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With educational programs scheduled for school groups on May 23, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Battle of Lewisburg Re Enactment and Living History weekend will get into full schedule on Saturday through Memorial Day morning.
The battle itself last little over an hour, but was considered one of the most fierce battles in the area of West Virginia or western Virginia. Eighty Confederate dead, 100 wounded and 157 taken prisoner were the statistics to be compared to the Union's 13 killed and 53 wounded with seven missing.
On the morning of May 23, 1862, Union troops under Col. George Crook were camped behind the grounds of the present Greenbrier Community College Center where the re enactment weekend will be centered. The Union force was the 3rd provisional Ohio Brigade consisting of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 44th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and part of the 2nd (West) Virginia Calvary.
The federal troop strength was 1,400, supported by two mountain howitzers.
Col. Crook's presence was part of a larger federal effort to completely sever the railroad communications between Virginia and Tennessee.
Meanwhile Confederate forces under Brigadier Gen. Henry Heth advanced on Lewisburg form the east. Virginia Infantry, the 45th Virginia Infantry, a detachment of the 8th Virginia Cavalry (dismounted) and two untrained Militia battalions under Lt. Col. William Finney and Major George Edgar. The total force was 2,300 men and six artillery pieces.
Gen. Heath's battle line was across the eastern edge of Lewisburg and the Battle today can be easily traced following the historical markers and foot monuments throughout the eastern portion of the town.
Sunday, May 26, will feature tours of the Union and Confederate camps including a field hospital, the Andrew Lewis Volunteers Fife and Drum Corps; a presentation by Barry Meadows as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at 12:30 p.m. in the Hollowell Auditorium on the first floor of Greenbrier Hall, the main office and classroom building of Greenbrier Community College Center;
At 2:30 p.m., the Reenactment of the Battle of Lewisburg will take place in downtown Lewisburg and a parade will follow the reenactment.
At 6 p.m. Stephen Cassle will make a presentation as Gen. Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson to conclude the free events of the day. A $5 per person ghost tour, "Civil War Heritage Ghost Tour" will meet on the front steps of Greenbrier Hall at 8 p.m. and at 9 p.m. the Original Ghost Tour with an emphasis on the Civil War veterans in the Old Stone Church Cemetery will begin at the same admission price.
Saturday, May 24, will have seen children's activities in the Hollowell Auditorium of Greenbrier Community College Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Living History presentations in the auditorium at 11 a.m., "Women's Roles in the Civil War" by Angela Beavers; Joyce Browning as Mary Todd Lincoln, 12:30 p.m.; Jim Rubin as President Abraham Lincoln, 1 p.m.; Stephen Cassle as Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson at 3 p.m.; Al Stone as Gen. Robert E Lee at 4 p.m.; and Civil War Music by Dr. David Perkins, director of GCCC and assistant provost of Bluefield State College, at 6 p.m.
Other activities that day will include a Ladies Tea at the General Lewis Inn with Mary Todd Lincoln, all ladies invited and the committee requests, "Period dress if possible, but not required." At 7 p.m. there will be a Camp Dance with music provided by Jim Costa and friends.
Events with a charge include the 8 p.m. Civil War Heritage Ghost tour of pre-Civil War homes and sites connected with hauntings and legends. A 9 p.m. tour is the Original Ghost Tour with emphasis on the Civil War veterans buried in the Old Stone Church cemetery. The tours are $5 per person and begin on the steps of Greenbrier Hall of Greenbrier Community College Center.
On Memorial Day, May 26, there will be a commemoration for the dead of both sides at the Lewisburg Confederate Cemetery, located behind the Greenbrier Community College Center.
For further information on the Living History and Battle of Lewisburg Reenactment Weekend, telephone the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors' Bureau at 1-800-833-2068 or Darlene Fife, 304-645-6910; Courtney Smith, 304-645-6123; or Angela Beavers, 304-438- 7278.
The Civil War camps and most of the Living History programs will take place on the campus of Greenbrier Community College Center at the corner of U.S. 60 West and Church Street on the western side of Lewisburg.
May 15, 2003
Submitted by Mike Williams
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