Civil War re-enactors brought history to life Friday for students from St. Peter’s Lutheran School and Central Middle School with demonstrations of artillery, weapons and what life was like during the war.
The demonstrations were at Mill Race Park and featured members of groups who re-enact specific Civil War regiments from the Union Army, including the 18th Indiana Light Artillery, 11th Indiana Infantry and 6th Indiana Infantry regiments. The event was organized by Beverly Marsh and Mike Marsh, who said they have been doing similar Civil War demonstrations in Columbus since 2003. About 400 students attended the demonstrations throughout the day.
This year’s event included a bugle player, cannons, a Gatling gun, a Gen. Ulysses S. Grant impersonator, a bayonet from 1853 and a shell that organizers said was actually fired during the Civil War and later recovered in Tennessee.
“The idea was to educate the kids about if you lived in 1860, this what your life might have been like,” Mike Marsh said. “We talk a little bit about the soldiers, what they would carry, some of the different firearms, obviously, the artillery piece, but we also have the ladies talking about what life would have been like for them.”
Mike Marsh said the event was approved by the Columbus Parks Department, and that he notified the Columbus Police Department three days before the event.
Mark Jones, director of the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, said the groups presenting the Civil War demonstration have been doing presentations every year for several years. Previous demonstrations were held at Parkside Elementary School and the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds, which is perhaps why some downtown visitors were startled by the loud cannon fire on Friday.
