Wednesday, May 25, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Sisters witnesses Civil War in Camp Sherman
By Lynn Woodward
Correspondent
It’s a comfort to walk into
a war camp and see famil-
iar faces. Although every-
one at last weekend’s Civil
War reenactment in Camp
Sherman was friendly and
eager to share their knowl-
edge of the Civil War, greet-
ings from Janna and Jirka
Novotny of Sisters made a
stranger from another era
walking the path between
fires, tents and guns more at
ease.
The Novotnys’ son, David,
as a Boy Scout, helped
with parking at a previous
Northwest Civil War Council
reenactment at House on
Metolius, but he wanted in on
the action.
The family decided to join
the Confederate Zouaves unit
from Louisiana. They also
participated as musicians.
Janna, with her fiddle, and
John Feller of Longview,
Washington, with his guitar,
even crossed the line to play
music with a Yankee.
Bo Vigoten, a young man
also of Longview, came to
this event with Feller. This
was Vigoten’s first reenact-
ment, and he was finding his
first attempts to produce a
tune from a bugle amusing.
Joseph Bernhard, who cur-
rently resides in Portland, is
part of the 4th Virginia unit of
the Confederate battalion. He
was enthusiastically leading
Vigoten through bugle basics.
Bernhard explained that
the bugle is “the voice of
command.” Obviously louder
than the shouts from a man,
the commander would tell
his orders to the bugler, who
then played the melody that
matched that order to the unit.
Bernhard said that the
bugle orders were very similar
amongst all units of both the
Union and the Confederacy.
However, bugle orders of
the Civil War era he’s learn-
ing now from recordings on
his iPod are different from
the orders he learned in his
bugling while serving in the
Mexican Army — a real-life
job from his past.
The camps were com-
prised of dozens of basic
white canvas tents. Cots,
wool blankets, wood fires,
cast iron, oil lanterns and
other period-appropriate tools
are encouraged. All genera-
tions shared in this weekend
event, and many youngsters
played along, too, running
with boundless energy, shoot-
ing cap guns and mock-dying
in the fields
Lisa Bloodgood, an expe-
rienced reenactor, showed
Trisha Rose, a first-timer,
her slat bonnet, promising
to email her the pattern later
in the week. Handmade and
manufactured clothing and
accessories were available in
the tent store for anyone to
purchase.
A blacksmith, a tinsmith
and other tradesmen showed
and explained methods from
the era with some antique
tools and some replicas. A
doctor and a dentist had their
tools and potions on display.
There was a multitude of pre-
sentations about the arma-
ments, fashion and life at
home away from battles. A
church service in 19th-cen-
tury style was well-attended,
and real prayers were offered
for the current day’s concerns.
Of course, the main attrac-
tion was the action and noise
of the battles. The command-
ers meet prior to each battle
to decide the reenactment’s
outcome and some general
maneuvers. However, those
decisions were not shared
with the troops, so the orders
and how they might play out
were not scripted.
Cavalry charges, pis-
tol and musket fire — with
blank black powder charges
— ensued. Women may dress
as men and fight, too. The
cannons thundered mightily.
photo by Lynn WoodWard
Confederate troops battled on the meadow at House on Metolius.
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