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Florida history shot from a cannon

By Jonathan Abel
Published January 21, 2007

SPRING HILL - The Union and Confederate armies squared off on Saturday in a grassy clearing just north of Spring Hill as thousands of people watched from lawn chairs and picnic blankets.

The annual Brooksville Raid Festival is one of the largest re-enactments in Florida, and on Saturday, organizers said it was on pace to draw record crowds.

Cars overflowed the parking lots, people mobbed the edge of the battlefield, and as many as 2,500 re-enactors turned out for a weekend of living and dying as Americans did in the 1860s.

"I've never seen one before," said Matt Gilbert, a 23-year-old from Palm Harbor. He sat on a bench with a Confederate battle flag bandana under his hat and a root beer in his hand, watching as the Confederate Army lost. In this two-day battle, the Union side wins one day and the Confederate the next.

"I'll always root for the South," Gilbert said, "because there's more history on the Southern side."

The actual Brooksville Raid took place in July 1864. A small party of Union soldiers landed on the coast and headed to the outskirts of Brooksville, raiding and pillaging along the way. Only eight soldiers died, five Confederate and three Union.

But the fight's re-enactment, which started in 1980, has blossomed into an enormous draw and an opportunity for living history.

On Saturday, the action began with a Confederate cannon blast at 2:30 p.m. Gray-coated soldiers filed out of the woods. Then came horses. The Union re-enactors shot back, using replica firearms and real powder. The skirmish lasted an hour. At the end, the bugle played and the dead were resurrected.

On the periphery of the battlefield, women in hoop skirts mingled, and concession stands sold more and less authentic wares.

President Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by John Baylis of New York, made the rounds, posing for a woman with a pink camera phone and stopping to give a business card to a 9-year-old girl.

"People have been welcoming," Baylis said, "though a couple of people here probably have some interest in the Confederacy."

At some Florida re-enactments he has been told that Lincoln is not invited, but there were no problems here.

Re-enactors come from all over to the Brooksville Raid, which is actually held just north of Spring Hill. All are volunteers, and each seems to have something drawing him - to one side or the other.

For Bob Goebel, a 60-year-old gym teacher from Largo, it was family roots that planted him firmly on the Union side.

"My grandfather was Grant's nephew," he said, referring to the Union general and president, Ulysses Grant.

For John S. Smith, originally of New York but now of New Port Richey, it was the bonds of matrimony that put him behind a Confederate artillery battery.

"I married a rebel. That's why instead of wearing the blue I've been wearing the gray," the 70-year-old said. "Ain't love grand?"

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or 352 754-6114.

If you go

What: 27th annual Brooksville Raid Festival and Civil War re-enactment.

When: Concludes today.

Where: Sand Hill Scout Reservation, State Road 50, Spring Hill. The reservation is about 11/2 miles east of U.S. 19 on the south side of SR 50.

Admission: $6 for adults (13 or older); $3 for children (ages 6 to 12); free for children 5 and under and for Scouts in uniform.

Information: Spectators may bring chairs; rental chairs will be available for $2. Coolers will be permitted on the grounds, but alcohol is prohibited. Food and drinks will be sold. For information, call 799-0129 or visit the event Web site at: www.raidplace.com.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 00:47:45]