The Civil War is coming to Morristown on Sat., and Sun., June 11 and 12, at Historic Speedwell. All Morris County residents and visitors from elsewhere who missed the Civil War the first time around will get a small peak into the window of history during these re-enactments.
Cover those ears! The sound of the massive period cannon will be amazing. Step onto the battlefield and witness musket, artillery, and bayonet drills, daily mail call, and marching drills. Soldiers proudly play period instruments as they go into battle.
“Civil War Weekend,” a unique two-day event sponsored by the Second New Jersey Brigade and the Morris County Park Commission, presents the lives of Civil War soldiers more vividly than textbooks.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat., June 11, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sun., June 12, re-enactors will lead activities throughout Historic Speedwell’s eight-acre site in Morristown.
At the soldier’s camp daily life is recreated with authentic cooking, dress and setup. Learn the basics of battlefield medicine. Visit the medical area where re-enactors care for the ‘wounded’ and demonstrate how these emergency units ran during battles.
A Civil War-era Signal Corps group authentically demonstrates how important messages were sent between units using colorful flags to send signals. Witness a demonstration of a recreated Civil War telegraph station.
“The telegraph played an essential role throughout the Civil War. Traveling telegraph wagons followed the troops into the field and relayed important messages. It has been stated that more than 15,000 miles of military telegraph lines were constructed during the Civil War,” said Mark Sutherland, manager of Historic Sites for the Morris County Park Commission.
“The technological innovation of the telegraph changed the way wars were fought, and also the way people lived,” Sutherland continued.
Historic Speedwell is the ‘Birthplace of the Telegraph.’ Take a tour of The Factory Building, a National Historic Landmark, where Samuel F.B. Morse and Alfred Vail worked to perfect the telegraph and where it was first publicly demonstrated in 1838.
Admission to ‘Civil War Weekend’ is $7 for adults, $6 per senior, $5 per child age four to 16, and free for children under age four. Light picnic fare is available for purchase.
For more information and directions to Historic Speedwell in Morristown, visit morrisparks.net or call 973-285-6550.