This past week I took the time to ask our cast members how A Resting Place is different from other shows they’ve done. See what they have to say in this short video.
Guest Lecturer David Kincaid: Musician and Historian
Bringing the weekend’s events to a melodic and educational close
David Kincaid takes “Civil War enthusiast” to an entirely different level: Civil War “Irish Brigade” re-enactor, Gods and Generals movie consultant, accomplished Civil War era musician and great-great grandson of an Irish-American Corporal who fought with Company I, 63rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Union’s Army.
It’s hard to top that kind of Civil War passion.
To close Touchstone Theatre’s Civil War/Cemetery Project, we have the pleasure of featuring Mr. Kincaid on Sunday, April 15th from 7:45-9:00 pm at Central Moravian Church’s Old Chapel. Kincaid will share words and song of the era’s musical history, including demonstrations played by the Civil War expert himself.
To learn more about David Kincaid, his band and his music, please explore his biography and webpage of Irish-American songs.
Come join us on April 15th to enjoy an authentic journey back in time along the melodies and stories of Civil War music.
David Kincaid, Press Photo
Staying Loose and Taking Shape
Costumer Bill Bauman gets Cathleen O'Malley into costume as Almenia. Photography © H. Scott Heist 12
We are eleven days from opening night. The cast has spent their nights and weekends together over the last four weeks, and as we get closer and closer to performance, it is exciting to see how this elephant of a project is beginning to come together. The beauty and challenge of this play rests in its ever changing scenery, while the script stays the same, there will never be two performances alike.
This week we were able to add the new elements of more props, costumes, and music. A Resting Place is becoming decidedly show like. It’s wonderful to see the cast begin to see and understand this unique production for what it will be less than two weeks from now. I look forward to seeing what happens when the elephant and wagon are both finished and we have all the moving parts working together.
In the beginning of rehearsal process, our director, Christopher Shorr, told me what he had learned about the proper way to attach the back wheels to a wagon. He said that if you attach the back wheels so they are completely secure and set in place, than you run the risk of breaking the wagon in half if the wagon finds a hard turn or a tricky rut. Whereas if you merely chain the back wheels to the wagon instead, it can handle all kinds of obstacles without ever splintering. He told me that was how he had come to think of our play.
Prop mistress Katy Fitzpatrick works on an American flag. Photography © H. Scott Heist 12
A Resting Place has many moving parts, with any number of unknowable and knowable obstacles to overcome from night to night. Obstacles like never having rehearsed in the venues we will be performing in, not knowing if we can expect rain or shine, having no idea what size house we will be playing to, having to configure the set slightly differently from venue to venue, having our base of operations at the Ice House and needing to transport the cast to and from it in order to get in and out of costumes.
So many factors, so many details. This is not your average production by any standard. But by staying loose, going with the flow, and saying yes , we as a cast not only get to be a part of something wholly outside the usual, but we also get to learn a valuable lesson about sticking together when everything around us is changing. If that’s not the point of commemorating the Civil War while looking toward the future, I don’t know what is.
Cast members Bronwyn Bishop and Victoria Mastellar look on as the elephant, affectionately nicknamed "Betty," takes shape. Photography © H. Scott Heist 12
Microfilm and quotes from 1864 and 1865
This is the final batch of quote from the Moravian Newspaper from the years 1864 and 1865. As the war wound down there were less accounts in the newspaper of battles and men writing home, but everyone once and a while there was still news from the battlefield. I personally wonder why there were so few accounts during this time, I can only guess that the news was too difficult to read, and everyone was reaching the end of what they could take.
That being said, some of the most interesting documents I found were during these last years. The first letter quoted in this series is a great example of that.
3/10/1864——This is a story of the Virginia 54th taking pity on the Ohio 3rd, and how for one night two sides of the war came together to eat and embrace their humanity. It’s my favorite letter from my research.
“Worn down, famished hearts heavy and haversacks light, they were herded like dumb, driven cattle, to wear out the night. A Rebel regiment, the 54th Virginia, being encamped nearby, many of its men came strolling about to see the sorry show of poor supperless Yankees…. And came streaming back with coffee kettles, corn bread, and bacon.”
