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Battlefield Days 2009 to be skipped to prepare for 2012
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Soldiers begin their march in front of the old mill in McDowell, 1999 (Recorder file photo) |
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McDOWELL - The Highland Historical Society is in the early stages of planning the sesquicentennial of the Battle of McDowell in 2012 and is looking for volunteers.
Since 1999, the society has sponsored a biennial McDowell Battlefield Reenactment to commemorate the May 8, 1862 battle between Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Union forces. The battle was a victory for the Confederacy and the first in a string of victories that came to be known as Jackson's Valley Campaign.
The society is making some adjustments to its event schedule, however, to get ready for the sesquicentennial, said society executive director Crysta Stanton. Instead of a public Battlefield Days event in 2009, re-enactors will hold a non-spectator event.
"It will be a preservation march," said Stanton. "Reenactors will come to Highland County and march on a trail in the mountains. They will experience what infantry soldier life was like during the War."
The march will be held in May 2009. It may be later in the month to take advantage of warmer weather. It's still in the early planning stages, so no specific trail has been selected.
Stanton said reenactors came up with the idea for a march. It's something they have done in other places, she said. This time, though, Stanton expects the change to give the reenactors a different experience from the standard staged battle and encampment.
"We hope to draw as many re-enactors as in the battle scene," said Stanton. An average of 600-700 reenactors came to the event in the past. They, in turn, will help the society raise money to sustain the society and Highland County Museum and Heritage Center.
"As much as we have enjoyed the education element of (Battlefield Days), our priority is now fund-raising to ensure the longevity of the museum," Stanton said.
Battlefield Days fulfilled the society's mission to educate the public and brought people to the county, said Stanton. "But we were not able to raise enough money to make it worth the investment."
She said she is especially concerned with having enough money and personnel to handle the sesquicentennial, so an event that took resources away from that would not be appropriate.
"We are planning small-scale education programs in 2010 and 2011," Stanton said. "These programs may take the shape of an artillery demonstration on the Bullpasture River Field with related lectures in the McDowell Presbyterian Church or an encampment scenario on the museum grounds with presentations in the museum."
But nothing is firm yet, said Stanton. She may have a better idea in six months what the society will do. In the meantime, fresh volunteers are needed and ideas are welcome. Stanton sent out a letter to key society partners recently, asking for their assistance in planning the 2012 event, but she wants the word to get out to as many potential volunteers as possible.
"The big thing in the next couple of years is to try to get as many people in the community and members of the society on board with this event as we can," said Stanton. "This event is so large it can become unmanageable. We have had a key core group of people pulling the events together in the past, but we need a larger group (for this)."
A one-day event takes two days to set up and two to tear down, said Stanton. When reenactors show up, the public's focus is naturally on them. But what goes on behind the scenes is just as important.
"For volunteers, there's a whole new world awaiting," Stanton said.
She said food and supplies have to be acquired and positioned to maintain a group of re-enactors. But there's also site preparation for encampments and the battle scenario, coordinating traffic control with local authorities, handling trash pickup and sanitation, providing publicity and signage, and scheduling the various event activities.
Stanton hopes to raise $10,000 for the 2012 Battlefield Days. "Any amount even close to that would be very satisfactory for us," she said.
Call Stanton at (540) 396-4478 or email highlandhist@mgwnet.com for more information on how you can get involved with the Battle of McDowell sesquicentennial event.
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