections of Fourteenmile Creek where the 7th Texas and the 20th Ohio experienced the brunt of the battle. Walking trails, cannons, and battlefield signage will soon be an attractive addition to the Raymond Military Park.    

>>>click here to view photographs by Henry Little

Breathing Life Into History:
November’s Vicksburg Campaign Reenactment

By Parker Hills

Any history teacher worth his or her salt will tell you that history is about people, not dates and places. What we call history is, after all, only the recollections and writings of people—from the first simple charcoal drawing on the wall of a cave to the most intricate computer file. 

The same respect of the human factor in history applies to any good re-enactor of history, and that is what reenacting is all about—paying tribute to the memories of people of the past.  To do so, events must be reenacted, and, of course, accurate portrayal of dates and places must be honored.  But, it is the people that count, both then and now

Friends of Raymond, working with Stanford’s Mississippi Battery, a Civil War artillery reenactment unit, is sponsoring a reenactment of the Vicksburg Campaign on November 5-6, 2005, to honor the people and events of the past that shaped who and what we are today.  And this particular reenactment is unique.  The reenactment will take place on the hallowed ground of the actual battlefield, not on a rented field situated miles away from the true historic ground. 

Adding to the significance of the modern portrayal of the battle and associated events, the Raymond battlefield has been named by the Civil War Preservation Trust as one of the nation’s Top Ten Most Endangered Battlefields.  Thus, the purpose of the November reenactment is to raise funds for battlefield preservation while focusing attention to the preservation effort itself. 

Civil War reenacting, also very appropriately known as Living History, has rapidly become one of the fastest growing hobbies in the United States.  Some re-enactors view it as a family event.  Fathers and sons often serve together in units, both blue and gray, with mothers and daughters participating in civilian roles.  Boys 15 and younger can serve in uniform as drummers or fifers.

Reenacting requires commitment though.  A mere infantry private’s uniform costs several hundred dollars. A reproduction period rifle can cost around $1,000.  A cavalryman must have a horse, of course, and a period saddle, bridle, blanket, saddle bags, and again, period weaponry.  Artillery pieces start at $20,000, and cost many dollars each time they are fired. 

But the financial commitment pales to the physical ones.  Living history means living in the same field conditions (inclement weather is no excuse for “going to the house”) and eating the period food of the soldier.  Anyone who has eaten hardtack (a very large, thick, stale, and rock-hard saltine cracker) fried in pork grease, chased down by a cup of boiled acorn coffee (a golden, bitter brew without even the benefit of a caffeine jolt), knows that a modern antacid had better be secreted away somewhere in the depths of a 19^th Century pocket.  And, to get personal, for the hard-core re-enactor modern items that we take for granted, such as deodorant, must be left at home and substituted with baking soda. Anyone who understands reenacting must respect the commitment of the living historian.

Fortunately for the reenactment observers, the financial commitment to experience Living History is less than the cost of a movie ticket, and any discomfort due to the weather has relief close at hand.  Better yet, the rewards of visiting a living history event are much greater than the short-lived satisfaction of munching popcorn in an air-conditioned theater while viewing Hollywood’s latest special effects.  A reenactment offers the spectator the opportunity to better understand and appreciate his or her great-grandparents and the times and conditions in which they lived.  A reenactment offers a once-in-a-lifetime visual experience, sans special effects, and complete with a plot, which is so unusual in the modern movie theater.  The sights, the sounds, the smells, and yes, even the tastes, all make for a total experience, and often serve as the inspiration for young people to delve into the history of their forebears.

Adding to the Living History theme, this year’s reenactment will be much more than just the battlefield action and the Civil War camps.  The travails of civilians living in Vicksburg’s caves will be vividly reenacted, and reenacted underground in specially-made caves.  A period Saturday night military ball, complete with hoop-skirts, receiving line, waltzes, and tarantellas, will be open to the public on the ante-bellum Raymond Courthouse lawn.  Music will be provided by a premier period Civil War band from Huntsville, Alabama, the Olde Town Brass.  Many other special events, such as living history programs, lectures, and tours, will take place in the historic City of Raymond to ensure that the reenactment is truly a family event. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, attending the reenactment of the Vicksburg Campaign at Raymond this November 5-6 will help to preserve one of America’s most endangered historic resources.  Now that is a big bang for a small buck.