“Loyal guests and rebel hosts were mingled; our hungry boys ate and were satisfied; and for that one night our common humanity stood acquitted of the heavy charge of total depravity with which it had been blackened.”
“And there is was that horrid war smiled a human smile, and a grateful, gentle light flickered for a moment on the point of the bayonet. And yet, should the 54th Virginia return tomorrow with arms in their hands to the Tennessee, the 3rd Ohio would meet them on the bank, fight them foot to foot, and beat them back with rain so pitiless the river would run red.”
11/17/1864——-The only letter I have found referencing Native Americans. It is an account of the son of a chief being held prisoner for 17 months, and then died only a month after he was released. The quote below is the entire write up of the account.
“Sir: The Hon. John Ross, Chief of the loyal Cherokees, who is a refugee from his country, residing in this city, has received by telegraph the painful intelligence of the death of his eldest son, James, who has been seventeen months confined in a rebel prison in Texas, enduring all the hardships and trials which their hatred to his father prompted them to inflict. He was only released a short time since, at the mouth of the Red River, in time to die, on the 9th inst., at Barnum’s Hotel, St. Louis, on his was to see his venerable father and two young motherless children, who, with their aunt and several parts of the Cherokee families, composed of women and children, have sought in the distracted state of their country an asylum in Bethlehem, PA. The Chief, deeply afflicted by the death, seemed to derive some consolation from the fact, as he expressed it, “that his son permitted by Divine Providence to die under the stars and stripes, and not in rebel hands.” As the Cherokee country is thoroughly infested with Genreal Prince’s rebel forces, he has ordered his remains to be brought, by Adams’ Express, to Bethlehem, Pa., where they will be interred in the Moravian burying ground, under which sod a number of his race sleep. The Moravians were the first missionaries among the Cherokees, before they were expelled from Georgia in 1835. I am, sir, yours truly, W.”
8/4/1864—— This letter gives accounts of the 46th latest battle including most recent casualties.
“The skirmishes were briskly engaged all the day long, and at half past three o’clock ours were driven in pell mell, and before we were in a position to receive an attack they were upon us.”
“Our gallant little General was ever where the fight was fiercest, giving every point his attention with a word of encouragement to everyone. The Colonel, (Selfridge) “old iron clad,” as he is now called, was fortunate as ever and is untouched. Major Griffith is all right. Capt. Stolzenbach, one of the bravest of the brave, who has never missed a battle, was struck in the sword hand whilst dressing his line and cheering his men. His hand was amputated—he is doing well, and will soon be home.”
“The regiment suffered severely. Killed 22; wounded 83; missing 9; total 114.”
2/16/1865——The following quotes come from extracts of McCarty’s letter describing the 500 mile and fifty day march from Atlanta to Savannah known as Sherman’s March to the Sea.
“Colonel Selfridge and his Adjutant came up and told us to move as close to them as possible without exposing ourselves. I got on a log to take a view of the rebels, when they suddenly opened with grapeshot, but as our men were lying down we escaped without injury.”
“Night having overtaken us we went into camp, and very glad we were, for we were very tired. Our loss was three men wounded. 10th (?), came upon the enemy’s camp, four miles from Savannah. Slight skirmishes until dark.”
“One man very near me was wounded whilst asleep, by a fragment of a shell. I heard him groan and at once got up, lit a candle, and found on lifting up his blanket, that the shell had taken off his left arm, and lodged in his side near the heart, and tearing away part of his lung. He said he must die, but he was willing, for he was a good man.”
“After we were all in line, the news came that the rebels had evacuated, leaving over 300 pieces of artillery in their fortifications. In our front they left two 60-pounders and one 20-pounder; on our left eight 32-pounders and four 12-pounders besides a quantity of ammunition.”
“On Christmas Day (Sunday) I went to Church, and heard an excellent sermon. The church was crowded with ladies, children, gentlemen and soldiers, and was beautifully decorated. My Christmas dinner I enjoyed at Captain Selfridge’s table. He is on detached service, and has his quarters in the city. We are again ordered to prepare for an active campaign.”
