Veteran Reenactors Still Bring History to Life at Endview Plantation

By Bob Ruegsegger · Originally published August 2018 · p. 17

For more than 25 years, reenactors and living historians have gathered at Endview Plantation in Newport News to bring history to life through battle reenactments and living history programs. Some veteran Civil War reenactors who have frequented Endview Plantation over the last three decades have logged in nearly as much time in camp and on the field as the original Civil War veterans themselves. “Today, we have a Civil War living history program,” said Tim Greene, education coordinator at Endview. “We have infantry, artillery, and cavalry on the grounds out here camping, doing demonstrations, and talking to the public.” Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis acquired Endview Plantation in 1856. Dr. Curtis organized the Warwick Beauregards, Company H, 32nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861. Captain Curtis commanded the unit until 1862. During the initial stages of the Peninsula Campaign, the Endview farmhouse served as headquarters for Confederate generals Lafayette McLaws and Robert Tombs. According to Tim Greene, there wasn’t any fighting on the property, but plenty of troops, Confederate and Union, came through. Some camped on or very close to the property. General Johnston’s army used the local road network to join Magruder’s army during the Peninsula Campaign. “We believe it was a Confederate hospital, if not the house, the property. We are a mile or two away from where the Confederate lines were,” said Greene. “We’re on the roads that they took going back and forth. It’s a perfect location, and there’s a reference

Veteran reenactor Armand Dufresne currently commands Company F, 41st Virginia Infantry Regiment. Dufresne has been reenacting for 25 years.

that alludes to this property being used.” For veteran reenactor Armand Dufresne of nearby Chesapeake, Endview has been his home away from home for the past 25 years. Currently Captain Dufresne now commands Company F, 41st Virginia Infantry Regiment. “We, the 32nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, started here when it was privately owned,” said Dufresne. “We’ve had such a great time. This has evolved through the years. This is home,” he said. “Most of us live in this area, close to this place. We call it home.” Dufresne didn’t grow up in Southeastern Virginia. He relocated to Virginia from Massachusetts. Up North, Dufresne didn’t learn much about Civil War history. “They’re big on the Revolutionary War period,” said Dufresne. “I came down here and saw Civil War living history for the first time. I didn’t know that it existed. I fell in love with it,” he said. “It was so easy to join up and do I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, 25 years later, still doing it.” For ten years, Dufresne served as a guide for Olde Towne Lantern Tours in Portsmouth where he portrayed a provost marshal, a first sergeant with the 53rd Massachusetts, a World War II soldier, and a few different Confederate and Union officers. “Right now, I’m in the 41st. We retired the 32nd years ago. I’m the captain of the unit,” said Dufresne. “Company F was called the Norfolk Rifle Grays. They were part of Mahone’s brigade.” In contrast to Armand Dufresne, Robert Glaser of Williamsburg grew up in Southeastern Virginia. His ancestors fought in the Civil War with Company C of the 32nd Virginia Infantry. They were called the Junior Guards, and they were all from Williamsburg and the Elizabeth City area [Newport News today]. Glaser

Robert Glaser is a Virginia native.

regards the Civil War, and the American Revolution, as part of his heritage as a Virginian. Glaser has been a regular at Endview for 25 to 26 years. He was re-enacting on the Endview property before the house was restored to its 1862 appearance. He joined the 32nd Infantry Regiment reenactors, the unit of his ancestors. “It was part of my history. If you lived in Williamsburg and Yorktown, you grew up with history. It was part of your DNA,” said Glaser. “I’ve got a room downstairs in my house that is filled with Indian and Civil War artifacts. If it’s history, and if it’s old, I‘ve got it.” Glaser can’t get enough of history. He can’t read enough about it. When he finds a uniform button or an Indian artifact he wonders who it belonged to or who made it. Interpreting history has given Robert Glaser “sort of an idea” about the people, and the soldiers he has tried to portray. He characterizes Civil War soldiers as “amazing people” and “hard cobs.” He regards contemporary folks generally as “softies.” Reenacting has given him a “taste” for what “these guys” did, what they achieved, and what they went through. He finds it “amazing” to try to do what they did and to try to “keep history alive.” “What softies we are!” said Glaser. “You’re out here doing this, and at times, you’re almost embarrassed. You don’t feel that you’re even worthy enough to be out here.” Richard Greathouse, originally from Michigan, has been reenacting with the 3rd Virginia Infantry Regiment for 28 years. He is no stranger to Endview Plantation. His unit has participated in living history programs at Gettysburg, Gaines’ Mill, and other places. Endview is less than an hour from his home in Virginia Beach. For Greathouse, 66, the years have taken their toll. He has needed to make a change in his military occupational specialty. Infantryman Richard Greathouse has transitioned to Chaplain Greathouse in recent years. “I was starting to get a little too ‘young’ for what I was doing,” said Greathouse. “I switched to being a chaplain. Along with the fact, my firing pin kind got kinked … thumb injury,” he explained. “As much as I’d like to stay with it [reenacting], it’s getting harder and harder to do.” While Greathouse is no longer taking to the battlefield, he enjoys

Tom Foster participated in the first battle reenactment at Endview in the 80’s. Richard Greathouse currently serves as the chaplain for the 3rd Virginia Infantry Regiment. sharing his expertise about camp life gained over the decades with visitors to his camp. On Sunday mornings, he conducts church services on site. Tom Foster of Gloucester has been involved in reenacting for 30 years. Foster was the founder of the Peninsula Artillery. His first artillery piece was a “wee gun,” a mountain howitzer. Foster participated in the first re-enactment at Endview Plantation. Although he can’t pinpoint the date, he’s pretty sure that it was in the 80’s. “We had a guy named Bill Bishop. He was our pyro-tech,” said Foster. “When we first did it, we were the only battle reenactment that had explosions, exploding chimneys and cannons made out of Styrofoam,” he recalled. “A lot of people enjoyed seeing it. It made a lot of money for the city back in the 80’s.” Foster began reenacting as a private in the Confederate Army. He worked his way up to major in the rebel army before he joined the Union camp. “The Union army wanted me so I was promoted to colonel,” said Foster who is currently with the XVIII Corps, Army of the James. “I was here for the first battle, and I feel that I should support it as

This Virginia historical highway marker on the Old Yorktown Road offers visitors information about Dr. Curtis’ home. (All photos by Bob Ruegsegger) long as I can. I’d like to keep it going in any way that I can.” Note: There is a battle reenactment planned for September 22-23, 2018, at Endview Plantation. For more information see www.endview.org or call 757-887-1862. Bob Ruegsegger is an American by birth and a Virginian. His assignments frequently take him to historic sites throughout Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast. His favorite haunts include sites within Virginia’s Historic Triangle—Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Bob served briefly in the U.S. Navy. He is a retired educator and has been an active newspaper journalist for the last twenty years.