Civil War re-enactors have a blast with guns holstered

FAIRFIELD, Utah County — Past and present collided Saturday morning when a scheduled live artillery shoot with Civil War-period artillery was canceled because the modern-day Army had booked the shooting range.

Other than that, Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park's annual Civil War Encampment went off without a hitch, as re-enactors dressed in blue or gray uniforms, set up period camp tents, cooked over open fires and gave visitors a taste of life in the 1860s.

The encampment will continue 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.

Stan Wheeler, of Jensen, and several other family members brought a cannon they had built to Civil War specifications — a six-pounder — to try out at firing range. When the real soldiers turned them away, the Wheelers took their cannon to the Camp Floyd Cemetery.

"We fired one cannon shot, then we shot a blank, then we came here and shot the bull for the rest of the day," said Wheeler, dressed in a blue uniform and sitting in a camp chair in front of the white tent where he had spent the previous night.

Three other members of the Wheeler family, also dressed in blue uniforms, sat around a charcoal fire in a brazier in front of the tent. Inside the brazier was a Dutch oven filled with cherry cobbler.

John Cornell, of West Jordan, said he was attracted to the Civil War era because it teaches lessons that are still meaningful.

"This gives us more respect for what our forefathers did," Cornell said.

In addition to men dressed in familiar uniforms are dozens of women in large hoop skirts, and a barber's tent where one can get a shave with a straight razor.

Youngsters try on the child-size uniforms used for Boy Scout groups and are taught to drill with replica toy rifles. They also get to play a variety of Civil War-era games.

It's all designed to capture the three-year period from 1858 to 1861, when Camp Floyd housed the largest concentration of U.S. troops in the United States.

Saturday's encampment events culminated in the Fairfield School, where members of the Camp Floyd Historic Masonic Lodge were planning to put on a Master Mason degree in period costume.

Loyd Davis, last year's Utah Grand Master who welcomed visitors to the park in period formal dress, said Fairfield was the site of the first Masonic lodge in Utah.

Civil War Encampment

The Civil War Encampment will continue at Camp Floyd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday with stagecoach rides from noon to 2 p.m., re-enactments, firearm and cannon demonstrations, marches, drills, 1861 period games and photos in period uniform. There is no charge to attend, but the standard museum entrance fees of $2 per person or $6 per family will apply.

Camp Floyd State Park is located in the town of Fairfield, 22 miles southwest of Lehi on state Route 73. For more information about the event or the park, call 801-768-8932 or visit www.utah.com/stateparks/camp_floyd.htm.

e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com