1/28/1864——-Lecture by Miss Debois, born a slave, but now free, delivered a speech about her life to a captive audience at Citizens Hall.
“A novel and instructive entertainment was given to a large and very respectful audience on the last Monday evening in Citizens’ Hall, where a colored lady, Miss Oneda Debois, born a slave in Alabama, delivered an admirable lecture, mainly devoted to her early experiences in the house of bondage, and the manners and customs of her adopted country.”
“Certainly her own lady-like demeanor, and the proofs of high mental culture afforded by her lecture are the very best, and indeed to every candid mind an almost irresistible evidence that the poor, despised and down-trodden people to whom she belongs are susceptible of great elevation. Her able vindication of this people, her proud disdain of the contumely so heaped upon them, her defense of their soldierly qualities, and a well-deserved panegyric pronounced by her upon the famous Haytien revolution, were exceedingly touching and even eloquent.”
“Her lectures, judging from what we have heard, can only subserve the cause of truth, justice, and genuine progress.”
2/18/1864——–The reception of the 46th Regiment home for a 30 day furlough.
“After having their ranks greatly thinned by sickness and casualties of many a hard fought battle field, have almost unanimously re-enlisted, and thus put the crowning touch upon their glorious achievements.”
“Such conduct merits the highest applause, and we are accordingly glad to record that our citizens, without distinction of party, did themselves honor by according to them a most cordial and enthusiastic reception. The boys of the 46th were met at the Depot by a large crowd, not withstanding the lateness of the hour of their arrival – which was after six o’clock in the evening – and escorted them into town in due style, by a procession led off by Marshal C. A. Luckenbach, Esq., and accompanied by a band of martial music.”
“The procession rested in front on Mr. Orville Grinder’s house in Main Street, where Colonel W. E. Doster, late of the 4th Pennsylvania Calvary addressed the soldiers in behalf of the community, saluting them in eloquent language, expressing the sincere admiration that is felt towards his devoted band, and paying a just tribute of respect to the heroes who have fallen.”
More Microfilm goodies from 1863
Can’t get enough of teeny tiny print and great quotes from local Bethlehem History? Here are some links to the microfilm containing letters and cultural references from 1863. And for those of you who care more about the quotes and less about old newspapers, here are some quotes that highlight the contents of the prints linked.
1/15/1863——-Letter begins by hoping that Moravians will continue to visit soldiers at camp. The letter continues to account the happening at camp, and also asks that the people from home write to their loved ones who are fighting about happy positive things instead of the dark distresses of life at home.
“But there are so many dwellers in tents who do get messages, and they feel so good, it puts the whole camp in better spirits. Here and there sits one mystified by the silence of home correspondents, who can not appreciate the sense of loneliness and symptoms of ‘nostalgia’ (as the surgeons have it,) which creep over the volunteer when the mail brings him no letter, it makes separation deeply sad.”
“Send on, then, dear friends, letters that will hold up, rather than weigh down, the heart of the soldier who is trying faithfully to do his whole duty. Don’t lose your faith as to final success. Grit at home tells upon grit on the field.”
2/19/63 ———Chaplain William Henry Rice updates the people at home about the soldiers’ movements after the Battle at Fredericksburg.
“The camp was still there, no change; we left it, admonished of the work before us by the roar of distant cannon, playing the first overture in the Fredericksburg Opera: we returned with the thunders of an hundred guns, the rattling of ten thousands of muskets, the shrill music of countless shells ringing in our ears; our hearts heavy with the terrible realities of our first battle field and that not a victory.
“All got along swimmingly that night, and the daylight when it brought, not the greeting of the home cock of the morn, but of the trumpet notes “fall in” never revealed a muddier and more astounded set of soldiers. But “fall in” was the word, and if the regiment didn’t fall in, it certainly waded in.”
4/23/1863——- On April 15th, Hagen wrote home about his visit to the soldiers in Washington. Washington DC and its surrounding landscapes are described by Hagen in a way that allows the reader to imagine the scenes of war and desolation.
