MANSFIELD — Don Williams organized the first Ohio Civil War Show nearly 50 years ago in Ashland, an immersive historical experience today carried on by his family.
Now dubbed the Ohio Civil War and World War I & World War II Show, an estimated 450 exhibitors from 38 states will roll into the Richland County Fairgrounds this weekend for the 46th version of an event that attracts thousands of visitors to Mansfield.
The event literally has something for anyone interested in all aspects of historical warfare, from 1775 to 1945, from casual observers who just want to stroll the sprawling fairgrounds to take in the sights and sounds all the way to the hardcore re-enactors and memorabilia dealers/collectors.
Show times are Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is $7. Children 11 and younger are admitted for free. Parking is included in the price of admission. Food will be available for purchase all weekend.
The show features 750+ tables of military memorabilia from1775 through 1945 for buy, sell, trade and display making the event the largest quality show of its kind in the country.
In addition, related items such as books, images, photographs, paper goods, Civil War prints and some women’s apparel will be available to the public and collectors.
Presentations and demonstrations by many re-enactors help bring history to life at the show and many are planned again this year.
One of those re-enactors last year was Mount Vernon resident Brian McNamara, who led his troops from the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment into a mock battle.
In terms of history, the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized for service in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Its original strength of 400-plus soldiers largely came from the Cleveland area.
Assigned to the 15th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, the regiment saw action all throughout the western theater, including the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone’s River, Chickamauga, Franklin and Nashville.
Why do so many re-enactors do it?
Why do he and so many others willingly put on the uniform and participate in these kinds of events?
“I always loved history, especially Civil War history,” said Capt. McNamara, who works for the U.S. Dept. of Defense in Columbus and is retired from the Ohio Air National Guard.
“I originally would go to re-enactments and I always wanted to become a re-enactor, but just never really jumped into it when my wife and I had young kids,” he said in 2023.
“My oldest boy, his grandparents kind of got him involved in a round-table group and then he started to participate in some of the re-enactment stuff. Naturally, I went along with him and that kind of got us started.
“So now, pretty much the whole family does it,” McNamara said from his unit’s historical tent campsite at the fairgrounds.
Perhaps the most popular moments of the weekend come when eight Civil War cannons are fired, moments that always draw a crowd on the west side of the fairgrounds.
The cannons will be fired Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., then again Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Other demonstrations are also planned
A U.S. infantry division and a German special forces unit will fire several fully automatic World War II weapons Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
A medical air evacuation squadron from World War II will host demonstrations Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Marlboro Volunteer Traveling Museum will offer a spectacular display of our history from Revolutionary War up to current times including military vehicles.
This year’s show will feature a 1776 Revolutionary War Living History Encampment. Its re-enactors will perform drills, fire muskets, do colonial period camp cooking, and also show and explain various period military attire and other demonstrations.
There will be an outdoor church service for re-enactors, exhibitors and the public on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the flagpole.
An actor portraying former President Abraham Lincoln will attend the show on both days, presenting his Gettysburg Address at noon Saturday and Sunday, in addition to providing a historical presentation each day.
Another popular returning feature will be music performances by the Camp Chase Fife and Drum Corps on Saturday and the 73rd OVI Regiment Band on Sunday.