Overview:
The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), Stonewall Brigade, and Columbia Rifles are pleased to announce a semi-immersive living history event, “After the Battle: Fredericksburg 2008”, to be held on November 14-16, 2008 on part of the Fredericksburg battlefield.

The event site is CWPT’s 207-acre “slaughter pen” property, site of heavy fighting between Stonewall Jackson’s corps and Union troops under John Gibbon and George Meade, near the southern end of the Fredericksburg battlefield.  The site was preserved when CWPT acquired it in June 2006 for $12.5 million, making it the most expensive purchase — and one of the most significant — in CWPT’s history.  Outside the boundary of the National Park Service’s property, few parts of the Fredericksburg battlefield that saw significant fighting remain unspoiled, except the “slaughter pen” site.

The event will feature opposing picket lines portraying what happened at the “slaughter pen” in the days immediately following the December 13 battle — from the evening of December 14 through December 15, 1862 – including opposing picket fire, a truce for collecting the wounded and dead, and a Federal field dressing station.

This event will be held on the only part of the Fredericksburg battlefield that saw significant fighting where a reenactor event with opposing forces can be held.  All other sites are either within the National Park Service park (where opposing force portrayals are prohibited) or developed and unavailable. 

• Event site images here

Portrayals:
Confederate participants will portray elements of the Twenty-first Virginia Infantry, and Federal infantry impressionists will portray the Eleventh New Jersey Cos. D and I; these are the units that actually picketed the “slaughter pen” site in the aftermath of the battle of Fredericksburg.

Approximate participant numbers are envisioned as follows:   

• Confederate: 75 to 100 infantry.
• Federal: 100 infantry, plus three to six medical impressionists, and approximate five mounted cavalrymen

The total number of participants is not capped.  Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate artillery at this event.

We are looking for dedicated reenactors with good late-1862 portrayals to help us commemorate the battle of Fredericksburg and its aftermath.  We hope to see you at “After the Battle: Fredericksburg 2008”.

What Participants Will “Get” From This Event:

1. A semi-immersive event depicting opposing pickets in the aftermath of a cataclysmic battle — held on the original ground!  If you desire an experience akin to that of Union and Confederate troops on picket in the aftermath of a titanic battle, this is it!
   
   
2. To be the first reenactors on this ground, probably since the 1862 battle including — obviously, being the first reenactors at the site since it was acquired by CWPT.
   
   
3. To help CWPT by raising preservation awareness in the Fredericksburg area.
   
   
4. The alternative of helping CWPT via pre-event preservation fundraising (non-mandatory, but encouraged).
   
   
5. Event sponsors with a proven record of successfully hosting well-regarded events for experienced “campaigners”.

While the site contains some excellent viewsheds, please note that some modern anachronisms are visible from many areas of the 207-acre event site - namely, a warehouse complex to the south, and a small community airport serving propeller planes to the north (runway alignment and frequency of use appear to indicate that the airport should not be a major intrusion on the event); nighttime site lighting from certain parts of these facilities is expected to be visible in much of the event site.  The sponsors ask that participants overlook these drawbacks and concentrate on the site’s historic and bloody history - during the battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, the property was the site of the famous infantry assaults by the Federal First Corps divisions of George Meade and John Gibbon that broke the lines of Stonewall Jackson and nearly won the battle of Fredericksburg for the Union.  This event highlights the almost-forgotten history of the site and CWPT’s yeoman’s efforts to preserve it for future generations.

Public Interpretation Aspect:
At the request of the CWPT, the event will include a limited public interpretation aspect: a guided tour of the site for spectators.  The tour will be approximately two hours long on Saturday afternoon and is limited to 200 people. 

Contact Info:
This event is co-sponsored by the Stonewall Brigade (Confederate contact Mike “Dusty” Chapman, dustyswb@verizon.net) and the Columbia Rifles (Federal contact: Kevin O’Beirne, kobeirne@roadrunner.com).  The event team includes most of the same folks who planned and ran the 2005 Payne’s Farm event in cooperation with CWPT.  The commanding officers include:

• Federal – Kevin O’Beirne, kobeirne@roadrunner.com, is the Federal commander  Noah Briggs, bluemasscat@gmail.com, is coordinating the Federal medical impressions.  Federal cavalry impressionists are being coordinated by the Potomac Legion’s First Maine Cavalry, http://mainecav.org.
  
  
• Confederate – Doug Cooper, coop2911@msn.com, and Jerry Stiles, stiles@lccd.net.

We hope to see you at “After the Battle: Fredericksburg 2008”!