“As we approach Washington, we begin to realize that we were near the seat of war. Fortifications and soldiery were all around us, and military matters constituted the prominent feature of the scene. But there was one object full in our view which is ever new and interesting to the traveler, namely the magnificent Capitol. Despite the cost and circumstance of war, it is fast approaching its completion.”
“While there the tomb of Washington’s mother, in the rear of Fredericksburg, was pointed out to me. A large white monument marks the sacred spot—but in front of it the rebels have large earthworks, near which one of their brigades was drilling. Shameful sacrilege! To stand, as it were, on the very grave of her who bore the Father of our Country, and from thence to draw the best blood of our nation’s heart—witness the late fearful carnage on this ground—in order to uphold and perpetuate that monster crime, and “sum of all villainies,” which has entailed upon us this sanguinary war.”
6/4/1863——– On May 28th, the 46th writes to the newspaper about their recent battle at Chancellorsville. This is a very upbeat letter claiming that the soldiers are able to enjoy themselves through the hardships.
“Should and of your readers suppose that our Colonel or other officers live better than we, let them dispel the illusion, for it is no uncommon thing to see our Colonel sitting among a group of his boys, on the ground, and hear his ‘thank you’ as he receives a piece of bacon just done brown. Don’t imagine, if you please, that such fare and such hardships—as many might term them—grieve the soldier, for never does he laugh or sing louder, and never is he more jolly than when wading through mud and fording streams. In short he loves to be on the move, and heeds but little the condition of the roads.”
6/11/1863——–This letter is in defense of the Eleventh Corps generally and the 153rd specifically. The 153rd had the reputation for being cowards in battle, but as this letter iterates, the 153rd fought as bravely as they could in some truly difficult circumstances.
“It had been commanded, till recently, by Franz Sigel. No sooner was he got rid of, than the command was given to General Howard, an utter stranger to every man in his command.”
“The corps formed the extreme right wing of General Hooker’s army, who, in undertaking the movement, resorted to the bold manoeuvre of dividing his own forces to attack a united adversary”
“Our right wing rested upon nothing – neither a hill nor a defile, not even a wall or fence. This was wrong; but instead of making up for the weakness of the position by masses of soldiers, the corps, the weakest one in the army, was left without intrenchments, two miles from the center, where Hooker entrenched himself.”
“Yet the troops, instead of being massed in columns, capable of throwing their strength into any direction, and of offering a stubborn resistance to any change, were spun out into a gossamer line, like the poor victim of the guillotine strapped upon his board, leaving but two men at any given point to receive the shock of any mass to be hurled against them.”
7/23/1863——– The following is written by Alex Selfridge to his parents, printed in the Moravian with permission from his parents. The letter accounts the major happenings of the Battle of Gettysburg, as well as the month that followed.
“One fellow rushed from the rebel line, risked both his own and our fire, scaled the breastworks and jumped in among our boys. The first thing he did was to distribute his cartridges among the boys them to give it to ‘em. This happened only a few feet from where my company lay.”
“When the fighting was over we went into the woods and there beheld the horrid ghastly sight of men lying dead, mangled and cut in every conceivable way. It is only at such times when one can fully realize what a terrible thing war is.”
8/20/1863——-Presentation to Colonel J.L. Selfridge of a medal commending him for his service, given to him by his regiment. While printed in the Moravian, the following extract from a letter contained in the Pittsburgh Evening Chronicle of August 12th.
“The medal is made in the shape of a star, (the insignia of the corps,) bearing the following inscription: “Presented to Colonel James L. Selfridge by the officers of the 46th Regiment Penn’a Volunteers, as a token of their high esteem and regard,” and the names of the battles in which the regiment and Colonel have participated as follows: “Winchester, March 23rd, 1862,” “Middletown, May 24th, 1862,” “Winchester, May 25th 1862,” “Cedar Mountain, August 9th, 1862,” “Sulpher Springs, August 27th, 1862,” Rappahannock, August 29th, 1862,” “South Mountain, September 14th, 1862,” “Antietam, September 17th, 1862,” “Chancellorsville, April 30th, May 1st, 2d, 3rd, 1863,” “Gettysburg 1st, 2d, and 3rd of July, 1863.””
