Georgia Volunteer Battalion
"Mercury Dispatch"

Current Events

Head-Quarters Updates
                                                                        UPDATES.

Tunnel Hill is in one month. This will start the fall campaign season.




Information is starting to come in for 1st Manassas. Below is a letter from the City of Manassas. Init
is information on what the City has planned for the 150th 1st Manassas as well as the lead up to the
reenactment.

First may I introduce myself, to your unit name is Lorene  (Lory) Payne and I am staff for the City of
Manassas and also a living historian at heart.  I have been assigned as the City’s living history event
coordinator for the up coming 150th celebration to present several living history activities here in
the City of Manassas, Virginia over the course of the year.
The short answer to your question is that there will be both a full re-enactment of the first battle of
Manassas on Saturday July 23, 2011 and we will be having living history and static display and
locations for living history camping at several locations from July 20-24th.
In addition there will be other events throughout the year to enjoy and for your participation.
A short list of the events that we will be doing here in Manassas City as part of the commemoration,
and as an invitation to your members, on every level to consider and plan to add us to your calendar
of engagements for 2011.
Although more will be planned, at this time we have 3 specific dates confirmed by the powers that
be where we will share, educate and by doing so, preserve history of this period.
A brief description of the events are as follows.
April 30th 2011 – is the ride to Manassas by the Black Horse Cavalry, portraying the 4th Va. Cavalry
a Prince William County unit. The initial planning has this event beginning at Brentsville
Courthouse, Prince William County , Virginia with period Civilian discussions and debate over the
move towards succession, and at 3 PM the Black Horse Cavalry unit will ride cross county to the rail
head in Manassas . (a 5 mile ride).  The support activities around this re-enactment include a roll
call by the UDC for the descendants of the original members of the 4th cav. event at 6 PM with
reception and ribbon cutting for the Manassas Museum Exhibit on the 4th Va. Cavalry at 7 PM.  If
any of your members would like to participate in the living history exhibits, we would appreciate
their attendance and I am sure to find a suitable station to share history on the Museum lawn.
June 3-5, 2011 is predesigned as a three day living history encampment. With the Museum Grounds
available for Sutlers and troops by Thursday Morning, with the official event beginning on Friday.  
This event is a precursor to the main commemoration event in July and we hope to have a whooping
good time.
The Museum lawn will support, sutlers, two camps, one USA and one CSA each with 50-75 infantry.
(Approximately 40 a tents and 6 wall tents in this area during the day on Saturday.  We will have
artillery and rifle demonstrations with discharge. Plus surrounding the camp we ask all living
historians to use period tents and set up aid and sanitation stations, black smith and period
artisans, story tellers and musicians with a picket line for the cavalry, and on an adjacent school
lacrosse field we will have skirmishes and other living history demonstrations.  This event is in
conjunction with our annual Railway Festival and last year we had a one day event with 20,000
people visit us on Saturday. In expanding the event to three days we hope to share history more.  
There will be a Sunday worship service, and a dance, plus tours of other historic sites.  If we receive
interest from artillery units, we have the Mayfield (Signal Hill) fortification that we would like to
also use and position an encampment there during the weekend.  More remote, folks at this location
will be visited by tours, and we will obtain appropriate approvals for cannon discharges as part of
the demonstrations.  This fort is the only remaining fort of the three established near the rail line
and Bull Run that has been preserved to some extent.
July 21st.-24 2011 is a major area event. There are plans for a full re-enactment of the 1st. Battle of
Bull Run by Prince William County adjacent to the Battlefield Park on the 23rd.  The event begins
on the 21st  with the VIP and national historian speeches- lectures at the Battlefield and the re-
enactment of the Peace Jubilee at the old Courthouse, here in the City of Manassas .
Between July 21st and the 24th  the City will be alive, with living history displays, parades,
demonstrations, skirmishes, tours for every form of travel from walking, vehicular, self-guided, to
organized tours groups and we plan on having living history displays at Liberia Mansion, Mayfield
Fort, and Cannon Branch fortification redoubt.  In addition we hope to address the Underground
Railroad with activities, and displays at the Jennie Dean Memorial site.  Just to give a sampling of
our plans. (See Press Release attached fro more details)
We invite you to participate in our living history camps for the week at “Beauregard’s headquarters
at Liberia Mansion , Battery Heights Fort, and Cannon Branch fortifications of the rail trestles on
the South approach to Manassas .  Also, to include the African American community we are looking
for living historians to set up at the Jennie Dean site under the theme “Free at last:  The road to
Freedom,” if you know anyone that participates in the under-ground railroad or post war life of the
slave please forward this on to them.
As you can see with these plans we have significant opportunity for your members to participate
and experience first hand the land and life in Manassas Virginia .
We are seeking any and all forms of Civil War enthusiast from the die hard Military re-actors,
Civilian support units, Independent living historians, to the Impersonators and Impressionist.  In
addition, there are opportunities for authors, musicians and academic educators to share their
knowledge.  Any that would like to come and spend a week or weekend with us.  Based on the
historian’s exhibit or character, I can assure you I will provide an appropriate venue that both they
and the Great American Public (GAP) will have a memorable experience and both lean and have
fun here in the City of Manassas .
While here, your members will have the opportunity to visit the National Park and other adjacent
areas within Prince William County , and Fauquier County where the action occurred.  As host the
City of Manassas wants to make this a great experience for everyone attending.
I hope you will bring this to our member’s attention.  As I stated in the beginning, this is just the
initial overview of the events planned and too be planned for the up coming year.  If there is interest
in the events in the City of Manassas , I will forward you the registration forms for the specific
events, after August 1st.  Although we always provide firewood, water stations, and temporary
sanitary facilities, we are still reviewing budgets for registration fees based on the location of camp
sites and type of exhibit or participant. A detailed form will allow folks to clearly identify when and
where they prefer to be and the physical demands of their exhibits.  For those not waiting to camp
on site, we will be providing a designated overnight RV parking area(s) for exhibitors, and there are
also a number of hotels in the area, however, I understand the hotels are filling fast for these events
so early decisions and reservations are a must.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope your members will join us in the Commemoration of
history.
*******************************************************************************************************









