A bygone BATTLE

Mike Sciacca

A battle raged in Central Park over the weekend. Cannons roared and

ladies tended to the fallen soldiers during Civil War Days in

Huntington Central Park.

The annual Labor Day weekend event again drew large crowds ranging

from the very young to seniors, over a two-day period as Central Park

was transformed back in time 140 years ago.

Realistic battle exhibitions, complete with cannon fire and

gunshot, drew the greatest crowds, but the public leisurely walked

through the park to see the set up of Confederate and Union camps,

their sleeping quarters and sutler posts.

A hospital demonstration was set up that showed how wounded

soldiers were treated. And, this year, there was even a civil war

wedding on Saturday evening that the public was welcomed to attend.

As battle exhibitions took place on a large grassy area within the

park, women and children dressed in period costumes strolled the

grounds. Some watched the battle from the sidelines, while others

tended to the wounded on the battlefield.

Vicki Scidmore of Whittier and Robin Young of La Habra, friends

who have done Civil War Days reenactments for the past four years,

were part of the 69th New York State Volunteers, a group also known

as the Irish Brigade.

The women walked through the camp grounds dressed in hoop skits

and bonnets. They wore lace gloves and carried parasols to shade them

from the sun.

The two women, who say they are history buffs, do up to four Civil

War Days reenactments throughout the state “in a good year,” Young

said.

“What most people don’t know is that at the start of the war, the

Army never expected such a great number of wounded and casualties and

the women came out to help,” Young said. “They tended to the wounded,

doing such things as ripping up their petticoats for tourniquets.

They provided water and food and whatever else they could to help.”

Scidmore said she first got involved in Civil War Days because of

Young and said she enjoys the experience.

“It’s fun to play the part,” she said. “The women of the Irish

Brigade would do civilian things, like sew and write letters and help

out with nursing.”

During the first battle demonstration of the weekend, women could

be seen tending to fallen soldiers on the battlefield.

“At Gettysburg, there was, on average, five wounded to one

civilian woman,” said Young, who knew her role inside and out.

Scidmore and Young, also dress in period costuming, take part in

the Renaissance Faire at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino

County.

“All of us who grew up loving and learning about history, now have

an opportunity to play around with it in events like Civil War Days,”

Young said. “It’s been a lot of fun and we just adore this site here

in Central Park. There are real restrooms, grass and shade --

necessities that they didn’t have during the war.”

Many of the women’s and some children’s costumes were made by

Samantha Free, an artisan and costumer for 25 years who was the head

seamstress on the Central Park grounds.

She had with her at her tailoring outpost what she called her

“little bible” -- a thick notebook that gave detailed instruction on

period costuming.

“It covers everything, especially the little details on things

such as drop sleeves and corsets,” said the lively Free, who said she

begins preparation -- “it’s like building a show” -- for Civil War

Days two months before the start of the Central Park event.

Free, who was set up in the Confederate camp, would break out into

her false Southern accent on occasion. She has a strong clientele

base, and on this weekend she fitted some of the “wealthy” of that

era, from Mrs. George Washington to Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant.

“Women during that time period would change four-to-five times a

day,” she said. “That was not uncommon, especially in the middle

class. My job here is to try to get under budget and make these women

look fabulous.

“I think about sensibilities and practicality when I design these

Civil War costumes. When I do fittings, I get to know their

personalities. I would not put a shrinking violet in a red period

dress. I know what would suit them and work with what they can

afford.”

As Mrs. George Washington emerged from a nearby tent that doubled

as a dressing room at Free’s costume shop, the head seamstress summed

up the women of the Civil War.

“They were not only stylish -- most of them, anyway -- but they

also served a purpose,” she said, motioning to an area in Central

Park where gunfire could be heard. “You can see that out there on the

battlefields.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.