4/16/1863——-Resolution of Respect – this is an agreement between the soldiers of the 153rd Regiment on how to respect and honor the dead.
“At a meeting held on the 8th day of April 1863, by Company A, Captian Owen Rice, 153rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in Camp near Potomac Creek Bridge, VA, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted.
Whereas, it has pleased Almighty God, to remove from our midst after severe illness, our esteemed comrade, Charles B. Shafer, thereby again bringing forcibly to our minds, that, ‘in the midst of life we are in death,’ therefore –
Resolved, That whilst we mourn the loss of our departed comrade, we bow with humble submission to the will of God; knowing that ‘He doeth all things well.’
Resolved, That in the death of our beloved comrade, we have lost a good soldier, as well as a good companion, and one, who was ever ready when called upon to do his duty.
Resolved, That we must truly and heartily sympathize with the bereaved mother and relatives in this their hour of trial and affliction; and may God in His infinite goodness and mercy, grant unto them ‘that peace of mind which passeth all understanding,’ and give them grace to hear their loss with Christian fortitude.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the mother and relatives of deceased, and that the same be published in the Moravian, Easton, Argus, and the Correspondent and Democrat.”
9/3/1863——–An article of Female Modesty gives a clear idea that women in the Moravian town of Bethlehem were meant to be seen and not heard. The following quote, shown here in full, makes it clear that self sufficiency and forwardness were great faults in women and should be avoided at all costs.
“Among the faults which disfigure the character of the present day not the least is a practical under valuing of modesty by too many of the young of the female sex. This evil does not manifest itself in gross forms. It is not a want of chaste manors; it is not absolute immodesty. Self-sufficiency and forwardness are its distinguishing features. It discards humility as an antiquated virtue, and smiles at an unobtrusive deportment as a relic of a former age. The world progresses, and in some work on female education many young persons seem to have found, or fancy to have discovered, a law of progress with regard to female behavior too.
The family is one of those relations of life in which such a want of modesty may but too often. Daughters usurp the places of their mothers, not indeed in the kitchen, but fully in the parlor. They attempt to rule the house. Restraint is irksome to them, advice is “old fashioned;” retirement is not to be thought of. To make themselves prominent, to follow their whims and caprice and annicments regardless of others; to be pert and bold and even impudent; all this appears to be looked upon as a matter of course, a prerogative of young misses in the nineteenth century.”
The Cemeteries – “Fine and Private Places”
Cemeteries are not always particularly spiritual places. The more ornate they become the more they may demonstrate the futility of our experience with death. We build decoration with opposable thumbs. Little else is within our powers.
Other than the cemeteries of mass tragedy: war battlefields, plague, natural and man-made calamity… modern cemeteries are not where people die. Not where the spirit leaves the body but, where the body itself comes to rest. Often accorded more respect and privacy than received when quick with soul and spirit.
In the early days of Touchstone’s Civil War/Cemetery Project, pre-funding or certainty, I walked the Bethlehem grave yards making these photographs as studies and demonstrations of our respect and good faith to the families and organizations that maintained them. Peter Beagle’s cemetery novel, A Fine and Private Place walked along, as well as Andrew Marvel’s poem from which it was taken. My twin notebooks from those days labeled: THE RESTING PLACE and A RESTING PLACE.
Each of the three cemeteries studied represented three separate faces of America. Its social and economic landscape progressing through the first century of America’s existence.
God’s Acre is the oldest. Smallest. Most simple. Flat Moravian stones. The Acre’s grass carefully trimmed away from them. At the Peifer grave, Bill George and I discussed the personal hell Peifer had experienced, contrasting the peace of God’s Acre. The terms: “At Peace” and “At Rest” developed more significance.
God’s Acre is truly dedicated to a Moravian view of the peace of God’s simple order. My dad dropped me there school mornings at the Moravian School while he went on to teach in Nazareth another Moravian Community. We lived in yet another. The aesthetic is constant.
