To our Friends in the Reenacting Community:
Welcome to Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site! The Museum enlists the talents and knowledge of reenactors to offer numerous living history programs interpreting Civil War soldier and civilian life. Programs contribute to the public’s understanding of the period and enhance the Museum’s educational mission. Fort Ward welcomes both Union and Confederate groups. Fort Ward’s largest living history program is Civil War Camp Day, but smaller presentations are staged throughout the year.
Artillerymen pose in front of the Fort Ward Ceremonial Gate.
Military and civilian interpretations have featured:
- infantry drills
- artillery demonstrations
- camp life
- signal corps demonstrations
- naval history
- first person impressions (army surgeons, laundresses, engineers, photographers, relief workers, Civil War Santa Claus, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton)
- torchlight tours
- soldier-led walking tours of the fort
- participation in Civil War Kids’ Camp programming
- holiday observances
Fort Ward welcomes military and civilian interpreters and sutlers, and seeks new ideas for living history programs. Please provide your unit contact information and interpretive ideas to Fort Ward Museum. For details on guidelines and logistics, please click on the links. Email Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site.
Civil War Camp Day and Skirmish
July 18, 2009For the first time in several years, Fort Ward will include a small tactical skirmish that portrays typical fighting techniques and maneuvers of the Civil War, plus:
- Union and Confederate camps
- Drills
- Food preparation
- Medical impressions
- Civilian interpretations
