Good afternoon, it’s time for tea!
Thank you to our blog readers who sent questions to enliven the conversation this weekend. We’ll be talking about living history, historic thoughts, and places to enjoy tea… Brew a cup of your favorite flavors, and let’s inspire each other.
Feel free to share your thoughts or answers to the questions in a comment. It’s always nice to hear from readers!
I’ve always wanted to host a Civil War Christmas educational event, but December always gets so crazy busy. This year McGuire Home Winchester, Virginia, Civil War Living History hosted “Christmas in July” – a tea and educational event.
We had a lot of fun decorating the room with items which might have been used in a Civil War Christmas celebration.
The dramatic presentation “Christmas in Winchester” took our guests through five Christmases at the McGuire Home (1861-1865) and emphasized the importance of courage and family love.
Here’s a few photos of the event – and Happy Christmas (in July)!
Click on a photo to view the gallery in full-screen mode.
I’m pleased to share my newest article published by Emerging Civil War blog. Here’s the link to An Elusive Doctor At Gettysburg.
This was a fun article to write since it draws information from my research on the medical situation at Gettysburg and the McGuire Family.
Again, here’s the link – An Elusive Doctor At Gettysburg
Your Historian,
Miss Sarah
P.S. Go ahead and leave any comments or questions on Emerging Civil War, and I’d highly recommend following ECW!
I’m pleased to share my article published by Emerging Civil War blog. Here’s the link to War’s End: Remembering A Cavalry Captain.
I am grateful for the opportunity to write this historical account and share it today (May 8th). Captain McGuire’s life, actions, and ultimate sacrifice won’t be forgotten.
Again, here’s the link – War’s End: Remembering A Cavalry Captain
Your Historian,
Miss Sarah
P.S. Go ahead and leave any comments or questions on Emerging Civil War, and I’d highly recommend following ECW!
I had a lovely weekend at Prado Park Civil War Re-enactment with my Civil War living history group “McGuire Home, Winchester, Virginia.” Unfortunately, though, I didn’t take a lot of photos, mostly because I didn’t want to be caught with a camera in my hand when I was portraying a young woman from 1863. 😉 So my apologies for the lack of exciting photos…
Here’s a brief summary of the weekend for those who are interested.
I loved the location – camping on grass is especially nice. Our neighbors – Confederate White House – were delightful and we enjoyed visiting and making the “four yard journey” between Winchester and Richmond. Across the street, the Flying Horse Artillery had set up there picket lines, so we also had about 15 horses nearby and that was a lot of fun too! The coordinators of the event were very nice and friendly. There were quite a few spectators and we had many opportunities to share the story of the McGuire Family and the War in Winchester. Quite a few folks told us that we made history come alive and that makes me very happy! Church service was very enjoyable, and thank you Chaplain Steve for an encouraging message.
A big congrats to the units who won the prizes for authentic camps. “McGuires” will definitely be working for that award again next year. 😉 Really enjoyed the US Division Field Hospital camp and presentation – you guys and ladies are doing a fabulous job and it’s been fun to meet and “work” with you.
Your Historian,
Miss Sarah
A Military Camp at a Re-enactment
You can hear the most amazing things at re-enactments if you stop and listen. Canvas tents and flies flapping in gusty wind. Horses whinnying for breakfast. Reveille. Drums. Cannons. Or the most amazing comments…
One of the best “overheard at a re-enactment” statements I’ve ever heard is this emphatic, without-a-doubt, super positive statement: (Ready, brace yourself, here it is…)
“They didn’t use bayonets in the Civil War.”
And I guess you never even watched the movie Gettysburg, did you? Well, I won’t send you a list of sources to check – instead watch this video. [WARNING: EXTREME SPOILERS – you may not want to watch if you haven’t seen the whole movie, see postscript note at end of this blog post]
Dear Re-enactment Spectator: if you don’t know, please ask. I’m confident somebody would be willing to answer your question! We’ve heard lots of questions, but most of us like to educate. Come ask…
And now an invitation to bring your questions about civilians during the War Between the States, the war in Virginia, “Stonewall” Jackson, or other topics of interest to the “McGuire Home, Winchester, Virginia” on April 11-12, 2015 to the Prado Park Civil War Re-enactment. I believe Confederate White House will also be attending this events, so bring those hard to answer Southern questions too.
Hey, if we don’t know the answers, we’ll tell you…and I will never ever tell you that they did not use bayonets in the Civil War.
Your Historian,
Miss Sarah
P.S. Okay, the disclaimer… Gettysburg is rated PG13 for battle scenes and language. I am not endorsing this movie. However, if a “mild” war movie doesn’t bother you, it’s worth seeing…at least once…maybe twice…oh maybe we could watch it again.
The other warning – if you see the movie – you might have a new historical hero or two or three. Then pull out the history books and track what was real and what was slightly fictionalized.
Gazette665 