Final plans are being made for Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend. The two-day event is
scheduled for Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22 in Sidney, Ohio’s Tawawa Park.
The event is free and open to the public.
“Tawawa Park’s 230 acres is ideally suited for this event,” Sidney’s Parks and Recreation Director
Duane Gaier commented. “The park’s terrain includes wooded hills, bluffs, two lakes, a creek and a
mill race. Reenactors have commented in previous years that it is one of their favorite venues.” Gaier
is a member of the planning committee.
The schedule will include battles reenacted on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and at 7:00 p.m., and on Sunday
at 2:00 p.m. Visitors are likely to see skirmishing as scouting units the opposing armies collide with
each other during the event.
“There will be food vendors who will be well-supplied with food and drink,” Shelby County Historical
Society Executive Director Tilda Phlipot stated. In addition to her duties as the Society’s executive
director, Phlipot is an original member of the planning committee. The biennial event is one of the
Society’s award-winning programs.
“Visitors are welcome to stop by the encampments of both Union and Confederate reenactors and talk
with participants about the life of the common soldier during the Civil War,” long-time reenactor Doug
Slagle stated. Slagle is also a member of the planning committee. “Visitors should feel free to ask
about the food they are eating, the weapons being used, drill, camp life and even tactics.”
“Please remember that not all reenactors will be as knowledgeable as others. You may want to ask the
same questions of multiple reenactors,” Slagle explained. “Remember as well that answers may be
different depending upon the encampment. Confederate soldiers will likely feel much differently about
the war than Union soldiers.”
“An important part of the two-day event is educational,” Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst stated. Barhorst
has chaired the planning committee since the program began in 2016. “We always invite speakers who
have expert knowledge of some facet of the Civil War to come to Sidney to speak during the event.”
“A few of our speakers this year will include published authors, including Kent Masterson Brown,
Steven Cowie, Martin Gotlieb, and John Matteson,” Barhorst continued. “Kent Masterson Brown has
written a number of books including Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command, The Confederacy’s
First Battle Flag: The Story of the Southern Cross, and Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the
Pennsylvania Campaign.”
“Steven Cowie is a lifelong student of the Civil War,” Barhorst stated. “He dedicated fifteen years of his
life researching the Battle of Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg). The battle was the war’s deadliest
single-day battle. When Hell Came to Sharpsburg is Mr. Cowie’s first book.”
“Martin Gottlieb was an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News for 27 years, and wrote
about Dayton native and US Congressman Clement Vallandigham,” Barhorst noted. “His book,
Lincoln’s Northern Nemesis: The War Opposition and Exile of Ohio’s Clement Vallandigham is the
remarkable story of Lincoln’s banishment from the country of a sitting congressman. Imagine if a
president attempted to do such a thing today.”
“Pulitzer Prize winning author John Mattteson will be another of the published authors who will be
joining us,” Barhorst stated. “He will be talking about the Battle of Fredericksburg as detailed in his
book, A Place Worse Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation.”
The authors will have copies of their respective books for sale. They will also be available to autograph
the books should visitors the event desire.
Visitors are reminded to stay clear of troops who are skirmishing or engaged in battle. “Although our
reenactors will be firing blanks, serious injuries and even deaths have occurred at similar events in the
past when those in attendance do not follow simple, common sense rules,” Slagle stated. “Standing in
front of any gun being fired is not only dangerous, but can be deadly.”
“Additional information about the event can be found online at www.sidneycivilwar.com ,” Webmaster
Chad Cochran stated. Cochran, also a reenactor, had been a member of the planning committee for
several years.