Civil War Buffs Set Up Camp

The Stagecoach Inn Museum is steeped in California history, but this weekend the grounds will echo--literally--with sounds from another slice of history: the Civil War.

Cannons will boom periodically as uniformed soldiers from five Civil War reenactment units set up camp on the Newbury Park museum grounds Saturday and Sunday.

These soldier wannabes get into their roles with dramatic flair, whether they are scrounging up a stew over a fire, cleaning a musket or tending their horses.

You can see them in action from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Admission to the encampment is $4 for adults, $2 for seniors and $1 for children.

The 30 or so soldiers will be holed up in tents. Members of the Richmond Howitzers, a Confederate artillery unit, will be camped alongside soldiers from the 1st U.S. Cavalry, the 2nd Vermont Infantry, the 4th U.S. Infantry and the 10th Brooklyn Infantry, all Union troops.

They won’t stage a mock battle, but you’ll get a taste of what it was like on the battlefield when they fire their cannons (with blanks) at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. each day.

*

Mainly, visitors will get a look at what life was like for the soldiers in the encampment. They’ll see the men cooking potato soup over a fire, and they can even sample it, along with hardtack, the hard biscuit that was the sad lot of soldiers and sailors for centuries.

“Except for some adventurous children, no one takes us up on the [hardtack] offer,” said Paul DeNubilo of Thousand Oaks, a member of the Richmond Howitzers. The group includes about 50 Civil War enthusiasts from all over Southern California.

The Richmond Howitzers participate in reenactments with other units at Fort Tejon, near Frazier Park on Interstate 5, and they also appear at places like the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

“History is important--it’s more than studying about old dead people,” said DeNubilo, 58, a retired IBM manager. “But part of this is for us to act like young people--ride horses, shoot guns and then take painkillers.”

DeNubilo had been fascinated by the Civil War since high school, but it wasn’t until he spotted part of a replica cannon at a garage sale that he actually took up soldiering. The man holding the garage sale talked him into joining the reenactment group.

That was a couple of years ago. Since then he has spent about $3,000 on equipment--either authentic or precise reproductions.

His gear includes three swords, a rifle, boots, uniform, mess kit, sewing kit, even spectacles from the period-- much of it readily obtainable from catalogs, because of the popularity of Civil War reenactment groups. His wife, Janet, made him a coat befitting his rank of color sergeant.

“This is a serious hobby,” said DeNubilo, who also uses his horse during reenactments. Six cannons, costing $12,000 to $14,000 each, are owned by members of his unit. All are reproductions except one built in 1862.

*

One man in the unit has amassed a library of more than 400 books on the Civil War.

Part of the fun is tracking down information about the unit. The Richmond Howitzers originated in Virginia. It was formed by George Wyeth Randolf, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, and mustered into the Confederate Army in 1861.

“It was quite a unit, very elite, very successful,” DeNubilo said. “At Gettysburg, two guns shot 200 rounds of ammunition in less than two hours. The next day, one piece fired 300 rounds.”

At the end of the war in 1865, the unit disbanded in Virginia on the road to Lynchburg. The men destroyed the carriages that hauled their cannons. In a final act, they cut up the Confederate flag and took home the pieces as souvenirs.

The original unit was mostly businessmen and clerks. During reenactments, DeNubilo portrays an older, relatively wealthy man who had fought in the Mexican War.

He’s not in the Civil War for glory, like some of the younger soldiers, said DeNubilo. He simply feels he has a duty to his state, especially because his sons are ill and can’t serve.

“He could have bought his way out for $350,” he said.

During the encampment, President Lincoln will roam the grounds. Abe and his wife, portrayed by Don Ansell and his wife Susan, will be ushered into the museum’s parlor periodically to hear tunes of the day on the piano and organ.

Also wandering around the encampment will be Nadine Shoemaker Arnold, a 70-year-old docent at the museum whose grandfather, among other relatives, fought in the Civil War. Another of her Indiana relatives was Lincoln’s teacher and preacher. Arnold will carry a book handwritten by her grandfather about his war experiences. She also has old pictures and a collection of Civil War-era letters.

During the encampment, you can peruse such Civil War artifacts as spent bullets, buckles, antique muskets, even cannon balls. If you get your fill of the Civil War, you can tour the museum and glean a little California history.

DETAILS

* WHAT: Civil War encampment.

* WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

* WHERE: Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park.

* HOW MUCH: $4 for adults, $2 for seniors, $1 for children.

* FYI: 498-9441.