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Reliving history -- for the 22nd time
[Times file photos]
Union troops return fire as Confederate soldiers retreat during the 2000 re-enactment. |
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 17, 2002
The Brooksville Raid Festival features 1,500 re-enactors staging Civil War battles, an 1860s-style baseball game, a merchant encampment and tours by horse-drawn buggy of military encampments.
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Organizers believe the 22nd annual Brooksville Raid Festival could benefit from rekindled patriotism in the wake of the war on terrorism.
Visitors will gather this weekend in Hernando County to watch 1,500 re-enactors stage Civil War battles between the Blue and the Gray, inspired by typical large-scale artillery battles.
"I think everybody's in a patriotic mood these days," said Jan Knowles, president of the Hernando Historical Museum Association, which sponsors the festival. "These kinds of events are getting a lot more interest."
Besides the battle re-enactments at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, organizers tout an 1860s-style baseball game as part of this year's event.
The Dunedin Railers will take on the Tampa Tarpons, using what organizers call "the original New York Knickerbocker rules," at noon Saturday on the battlefield.
Over the crest of a hill from the battlefield, about 55 traders at Sutlers Row, a merchant encampment, will offer everything from period clothing to military manuals. The vendors take their historical lead from shopkeepers who followed the troops and peddled provisions.
Charles Taft, left, and Don Johnson of St. Petersburg, at the Brooksville Raid in 2000, travel around the state participating in various re-enactments.
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Throughout the weekend, horse-drawn buggies will carry visitors through Union and Confederate camps for a look at military life. Re-enactors from throughout the United States will demonstrate Civil War living conditions.
The first Brooksville Raid re-enactment was at Murray Grubbs' farm near Brooksville, but as crowds grew each year, the event moved to the Sand Hill Scout Reservation on State Road 50, east of Weeki Wachee, where it consistently draws thousands of spectators each year.
Though the battlegrounds are nice and roomy, crowds for the festival's formal dance, the Blue/Gray Ball, have outgrown the facility's main dining hall, Knowles said. This year, organizers have arranged for a 60- by 110-foot tent for the Saturday night festivities.
PREVIEW
The 22nd annual Brooksville Raid Festival, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Battle re-enactments at 2:30 p.m. each day. Sand Hill Scout Reservation, 1 mile east of Weeki Wachee on State Road 50 in western Hernando County. $5 adults; $2 for ages 6 to 17. For information, call (352) 799-0129.
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