PORT ANGELES — Civil War re-enactors provided a trip back into time Saturday for those attending the 11th annual Port Angeles Heritage Days celebration.
On the deep-green lawn in front of the Museum at the Carnegie at 207 S. Lincoln St., Civil War re-enactors portrayed real-life soldiers that served in Company F of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment.
The re-enactors set up an enlistment desk, soldiers’ tents and displays of replica gear that the soldiers serving in the Union Army during the Civil War would have had.
New to Heritage Days
The re-enactors’ display, new this year to the Heritage Days festival, was part of a weekend-long celebration of Port Angeles’ 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial.
Bob Ballard — a Bellevue resident who has been re-enacting for 15 years — said he hopes the 20th Maine can organize a battle re-enactment in the Port Angeles area sometime in the near future.
Each of the dozen or so re-enactors out in front of the Museum at the Carnegie has spent months, sometimes years, researching a specific soldier who served in Company F, said Ballard.
He now portrays 1st Sgt. Albert Long, but he has changed from other historical figures as he moved up in the ranks within the 20th Maine.
The longer a re-enactor has been involved, the higher the rank of the person he portrays is likely to be.
Katherine Arndt of Hoquiam stood on the pathway to the Museum at the Carnegie as her 14-year-old son, Camerin, marched by with five other young men in 20th Maine garb.
Her son has been re-enacting for about 13 months, and his hobby has taken them to large-scale battles re-enactments, with as many as 500 people participating, in Spokane and Chehalis, she said.
“The battlefield stuff is pretty amazing,” she said.
George and Lola McCubbin, who live east of Port Angeles, came to Heritage Days for the Civil War re-enactors.
‘Civil War buff’
“George has always been a Civil War buff,” Lola McCubbin said.
Lola said she likes the idea of young people getting involved in presenting history to the public.
“It makes me proud,” she said.
Port Angeles’ sesquicentennial marks the anniversary of the signing of an order that established the area as a town site.
President Abraham Lincoln ordered a reservation for military uses and a lighthouse on Ediz Hook on June 19, 1862.
The 20th Maine re-enactment was only one of several Saturday events, which also included a street fair and kids; carnival, tours and a Steam Ball.
Although the re-enactment and the Steam Ball will not be repeated today, several Heritage Days activities continue.
Here is a schedule of today’s events:
■ Below the Street Fair and Kids’ Carnival — 11 a.m. to4 p.m., parking lot between Zak’s and Coog’s Budget CDs on Front Street.
■ Clallam County Genealogical Society — 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Captain T’s/The Beanery, 114 and 116 E. Front St.
■ Heritage Underground Tours — Hourly tours of downtown Port Angeles with costumed tour guides. For details, visit http://bit.ly/RK1ufv.
■ East-side bus tours of historic homes — 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 and on sale at the Museum at the Carnegie. Tours begin and end in front of the museum.
■ Clallam County Courthouse clock tour — 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., by donation. Tours leave from the front door of the old courthouse, which is on Lincoln Street. The modern entrance of the courthouse is at 223 E. Fourth St.
The Unleashing the Elwha: A Year Later Cruise, a $45 trip originally scheduled for 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today, was canceled because it lacked enough reservations, said staff with Expeditions Northwest on Friday.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
