MANSFIELD — Firing canons, patriotic tunes played by the Camp Chase Fifes and Drums Corp, and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator delivering the Gettysburg Address were all part of the 42nd Ohio Civil War Show and 27th annual Artillery Show Saturday at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
Though a dreary day, families still came out to stroll through the scene, a few dressed in Civil War era attire. They’d hum along to familiar tunes like Yankee Doodle, watch a Civil War hospital scenario unfold from a short distance and visit several of the buildings with nearly 750 tables, featuring military items, relics, and memorabilia from the Civil War, World War I and World War II.
“I do this because I love history, and I love the Civil War,” said Captain William Smith, who led the Civil War cannon firing demonstrations. “My great-grandfather was in the Civil War, and this keeps the memory alive.”
He and more than a dozen others were prepping eight cannons for Saturday’s first demonstration. Two were originals from the Civil War, Smith said.
Meanwhile, Tom Kuhn and the rest of the Camp Chase Fifes and Drums Corp. entertained a crowd with Civil War-era music, including Yankee Doodle.
“We’re performing what was called field music. During the Civil War and before that, armies had field musicians. There were drummers, fifers and by the end of the Civil War, buglers, too,” Kuhn said. “Their job in the army was to regulate the daily life of the soldiers by playing duty calls and other signals throughout the day to let them know what they needed to be doing.”
The calls would begin in the morning and continue throughout the day with signals for mealtime, ceremonies and more. While marching, the musicians also played to lift soldiers’ spirits.
“It was a major part of the daily life of a soldier,” Kuhn said.
During the presentation Saturday morning, he periodically paused to tell the audience about the music.
“We try to put on a program where we explain what we’re doing and the context of the time period and we try to tell a story with the music,” he said. “There’s narration I give in-between to introduce each tune, so people understand what the background is for that particular tune while we’re playing it.
“It’s supposed to be fun and a little educational.”
The Ohio Civil War Show continues Saturday through 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday’s schedule includes cannon firing demonstrations from 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and viewings of the Civil War hospital scenario at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. A church service will be held at 10 a.m. near the fairground’s entrance, and the Gettysburg Address will be delivered again at noon.
Admission is $7 per person. Children under 12 are free and must be accompanied by an adult.
To learn more or see the complete schedule, visit ohiocivilwarshow.com. And if interested in attending other history-focused events this Saturday or Sunday, visit richhistory.org/richhistoryweekend.
