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History Comes Alive at Blakeley Park With Cannon, Rifle Blasts from the Past History comes alive with the sounds of cannon and rifle fire April 4-5 as experienced reenactors from a half dozen Southern states converge on Blakeley State Park to recreate the last battle of the Civil War on the same site where it was originally fought.
More than 200 “soldiers” representing infantry, artillery, and cavalry Friday (April 3) will begin setting up their camps and preparing weapons for military activities for the public throughout the day Saturday and Sunday.
From morning parade to full scale assaults on Confederate breastworks, spectators will see and hear the authentic sights and sounds of Civil War battlefield life as it was lived and fought 144 years ago. Visitors will be able during certain times to walk among the tents to see military camp life of the Civil War era and to talk to reenactors about the Blakeley battle history.
The Mobile Medical Museum will exhibit Civil War era surgical kits, screw tourniquets used for amputations which were common during that war, and other medical equipment and guides, according to Sally Green, director, and Glendon Farquhar, archivist. Farquhar will be on hand to describe the display.
Also exhibited will be a display about the 200-year-old pictorial history of Baldwin County as illustrated in the history book by John Lewis and Harriet Outlaw being published now and available later in April. The co-producers of the book, which contains 200 pictures, will be at the exhibit to discuss some of the unique photos and images in the book and to accept pre-publication orders.
Exhibits will be in the Gatre Wehle Nature Center. All military demonstrations and battles will be on the battlefield.
Blakeley State Park hosts Civil War reenactments periodically but not every year. The 2009 date was chosen to honor the Baldwin County Bicentennial that is celebrated throughout the year. Coordinator of the military activities of the reenactment for Blakeley is Steve Thomas of Fairhope while Blakeley staff and volunteers handle the operations.
The Blakeley battle reenactment activities April 4 coincide with the observation of National Park Day by the Civil War Preservation Trust. Volunteers at Blakeley that day are invited and will receive free CWPT tee shirts for participating.
Saturday, April 4 schedule of public activities of the Civil War reenactment:
9 a.m. Gates open to the public
10 a.m-5 p.m. Exhibits at Gatre Wehle Nature Center
10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon: Cannon fire demonstrations
10:30 a.m. Morning Parade
12:30 p.m. Formation for Battle
1 p.m.-3 p.m. Battle. Confederates successfully attack Union positions
4 p.m. Camps close to the public
5 p.m. Exhibits close
Dusk. Park closes to all but overnight campers.
Sunday, April 5 schedule is the same as Saturday, April 4 except that the Sunday battle beginning at 1 p.m. at Redoubt 4 ends at 2:30 p.m. and the camps close.
Advance registration for re-enactors has ended but “walk-on” participants are welcome with a registration fee of $5.
Hamburgers and soft drinks are available from the Blakeley concession wagon or spectators may bring their own picnic lunches. Spectators are cautioned that considerable walking is required and that although pets on leash are ordinarily allowed at the park most of them find the cannon fire frightening and even painful.
Admission to the park for the battle events is $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and free under 6. Blakeley Park is on State Hwy. 225 about 4.5 miles north of Spanish Fort or about 15 miles south of the I-65 Stockton exit. For more information go to www.blakeleypark.com.
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Yankees Coming to Blakeley
Confederates Ready to Fight
The Yankees are coming and the Rebels are ready to reenact the last battle of the Civil War at Blakeley State Park April 4-5. Spectators are invited to watch the thrilling and educational reenactments of authentic Civil War battle and camp conditions on the very sites on which they originally took place.
More than 200 soldiers have already registered to participate in the weekend commemoration of the original battle fought at Blakeley April 9, 1865, hours after Gen. Robert E. Lee had surrendered the Army of Virginia at the Appomattox Courthouse.
Coming from as far away as South Carolina and as near as the Florida Gulf Coast, reenactors are bringing their rifles, heavy artillery, horses, tents, cooking and other camp equipment.
In March of 1865, Confederates were in place at Blakeley and Spanish Fort as Union troops advanced from Fort Morgan up Fish River and from Pensacola. About 30,000 Union troops were in the area when the assault began on 3,500 Confederates in the Blakeley works along the Tensaw River.
About 10 manned cannon ranging from large stationery field pieces to smaller mortars are already registered assuring plenty of artillery fire re-enacting the siege of the fortifications before the final assault on the Confederate lines by Union troops late in the afternoon of April 9.
All events will take place on the original site of the battle in earthworks donated to Blakeley by International Paper Company and preserved by Blakeley State Park. Advance registration indicates the 2009 event will be the largest at Blakeley in the last 10 years and is held this year to honor Baldwin County's Bicentennial observation.
There will be plenty of traditional blue and gray infantry uniforms but with sprinkling of color from the bright red of the famed New York Zouaves and some artillerymen, the forest green of Union sharpshooters and butternut uniforms of South Carolina volunteers. The Zouaves were all French-speaking divisions noted for bright red uniforms so elaborate they had to help each other dress. The uniform was later changed.
The green sharpshooters uniforms were approved by the Union Army as a type of camouflage for soldiers who climbed trees to scout and fire on Confederates.
Many of the reenactors are descendants of Civil War soldiers. An artillery unit from Central Florida includes four descendants of Civil War soldiers who fought at Blakeley, two Confederates and two Union combatants.
Steve L. Thomas, a professional from Fairhope named adjutant by Blakeley Park, has organized and will manage the April weekend event.
The public is invited for events Saturday and Sunday, April 4-5. There is a modest admission fee for the special event. Spectators should come prepared for some walking and may bring folding chairs and refreshments.
Blakeley State Park is on Alabama Highway 225 some 4.5 miles north of Spanish Fort. For more information go to www.blakeleypark.com or call 251-626-0798.
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Civil War Battle Festival, April 3-5 2009
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Blakeley Park Bluegrass Festival Features Top Bands
Mark your calendars! The 2009 Bluegrass Festival will be held Saturday, October 3, 2009
Spectators set up their chairs in the shade of centuries old oak trees and relax to continuous live music at Washington Square , which was the center of the historic old town of Blakeley in the early 1800s. Food and soft drinks are available from the Blakeley Park concession wagon at modest prices.
Blakeley State Park has been sponsoring the Bluegrass Festival for most of the past 20 years on the first Saturday of October. The Festival provides family-friendly outdoor entertainment while preserving America 's native bluegrass music and spotlighting talented musicians of the area.
The first phase of Blakeley Park 's new, modern campground is now open. Wilderness RV campsites with full utilities are available to musicians and visitors to the Bluegrass Festival this fall for the first time. An older campground is popular with overnight visitors with tents or pop-ups.
Blakeley is a 2,000-acre historic and natural state park crisscrossed by miles of trails. Historical features include archaeological sites of Indian villages, an early French plantation, the 1813 town of Blakeley that served as Baldwin County 's first county seat, and extensive earthworks on which the last battle of the Civil War was fought April 9, 1865 .
Huge, old live oaks and many other trees are among its natural attractions. Unseen by visitors, but protected by the park are rare and endangered plants including wild orchids found nowhere else in Alabama . Blakeley Park also makes accessible the wild and scenic Tensaw-Mobile River Delta with eco-tours aboard its boat.
Pets are welcome on leash and under control. Radios and portable television sets are allowed with use of earphones. Credit cards are accepted for admission and camping fees.
All proceeds from the Festival go to the operations of the park. For more information on the Festival go to www.blakeleypark.com or call (251) 626-0798. For campground reservations call (251) 626-5581.
Blakeley State Park is located on Alabama Highway 225 about 4.5 miles north of its intersection with U.S. 31 near Spanish Fort.
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