Living History Event At Endview Plantation

By Joseph Bordonaro · Originally published June 2016 · p. 31

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—On the weekend of April 22-24, a group of reenactors from all over the country gathered together to bring history to life at Endview Plantation, in Newport News, Virginia. The Federal reenactors portrayed the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, while the Confederate reenactors portrayed the 15th North Carolina Troops. The two regiments opposed each other along the Warwick River, with General Magruder’s Confederates delaying General McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, as the general led it towards the Confederate capital at Richmond. There are surviving earthworks in the area of the plantation, one of which was used by the Confederate reenactors as their primary line of defense near the Warwick River. The Federal troops mission was to run a picket post in order to determine the enemy’s position and strength while the Confederates were to try and prevent this by an aggressive use of patrols. The main part of the reenactment occurred on Saturday, and a Federal participant, Pete Bedrossian, summed up the action quite well in response to the question “Did you have fun”: “Fun? Hmm,…gettin’ up to stir the pot [his section was tasked with keeping the cook fire going all Friday night into Saturday morning and with stirring the contents of the two large kettles] and keep the fire goin’…then jest gettin’ to slumber to get wakened [at 3 am]…march thru a swamp, chase the pesky Rebels all day…always having to be alert… watching and stressing as some of my pards nodded off, and trying to wake ‘em (sleeping on guard is a capital offense); and dining on what was supposed to be some kinda meat (yeah, I helped to boil it too!) …then bein’ left out in the Reb’s front while the rest of the company all withdrew (talk about feeling lonely and naked!)…I could find a few words fer that…not sure if ‘Fun’ comes to mind…But Authentic sure does!!” By Sunday morning, the participants were all exhausted but left the event with the knowledge that they had recreated a common situation faced by the common soldiers of the Civil War, and had done it as accurately as possible.