CIVIL WAR LIVING HISTORY EVENT IS AT GORDONVILLE THIS WEEKEND

GORDONVILLE - Fife and drum field music from the Civil War era will be a unique feature of this weekend's St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Civil War Living History Re-enactment.

The fife and drum musicians of three military units will be on hand for the two-day event.

Unlike previous living history events at Gordonville, there will be no battle re-enactment this year. However, troops will engage in drill, rifle firing and skirmishes with troops on the steam passenger train as it arrives in Gordonville.

Maj. Mark Westhoff, commanding officer of the Union forces and re-enactment field commander, says the living history setting allows visitors more opportunity to walk through the federal and confederate camps throughout the weekend to visit and talk with the re-enactors.

The re-created 144th Illinois Infantry, and its fife and drum unit, was organized in the spring after an extensive two-year research project, according to John Crawford, commanding officer of the 144th.

"A primary goal of our unit is to educate the public and historical re-enactors in the performance of field music," Crawford explained.

"We intend to assist in the overall improvement of fifing and drumming for all historical re-enacting units through educational programs and seminars."

Crawford said fifing and drumming began several hundred years ago on the battlefields of Europe and England. It came to America with the British Army and was quickly adopted by the Continental Army of the American Revolution. Besides providing moral support and music for troops as they marched into battle, Crawford said the primary mission of the early fife and drum units was to serve as the battlefield commander's communications link with subordinate units.

"The fifers and drummers communicated orders from the field commander by drum beat and fife call to the brigade, battalion, regiment and company levels," he said. "They were the primary method of rapid communication on the battlefields of Europe and America until the Civil War, when other forms of communication, such as flag signals, were developed. But the fifes and drums continued to provide its secondary role as a booster of morale among the troops."

The 9th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Co. B, which will also be in attendance, is considered one of the more authentic Union Army re-enactment units in the state, according to Westhoff. "The regiment was a member of the German Brigade from Indiana. It was unique in the Federal Army because all of the commands were given in German. For a good part of the time, the 9th was commanded by Prussian-American officers. One of them was Brig. Gen. Augustus Mersey from Belleville."

Westhoff said the 9th was attached to Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the West and served in 114 battles and skirmishes with Grant, and later, with Gen. William Sherman in his march to the sea from Atlanta to Richmond.

Westhoff said the 11th Mississippi Infantry, which will also attend, is considered one of the best Confederate re-enactment units in the United States.

"During the Civil War, they were considered one of the South's crack units. They were noted for their ability to march, skirmish, forage, drill and fight," he said. "The re-enacted 11th Mississippi has participated in most of the recently produced Civil War movies and TV programs."

The 1st Illinois Light Artillery was also considered an unusual unit during the Civil War because its members were mounted on horses. "Mounted artillery units were rare during the war," said Westoff. "Because of that, the 1st Illinois will attract a great deal of attention during the weekend with their horses and cannon. They will also set up their camp in an unusual fashion, with split rail fencing."

Westhoff said Civil War re-enactment units like to come to Cape Girardeau because of the steam train.

During the weekend, the steam train will make runs from the Jackson depot to the re-enactment site at Gordonville at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. "Each train will remain in Gordonville 45 minutes for passengers to visit the campsites," said Ellen Lorberg, Iron Mountain Railroad coordinator for the weekend re-enactment. "They may return on the same train, or a later train, if they wish to stay in the camp area longer."

Lorberg said reservations are required for the 6 p.m. dinner train Saturday. The dinner train will stop at Gordonville so passengers can tour the camps and enjoy live entertainment, including a performance by the fife and drum unit of the 144th Infantry.

On Sunday, the Rev. John Ferguson of Cape Girardeau, who will be dressed as a 19th century circuit rider, will conduct military and civilian Protestant church services at 10:35 a.m. at the camps.

The Catholic mass will be conducted at 11:15 a.m. by Father Edward M. Eftink of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Jackson, who will arrive at the campsites by horseback. Eftink will celebrate a Latin field mass while wearing a historic fiddleback vestment robe, now kept at St. Vincent's Seminary in Perryville.

Lorberg said concessions will be available at the Gordonville park and at the railroad's ticket office in Jackson. For more information about this weekend's living history re-enactment, contact the Iron Mountain Railroad, 1-314-243-1688, or dial toll-free, 1-800-455-RAIL.