Re-enactors from across the country will converge near Weeki Wachee this weekend to re-create Civil War history.
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT
Published January 15, 2004
[Times photo: Kathleen Flynn 2003]
The 8th Florida Company B joins other re-enactors and visitors at the Brooksville Raid Festival last year for the presentation of colors.
WEEKI WACHEE - Thousands of spectators and re-enactors are expected in Hernando County this weekend for the 24th annual Brooksville Raid Festival.
"We're all revved up for the Raid," said Jan Knowles, president of the Hernando Historical Museum Association, the main event sponsor. "We're keeping history alive."
As in years past, re-enactors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons will portray members of cavalry, artillery, infantry and medical units in what organizers call a "typical" Civil War battle.
The annual re-enactment, at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation near Weeki Wachee, was inspired by a summer day in 1864 when Union soldiers swarmed the marshy shores of Bayport along the Hernando coast, intent on breaking Confederate communication and supply lines.
Hopelessly outnumbered, the awaiting Confederate soldiers fled inland through swamps and sand hills to warn residents and salvage supplies.
Union soldiers ultimately prevailed near what is now U.S. 41 and State Road 50 in Brooksville.
Besides the battle re-enactments, the event includes an 1860s-style baseball game and the Blue/Gray Ball, where re-enactors lay down their arms and lift their spirits.
A merchant encampment, Sutler's Row, will offer everything from period clothing to military manuals. The 100 vendors take their historical lead from shopkeepers who followed the troops, peddling provisions.
Visitors can travel through Union and Confederate camps by horse-drawn buggy to get a look at military life. Re-enactors from throughout the United States will demonstrate Civil War living conditions, including relatively primitive medical facilities.
- Joy Davis-Platt can be reached at 352 848-1435. Send e-mail to joy@sptimes.com
PREVIEW: Brooksville Raid Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Sand Hill Scout Reservation, east of Weeki Wachee on State Road 50. Admission: $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 6 to 17, free for children 5 and younger and Scouts in uniform. Call 352 799-0129 or visit www.brooksvilleraid.com There will be food concessions on site and chairs available for rental.
