Cannon volleys disturbed the peace and shook downtown Columbus while entertaining masses of school children Friday at the Ohio Statehouse.
"I almost peed my pants," said Miranda Duvall, a St. Mary School student, referring to one of the Statehouse's four thunderous Civil War cannons. "It was awesome."
Ohio's first lady Frances Strickland fired the opening cannon volley at 9 a.m. as Civil War reenactors of the First Ohio Light Artillery Battery A merged on the Statehouse's west lawn to participate in the 11th annual Civil War Encampment.
The encampment teaches visitors Ohio's role in the Civil War with a living history lesson in involvement, commitment and history, said Gregg Dodd, deputy director of communications and education at the Statehouse.
About 15 to 20 Battery A members set up various stations to recreate the life of a traveling soldier when troops awaited deployment from the Statehouse in the 1860's. The reenactors demonstrated weapon safety, battlefront medicine, women's assistance to the soldiers, games and hardtack (a particular camp food).
The hardtack was a tasty treat, said one St. Mary fourth grade student, referring to the bread that is baked until all moisture is cooked out.
"It tastes like a soda cracker," said Paul Hanly, a corporal in Battery A. "It was hard as a rock. Troops put it in their side satchel and it kept them going."
Len Clark, commander of Battery A, said he believes the encampment is an opportunity to teach the community about the experiences of the soldiers and what they had to endure while providing fun hands-on experience for the children.
Participants tossed a wooden hoop among each other and caught it on a wooden stick, a popular camp game called "hoops and graces." Others hoisted wooden muskets and learned to march and carry a weapon like the infantry. Nonetheless, the cannon firing remained the favorite activity among the children and Battery A.
Clark said he remembers in 1996 that the "police pulled up in a van and two officers jumped out with guns pulled after hearing the loud volley.
"Every year we have someone come out and wonder if the world is coming to an end," he said.
Several thousand children attended Friday, and Dodd said he hoped to see an older demographic in addition to the grade-school students.
"We hope future Ohio State students stop by," he said.
Jeff Bennett can be reached at bennett.517@osu.edu.
2008 Woodie Awards
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JPE
posted 5/12/08 @ 3:58 PM EST
"experiences of the soldiers and what they had to endure"
Yeah, what a treat to learn about how bad invaders, occupiers, and murderers had it.
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