Friendly-ish Fire: Civil War reenactment closes out Pioneer Days in Wirt County
Parkersburg resident Julien Malloy, left, and Columbus residents Jaxton, center, and Kaitlin Eichenlaub watch as a cannon is fired during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Elizabeth residents Ashley, Tom and Bleiz Freeland sit on the grass prior to the start of a Civil War reenactment held just outside Elizabeth Sunday as part of the annual Pioneer Days event. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Elizabeth resident Tom Freeland helps his 2-and-a-half-year-old son Bleiz hold a rifle following Sunday’s Civil War reenactment outside Elizabeth Sunday, as Uriah, left, and Julien Malloy watch. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Union soldiers fire a cannon during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Reenactors representing the Union take aim and reload during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth as part of the annual Pioneer Days celebration. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Confederate soldiers advance during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Uriah Malloy, 7, points at his grandfather, Jon Queen of Parkersburg, who was “shot” as a deserter during a Civil War reenactment Sunday afternoon as part of Pioneer Days in Elizabeth. Queen’s granddaughter, Kaydince Malloy, participated in the reenactment with him while his grandsons watched. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
A Confederate cannon fires during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Parkersburg resident Julien Malloy, left, and Columbus residents Jaxton, center, and Kaitlin Eichenlaub watch as a cannon is fired during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Elizabeth residents Ashley, Tom and Bleiz Freeland sit on the grass prior to the start of a Civil War reenactment held just outside Elizabeth Sunday as part of the annual Pioneer Days event. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Elizabeth resident Tom Freeland helps his 2-and-a-half-year-old son Bleiz hold a rifle following Sunday’s Civil War reenactment outside Elizabeth Sunday, as Uriah, left, and Julien Malloy watch. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Union soldiers fire a cannon during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Reenactors representing the Union take aim and reload during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth as part of the annual Pioneer Days celebration. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Confederate soldiers advance during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Uriah Malloy, 7, points at his grandfather, Jon Queen of Parkersburg, who was “shot” as a deserter during a Civil War reenactment Sunday afternoon as part of Pioneer Days in Elizabeth. Queen’s granddaughter, Kaydince Malloy, participated in the reenactment with him while his grandsons watched. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
A Confederate cannon fires during a Civil War reenactment Sunday outside Elizabeth. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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ELIZABETH -- The Civil War is often described as "brother against brother," but a grandfather and granddaughter were united on the reenacted field of battle Sunday.
"I'm getting 'em started into it now that I'm getting older," Parkersburg resident Jon Queen said after Sunday's reenactment to close out the 20th annual Pioneer Days. "We need young people."
Queen fought on the side of the Confederacy in Sunday's tactical reenactment. Assisting the troops in prepping the cannon for firing was his 13-year-old granddaughter, Kaydince Malloy.
"It's pretty fun," said Malloy, who called meeting new people the highlight of her first two reenactment experiences.
The first took place on Saturday as part of the festivities for Pioneer Days, an event sponsored by the Elizabeth Beauchamp Chapter of the Daughters of the American Pioneers.
More than 50 exhibitors and vendors were set up around the courthouse Saturday, said Carol Menefee, regent-treasurer of the chapter and original organizer of Pioneer Days. Demonstrations included pottery, cornmeal grinding, spinning and a scale model of a sawmill provided by the West Virginia Division of Forestry. There were also guided tours of the Beauchamp-Newman Museum and the historical McClung-Morgan House.
"It was an excellent, excellent day," Menefee said.
Wirt County Middle School fifth-grader Serenity Parsons won the annual essay contest. This year's theme focused on America's founding fathers.
"Our goal is to teach and to preserve," Menefee said. "We want to get the information out here to the children."
Menefee was delighted to see Queen joined by his granddaughter in the reenactment, which drew a crowd of more than 100 people of all ages.
"It's really cool," said 10-year-old Kaitlin Eichenlau of Columbus who is in town visiting family.
"No, it's really loud," 6-year-old Elizabeth resident Spencer West said after another cannon volley.
Eichenlaub said she appreciated how realistic the battle was.
As a tactical exercise, the reenactment wasn't specifically scripted. So during a lull in the action, Queen decided to add "a little something for the crowd." He took off running from his unit, and other participants shot him as a deserter.
Bolstering the South's forces were the First Virginia Cavalry, which includes members from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. John H. Brasuck, the group's major, said he and other members do living history demonstrations to keep history alive "so we can remember it and so we don't repeat it."
Brasuck said people don't always think of West Virginia as a significant site for Civil War history because the battles here weren't large-scale. But he said the first land battle of the war took place at Philippi and a number of major figures in the war, such as Gen. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, came through.
Elizabeth resident Dallas Piggott was among the reenactors representing the Union. He said he enjoys "the fact that we get to teach people history and we get to put on a little bit of a show.
"Other than the fair, this is one of the biggest things we do," he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.