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Civil War battle reenacted at Riverfest
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SUNBURY — There was a stark contrast between antique and modern at Merle Phillips Park on Front Street during the Sunbury River Festival held Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Visitors wearing jeans and T-shirts strolled by men and women in traditional 1860 apparel.
As cars took the detour away from the closed roadway, tents and campfires kept the Union men and woman occupied as they anticipated Confederate forces nearby.
And as the battle for Merle Phillips Park raged on, the soldiers hid behind a blue port-a-potty and ducked between trash cans and street lamps.
The Civil War reenactors are part of the annual Sunbury River Festival, which ended Saturday.
They had been camped out since Friday evening, sleeping in tents to authenticity, and edging towards the battle that took place at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Union’s Cooper’s Battery B and Thompson’s Battery C lost to the Confederate’s 18th North Carolina Infantry.
“If my men would have got here in time, we would have been fine,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds. “My men got hung up in Liverpool. We was undermanned and they just ran us over. We held our ground for an hour and a half.”
Reynolds felt the loss was a disappointing one, but added, “We’ll come back, that’s for sure.”
In reality, the battle lasted nearly 15 minutes, the outcome was no surprise — decided earlier that morning when the captains of the opposing sides met.
Reynolds was portrayed by Gerald Dennen, of Danville.
When he’s not donning the Union’s blue uniform, he’s working for Hepco Construction in Selinsgrove.
Dennen was originally captivated by the Civil War when he visited Gettysburg with his parents as a child.
Later in life, he and wife Fianna took a vacation to the Pennsylvania battleground and watched the reenactments.
“I just went ballistic on it,” explained Dennen. “I said, ‘I got to do that.’ That’s how I got started. I’ve been doing this for close to 10 years.”
Five years ago, the president of the Civil War Heritage Foundation, Lee Houser, approached Dennen and suggested something new.
“Lee came to me and said if I grew a beard and took my glasses off, I’d look like Reynolds,” said Dennen.
Dennen is now what is considered living history.
Whenever there’s a battle reenactment that his character was involved in, he is invited.
Closer to neutral territory between the blue and the gray, Barry Stocker, of Klingerstown, manned the Susquehanna Civil War Round Table tent.
Stocker is president of the organization, a group that meets at the Degenstein Library, 40 South Fifth St., Sunbury, from February through October on the fourth Thursday of the month.
They discuss different Civil War topics and participate in the preservation of battlefields, monuments and cemeteries.
He and the other members were in the park to celebrate their 50th anniversary and to recruit new members.
“Today I’m strictly round table,” said Stocker, despite still wearing his costume and keeping camp. “Normally I’d be joining those guys down there because I do Confederate reenactment as part of the 2nd Virginia Dismounted Calvary.”
Although he doesn’t have a stage name, he still liked to stay in character.
“We would talk like we were back in the period,” the retired PPL worker said.
“We’d get someone walking by in shorts, and look at them strange. My wife does this thing when she sees a woman walk by with short hair. She asks if they’re infested by bugs or lice. We’re trying to interact with people as they walk by. We’re actually playing with them. We have fun doing it and I think the people get a kick out of us doing it that way,” Stocker said.
Stocker has been involved with reenactment for 15 years.
He has been interested in the Civil War since he was in school.
“I had a chance to do a reenactment one time (in school),” he explained. “It gets in your blood.”
Both Stocker and Dennen love their hobby, but admit it is an expensive one.
Stocker explained that weapons can cost $500 or more, the uniform can cost $180, and the boots he was wearing cost $260.
Despite the cost, they feel it’s worth it.
“We’re trying to get everybody to work together to bring back the history of the Civil War so it’s not forgotten,” said Dennen.
Stocker added, “We teach people about the Civil War, how they used to eat, how they lived. It’s a teaching experience.”
The Rebels might have infiltrated the Union Camp and won the battle, but Maj. Gen. Reynolds was still optimistic.
“They took the gun,” he said, “but not the flag.”
Visitors wearing jeans and T-shirts strolled by men and women in traditional 1860 apparel.
As cars took the detour away from the closed roadway, tents and campfires kept the Union men and woman occupied as they anticipated Confederate forces nearby.
And as the battle for Merle Phillips Park raged on, the soldiers hid behind a blue port-a-potty and ducked between trash cans and street lamps.
The Civil War reenactors are part of the annual Sunbury River Festival, which ended Saturday.
They had been camped out since Friday evening, sleeping in tents to authenticity, and edging towards the battle that took place at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Union’s Cooper’s Battery B and Thompson’s Battery C lost to the Confederate’s 18th North Carolina Infantry.
“If my men would have got here in time, we would have been fine,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds. “My men got hung up in Liverpool. We was undermanned and they just ran us over. We held our ground for an hour and a half.”
Reynolds felt the loss was a disappointing one, but added, “We’ll come back, that’s for sure.”
In reality, the battle lasted nearly 15 minutes, the outcome was no surprise — decided earlier that morning when the captains of the opposing sides met.
Reynolds was portrayed by Gerald Dennen, of Danville.
When he’s not donning the Union’s blue uniform, he’s working for Hepco Construction in Selinsgrove.
Dennen was originally captivated by the Civil War when he visited Gettysburg with his parents as a child.
Later in life, he and wife Fianna took a vacation to the Pennsylvania battleground and watched the reenactments.
“I just went ballistic on it,” explained Dennen. “I said, ‘I got to do that.’ That’s how I got started. I’ve been doing this for close to 10 years.”
Five years ago, the president of the Civil War Heritage Foundation, Lee Houser, approached Dennen and suggested something new.
“Lee came to me and said if I grew a beard and took my glasses off, I’d look like Reynolds,” said Dennen.
Dennen is now what is considered living history.
Whenever there’s a battle reenactment that his character was involved in, he is invited.
Closer to neutral territory between the blue and the gray, Barry Stocker, of Klingerstown, manned the Susquehanna Civil War Round Table tent.
Stocker is president of the organization, a group that meets at the Degenstein Library, 40 South Fifth St., Sunbury, from February through October on the fourth Thursday of the month.
They discuss different Civil War topics and participate in the preservation of battlefields, monuments and cemeteries.
He and the other members were in the park to celebrate their 50th anniversary and to recruit new members.
“Today I’m strictly round table,” said Stocker, despite still wearing his costume and keeping camp. “Normally I’d be joining those guys down there because I do Confederate reenactment as part of the 2nd Virginia Dismounted Calvary.”
Although he doesn’t have a stage name, he still liked to stay in character.
“We would talk like we were back in the period,” the retired PPL worker said.
“We’d get someone walking by in shorts, and look at them strange. My wife does this thing when she sees a woman walk by with short hair. She asks if they’re infested by bugs or lice. We’re trying to interact with people as they walk by. We’re actually playing with them. We have fun doing it and I think the people get a kick out of us doing it that way,” Stocker said.
Stocker has been involved with reenactment for 15 years.
He has been interested in the Civil War since he was in school.
“I had a chance to do a reenactment one time (in school),” he explained. “It gets in your blood.”
Both Stocker and Dennen love their hobby, but admit it is an expensive one.
Stocker explained that weapons can cost $500 or more, the uniform can cost $180, and the boots he was wearing cost $260.
Despite the cost, they feel it’s worth it.
“We’re trying to get everybody to work together to bring back the history of the Civil War so it’s not forgotten,” said Dennen.
Stocker added, “We teach people about the Civil War, how they used to eat, how they lived. It’s a teaching experience.”
The Rebels might have infiltrated the Union Camp and won the battle, but Maj. Gen. Reynolds was still optimistic.
“They took the gun,” he said, “but not the flag.”
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