PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 10, 2015 History aplenty at Civil War reenactment By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Don Benson was one of the Civil War reenactors last week- end at Willamette Mission State Park north of Keizer. But you could say he was reenacting family history. For the 25th time, the Northwest Civil War Council had its Civil War reenactment on the 4th of July weekend. Nearly 1,000 reenactors came out, taking visitors back to what it was like 150 years ago. Benson was on hand for the ninth time. “It’s a family affair,” said Benson, who was participat- ing with wife Julie and their children. That wasn’t the only fam- ily affair aspect. Benson had four grandfathers and eight of their brothers who fought in the bloody 1860s battle. When Benson started doing the re- enactments, he didn’t realize the family connection. “Then I started research- ing it and found out about one uncle,” he said. “It expanded from there.” Back in January, Benson learned an uncle had been killed during the battle at Pe- tersburg, which started in June 1864 and concluded the fol- lowing April. It’s estimated a total of 70,000 troops were killed during the long battle. Benson said his uncle was among the 6,500 killed in the initial Petersburg battle – June 17, 1864 to be precise. “I went to see it in April,” Benson said. “My uncle’s in an unknown grave. There were 4,500 soldiers who were never identifi ed.” Union soldiers like Ben- son’s uncle were buried at the site. “It was weird to walk through the cemetery and see rows of unknown tombs,” Benson said. “It took 100 men three years to clean the battlefi eld of union soldiers. Petersburg was a big battle- fi eld. It was a pretty moving experience. My family has been serving the country a A B KEIZER CLASSIFIEDS KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy C A: Confederate soldiers move a cannon into place during a morning parade at the Civil War reenactments July 3 at Willamette Mission State Park just north of Keizer. B: Makenna, Melissa and Justine Colby try to stay cool on July 3. C: Cooper Tom Harper demonstrates an 1860s job. For more photos, check out Keizertimes on Facebook and watch video of a battle on our YouTube page. long time. My uncle was in the Wisconsin infantry and told family he joined the army to save the Union. That was in my great-grandma’s notes.” Learning the history and seeing the site in Virginia had an impact on Benson. “It was moving to know my uncle died there,” said Benson, a resident of Yamhill. “It gives extra meaning for doing this.” During the reenactments, Benson is a captain in the 7th Michigan Calvary. During the war, Gen. George Cluster oversaw the entire Michigan Calvary Brigade. “They were known as Custer’s Brigade or the Wol- verines,” Benson said. “ Custer was given the command of the entire brigade. They got the nickname Wolverine be- EDUCATION VOLUNTEER POSITION MEDICAL BILLING SPECIALIST NEEDED! Train at home for a career working with Medical Billing & Insurance Claims! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Online training at Bryan University! HS Diploma/GED & Computer/Internet needed. 1-877-259- 3880 ONAC KEIZER COMMUNITY LIBRARY is seeking a Volunteer Library Manager to oversee daily operations. GARAGE SALE Furniture, salt and pepper set collections, toys, misc items. 522 Glynbrook Ave N. 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday-Saturday, July 10 –11. 0710 BREAST CANCER cause they never lost a battle. They had the best record of any regiment in the war.” Benson said Civil War re- enactments need to continue being done. “It’s very important,” he said. “We’ve got to keep our history alive. 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