Regional Commanders - The North-South Skirmish Association, Inc.

Returning to First Manassas Fifty Years Later
Many of our most senior skirmishers well recall the July 1961 Civil War Centennial Commemorative Reenactment
of the Battle of First Manassas. The Centennial was a very exciting time as the War was getting all manner
of media coverage. The last veterans of that war had just passed from the scene in the mid to late 1950s.
My own great grandfathers who served in North Carolina units had faded away in middle age during the 1890s
still growing cotton and tobacco just as they had done prior to the conflict. President Dwight Eisenhower had
issued a proclamation in 1957 encouraging the nation to plan appropriate commemorative events to mark the
100 th anniversary of the war. Dwight Eisenhower was a popular President and citizens as well as politicians responded
with genuine enthusiasm in those days before the advent of political correctness. Nowhere was the enthusiasm
greater than amongst the members of the young and growing North-South Skirmish Association which
had only come into existence in 1950. Early on, there was a move afoot by public officials to reenact some of
the events, including battles, as a means of educating the public about the War. Reenacting had not yet come
into vogue so the only people with the necessary firearms and equipment were skirmishers and we knew we
would be called upon to give life to these spectacles.
Most of the leaders of the Association at that time all are gone. Bill Waters was National Commander, cofounders
Jack Rawls and Ernie Peterkin were in their prime. Bud Purvis, Jim McAleer, Happy Taylor, Joe
Bown, Max Mason, J. M. Walker, Jim Landers, Jack Carroll were local legends known for their shooting prowess,
knowledge of the war, or leadership abilities. Most of us were in our late teens, 20s, or 30s. The “old
guys” of the Association were men in their 40s.
First Manassas was the first large event to be commemorated during the Centennial. A corporation was set up
to secure funding, the National Park Service was heavily involved since the reenactment was to be held on the
actual battlefield, and a retired Army general by the name of Fry was appointed to be the director of the event.
I’ll always recall him for his horsemanship during the rehearsals which began in the spring of 1961. Army posts
at that time typically had riding stables where officers could keep their mounts. I well remember seeing horsemen
at Ft Meade, MD out riding during skirmishes. It’s hard to imagine the military supporting a skirmish on a
military reservation in this day and time. I can hear the protest against our battle flags now!
The reenactment was one of those always-to-be-remembered happenings in skirmishing. Five governors attended
the program. One was the Governor of Maryland who had previously invited all the participating N-SSA
units from Maryland to the State House for a ceremony during which he presented First National Confederate
flags to each unit. These were to be carried at Manassas. As the color bearer for my team, I was present in my
re-worked gray flannel shirt uniform jacket and took the flag from the Governor.
In preparation for the “battle,” all the permanently displayed artillery pieces were removed from the battlefield;
the Visitors Center was camouflaged, as were the monuments. The only structure discernable from where the
spectators were was the Henry House on the hill of the same name. Destroyed during the battle by Federal artillery,
the house standing today was constructed in the 1880s. The widow Henry was killed during the shelling
and is buried in the family grave yard behind the house.
Held on the stifling weekend of July 22 nd and 23 rd , the reenactment will always be remembered for the 100degree
temperatures. Even during the dress rehearsal on Friday, the 21 st and the date of the actual engagement
100 years previous, it was boiling hot. When Stonewall Jackson appeared on the field in 1861, history records
the temperature was only in the 80s. Nonetheless skirmishers, both North and South, threw themselves into the
reenactment with a zeal and enthusiasm that would have pleased Cecil B. DeMille. The camp site was on Chinn
Ridge, a mile from Henry House Hill and there were no buses. The troops walked in the heat of the day for the
reenactment which covered the last phase of the battle beginning at 2:00 p.m. None of this dissuaded the skirmishes
who marched and charged back and forth on the battlefield like school boys, volleying with their original
muskets. Some even brought side-by-side shotguns…and they used their own DuPont powder which at that
time ran $18.75 per 25-lb keg. (Somebody remind Jackie.)
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