Ray Quay, dressed in the uniform of Berdan’s Sharpshooters, demonstrates his Gatling gun during Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend in September. He spoke briefly about how the Gatling gun changed the nature of warfare and noted that the War Department refused to purchase the weapon because of the vast amount of ammunition it used.
Union troop charge across a historic bridge located across Amos Lake in Tawawa Park during Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend. The bridge, designed by Cleveland bridge builder Zenas King, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When the bridge was rehabilitated and relocated to the park in 2021, the City received several awards for historic preservation, including awards from the Federal Highway Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the County Engineers Association of Ohio.
Members of the 73rd OVI Regiment Band entertained visitors to Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend Sunday afternoon on the grounds of Tawawa Park. The 230 preserve is an ideal location of the event, as it contains wooded bluffs, two lakes, a stream, a mill race and numerous other natural features (including the largest boulder anywhere in Ohio left behind by the Wisconsin Glacier).
Al Arnold traveled to Sidney to speak at Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend from Mississippi. Arnold spoke about Robert E. Lee’s orderly, his great, great grandfather, who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Union troops prepare to advance on entrenched Confederate troops during Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend in September. Confederate troops were bolstered by artillery atop a hill overlooking the Union advance.
Phil Spaugy spoke at Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend about his collection of longarms altered for the states of Ohio and Indiana in 1861 by Miles Greenwood. That collection was awarded the prestigious “Best Military Arms” display award at the 2017 Ohio Civil War Show in Mansfield, Ohio. his collection of weapons.
Michael Shaffer traveled to Sidney from Georgia for Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend. He made three separate presentations including one on Stoneman’s Raid, another on the Atlanta Campaign, and still another on Day by Day through the Civil War in Georgia.
Dan Masters was one of the published authors who spoke at Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend in September. He spoke about the role of the 57th Ohio at Shiloh and the following day, about the 57th Ohio at Atlanta. The 57th Ohio included soldiers from Shelby and surrounding counties
John Huffman directs the 73rd OVI Regiment Band during church services Sunday morning at Sidney, Ohio’s Civil War Living History Weekend in September. In addition, the band played in concert Saturday evening, and Saturday morning during an open house at the Monumental Building in downtown Sidney. The Monumental Building was the first memorial building constructed in Ohio in honor of the soldiers who died in the Civil War.