.
Return to GVB main page
The Elements of a       
       Battalion
GVB Forum shortcut
42nd Geo. Infantry
43rd Georgia Infantry
44th Geo. Infantry
46th Geo. Infantry
47th Geo. Infantry
49th Geo. Infantry
50th Geo. Infantry
53rd Geo. Infantry
56th Georgia Infantry
59th Georgia Infantry
61st Geo. Infantry
15th Ala. Infantry
Co B 3rd Regt Engineer

Phillips Legion Mounted Infantry

8th Georgia Cavalry

Howell's Battery

Phillip's Legion Artillery

Pulaski Artillery
Armory Guards
1st Geo. Infantry
2nd Geo. Infantry
2nd Georgia Infantry Battalion
4th Geo. Infantry, Co. E
5th Geo. Infantry
6th Geo. Infantry
8th Geo. Infantry
10th Geo. Infantry
13th Georgia Co. C
14th Geo Infantry
16th Geo. Infantry
17th Geo. Infantry
18th Georgia Infantry
24th Geo. Infantry
25th Geo. Infantry
26th Geo Infantry, Co. K
26th Geo Infantry, Co. A
28th Geo. Infantry
29th Geo. Infantry
30th Geo. Infantry
39th Georgia
41st Geo Infantry
Palmetto Battalion

Cleaburnes Division

125th Ohio




Training films

Old Path Missions

2010     GVB EVENTS

Feb 12th-14 Battle of Olustee  Maximum Effort         
Complete

Mar.19th-20th    Fort Wallace Wood  or the Battle of Bentonville  both are
considered Max effort. Member units may attend and get credit for either.

Complete


Batte of Resaca May 14th-16th  MAX Effort  Complete

Battle of Tunnel Hill September 10th-12th  MAX Effort  
Battle link





******************************************************************

Support events
Battle of Aiken  Feb. 19th-1st.    Complete

Clinton War Days May 1st-2nd  Complete

Andersonville October 1st-3rd

Battle of Secessionville November 12th-14th
 Battle link

Raid on Suwannee Nov 19th-20th.  Battle Link.
150th Calender
As Links to the reenactments open up they will be posted here.
Please refer to the Sesquicentennial page for detailed information.
1861;
April  
Charleston
firing on Fort Sumter

July21-24.  1st Manassas

August  Wilsons Creek

1862;
March 31-April 2 Shiloh

August 2nd Manassas

October Vicksburg (Staggered to prevent overlap with Gettysburg the next year)

Sharpsburg and Perryville are in discussion.

1863
July   Gettysburg

September Chickamauga

1864

May   Resaca

Wilderness/Spotsylvania    Planning

Atlanta   Planning
Franklin   Planning

1865
Appomattox

Bentonville
******************************************************************************************************
Other up-coming events of note. If you have an event you wish listed please send it in.

The Disappearance of New Manchester. link