04/16/12 Gunshots rang out throughout the weekend as part of a Civil War encampment downtown that was part of One Book/One Town Marshall County.
School children from all around Marshall County attended the day-long event Friday in River Park Square, sponsored in partnership by the Marshall County Historical Museum, Encore Performing Arts, and area libraries.
Anna Liechty, one of the organizers of the event, said the intent was to give everyone a sense of the life of the soldier during the Civil War.”
The historical reenactors used the area near the Yellow River at Garro and River Streets to help teach children and other visitors. Dozens of men and women portraying life during Civil War times were delighted with the fair weather, as they camped out for the night at the site.
Saturday featured a Civil War fashion show put on by Plymouth High School theatre students. Guest Hawk Van Lew did tomahawk throwing demonstrations, while his wife Jill set up a tent to portray women’s lifestyles at home during the war.
The Ancilla College academic honors club sold ham and beans and cornbread, and some desserts during the weekend and every hour on the hour there was something that the reenacts provide, whether it was a demonstration or questions and answer sessions.
There was no admission fee to the downtown event, and the camp stayed open both nights until 8 p.m. Attendees were invited to sit around a campfire and listen to songs and music. The Marshall County Museum was also open with a special Civil War exhibit.
The event was a major one for Marshall County’s “One Book, One Town” program, a county-wide book club intended to get all residents reading the same book: this year, “Shiloh” by Shelby Foote. The student book selection is “Behind Rebel Lines” by Seymour Reit.
