1781 Brewery & Wilderness Run Vineyards | Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA | 6-7 May 2023
A year in the making, CWHI’s Bill Billerd rounded up an exceptional team to commemorate the 160th Battle of Chancellorsville with a unique living history event hosted at the 1781 Brewery. Over 200 living historians and reenactors turned out to portray the blue and gray as they appeared in May 1863, notably the 124th New York and 18th North Carolina (which mistakenly shot Stonewall Jackson in the dark after his famous flank attack).
Of note, the 2nd Corps Field Hospital was featured in the event’s living history, where Dr. Hunter McGuire assessed Jackson’s wounds and amputated his arm. Original accounts describe the Confederate hospital as being set up on the highest point of the ridge across the Plank Road from the Wilderness Tavern. This information allowed the recreation of the 2nd Corps Field Hospital to be set up within 100 feet of where the original hospital was located.
More important than just portraying the people and events associated with this significant historical event, $1,600 was raised and donated to Civil War Trails to further its mission of interpreting hallowed ground. The weekend also culminated in the retirement of CWHI’s Greg Randall, who portrayed Stonewall Jackson from 2009 to 2023. Many thanks to all who came out to this event in supporting preservation and education!
