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Actors re-create one of earliest Civil Wars battles
A reenactor fires his pistol during the second annual Barboursville Civil War Days Saturday, July 19, 2008, at the Barboursville Community Park.
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BARBOURSVILLE -- On July 14, 1861, the hillside where the Veteran's Home in Barboursville currently stands was the site of one of the earliest battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Barboursville.
On Saturday, re-enactors portrayed the battle in the community park during the second annual Civil War Days. The three-day event includes three battle re-enactments, a Sunday morning 19th-century church service and Union and Confederate campsites with items of the times for sale.
Organizer Linda Miller, decked out in her handmade 19th-century dress, said many people don't realize how rich the area is with history, especially as it pertains to the Civil War.
"People come to watch the cannons and have fun, but the history is important, too," Miller said. "We need to put in as much history and education as we can."
As the sound of cannons and rifles fired in the background, Miller gazed at all the children gathered around watching the re-enactment. Portsmouth residents Sam and Cindy Nickles, who used to take part in the re-enactments, brought their two young children in hopes of giving them a sense of pride in history.
"They need to know what their (great) grandpas went through," Cindy Nickles said. "It makes them better boys and girls for knowing it."
The Battle of Barboursville included the July 14, 1861, fight and a Sept. 8, 1862, confrontation. The first included as many as 600 Confederates, including a part of Jenkins Border Rangers, up against the Union troops of the 2nd Kentucky commanded by Col. William Woodruff. That battle resulted in the deaths of five Union soldiers and one Confederate soldier, James Reynolds.
The Sept. 8, 1862, battle was a fight between the 2nd Ohio Calvary under Col. Powell and Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins, of nearby Greenbottom. Jenkins and his men, part of the 8th Virginia Calvary, rode into town while folks were at church and surprised Union soldiers asleep in the Hatfield Hotel. Splitting forces, some remained in Barboursville, while the rest made a forced march up Twelvepole Creek to Logan County.
Barboursville remained under Confederate protection until the people of western Virginia voted on a constitution on March 26, 1863, making West Virginia the 35th state on June 20, 1863.
Jack and Roberta Helms of Raceland, Ky., also were among the those who ventured to Barboursville on Saturday. Jack Helms said he takes a keen interest in local history. He also said there is a lot of value in it for the children.
"In my opinion, (children) see this, then they go to school and ask about it," he said. "There's nothing more valuable than this."
Civil War Days concludes today with a 10 a.m. church service, a 12:30 p.m. meet and greet with Union and Confederate generals and one final battle re-enactment.
