Next weekend, September 22-24, the Allegheny Highlands Council Boy Scouts of America and the 136th New York Volunteer Infantry are working together to bring a Civil War reenactment in the Town Square and Main Street of nearby Angelica. The event’s press release explains the event aims to not only reenact battle scenes but to also give a taste of what life was like during the Civil War era. Angelica prides itself in being a town where history lives and intends to live out that particular motto through events like the upcoming reenactment.
The event will feature actors dressed in period garb, music sponsored by local radio station, WRAQ-LP 92.7 FM, a variety of food with a local flair, and on Saturday the Angelica Farmer’s Market will be open with it’s usual fare of fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, honey, crafts and other specialty items.
Saturday is the largest of the weekend with the most events and will bring a lively bustle to the town. According to the official schedule, it will include a living history time during the morning where one can tour camp set ups designed to mimic the Civil War encampment, as well as enjoying the unique Main Street Angelica offers. Adult actors will perform a battle reenactment and later in the day the Boy Scouts will perform a mock reenactment.
The two reenactments will occur mainly between the times of noon and five in the evening on Saturday for an exciting afternoon. Other events included in the reenactment weekend are an educational day on Friday for local schools to get a feel for the environment and culture of the Civil War. Boy Scouts will have the opportunity in the evening to camp out themselves to get a feel for what it was like. The event’s website explains its intention of engaging the youth of the community at all age levels.
On Sunday there will be a pancake breakfast at the Legion Hall on Main Street along with a church service in the style of the Civil War era at the Grange and a Catholic mass at Sacred Heart church building. Following, there will be a parade at midday. To close out the weekend, there will be a final battle reenactment Sunday afternoon followed by the opportunity to casually walk through the camp sites and view the setup.
If students are interested in learning more about this event, they can view further event details on the event’s Facebook page or by liking the 136th New York volunteer Infantry’s Facebook page. The volunteer infantry has also been advertising the event on their website and on posters around campus. Many local shop owners and community are also involved and are distributing information to those who are interested.