God’s Acre personally resonates with plain wooden seats, chapel hymns, and brick walks with squirrels accepting peanuts. Memories of names from the original Moravian community read again, unchanged generations later. In which small flags flapped over graves, held in badges bearing the mark of The Army of the Republic: the Union forces. Cemeteries’ ages can be judged by the war badges. The commemorations of its citizens wars. Gods Acre is small. Certainly filled before too many badges of the wars of our republic could accumulate.
God’s Acre was where A Resting Place began. Where members of the Touchstone Ensemble came to say words on Veterans Day before James Peifer’s grave, promising the good faith of their efforts. In late twilight we began.
Microfilm from The Moravian 1862 including quotes
One of the most rewarding and time consuming efforts I have made during the research portion of the Civil War Project has been to comb through microfilm of The Moravian newspaper for letters from soldiers and other interesting tidbits. In this entry I have included links to my best finds from 1862 and are divided between letters and cultural references.
Since the scanned documents can be quite a challenge, even once magnified, I have also included some of my favorite quotes that I discovered along the way. I hope this entry will help illuminate the history for our readers, and be a cerebral treat for all those nerds out there who get as excited about old newspapers as I do.
6/5/1862—–This letter is about a retreat at Winchester by the 46th regiment.
“The men seem to think but little of the clothing they lost, but regret the loss of keepsakes, which cannot be replaced.”
“Segt. H. had command of a gun of Knapp’s Pennsylvania Battery at Front Royal, and after two hours hard fighting was shot in the leg. The ball was immediately removed, and he again took his post and continued there until compelled to leave, an hour later, by overwhelming numbers. When he left, the hospital was in flames and rebel guards were stationed around the building to prevent egress. There seems to be but one feeling, and that of hatred toward these heartless beings.”
10/9/1862——Alex Selfridge recounts his time being held captive by the rebels.
“The room was about 10 by 40, with windows at one end and a partition at the other, making it quite dark in some parts of the room. It was literally covered with filth, vermin, a horrid stench pervaded the whole, and almost every inch of available space was occupied. Some of the unfortunate inmates had been confined in it 13 long months. Two old men were crazed, and lay in their filth in on corner, only stirring when their rations were brought in.”
10/16/1862——- Below is a dedication and presentation of sword to Col. Selfridge from his soldiers.
“We cannot bestow upon you any greater compliment than, that we believe, whether in defense or attack, it will be wielded by an arm and grasped by a hand, as true as the steel of the blade of which it is composed.”
8/14/1862——-Col. Selfridge writes from the Battlefield near Culpepper, Aug. 11. Selfridge tells his brother of the terrible fight they have just endured.
“We have but 130 left in our regiment. My horse was killed; he was completely riddled. The blanket presented to me by Mr. Caleb Yohe and David Luckenbach, saved my life. It is riddled with balls; my saddle also. I had a ball through my boot, one through my coat near the shoulder, and one through my hat. I am much bruised, but no blood was drawn.”
8/16/1862 – Reference to Chaplain William Henry Rice being asked to give words of encouragement at the send off of the newest recruits in Bethlehem.
“Before leaving the ground, however, and at the request of the soldiers, Mr. Wm. Henry Rice, who has volunteered to accompany this band as Chaplain, responded in a few words, returning thanks, and earnestly entreating the effective support and loyal sympathy of all those whom they leave behind, justly remarking that the soldier is robbed of his courage, and will contend in vain upon the battle field, if treason be suffered to lurk unpunished in the rear. Those sentiments were warmly applauded.”
9/25/1862——-Chaplain William Henry Rice writes home asking for religious reading material and gospel books.
“Give each man a testament. He will feel the want of it before long. Men who rarely looked into a bible at home, open its pages at camp. Of course, on the other hand, many who profess Christ at home neglect His word at camp. Your ‘Moravian’ package is therefore not at all confined in its good influence to Company C. It is medicine to the soldiers sick in body. Depend upon it, many a soul, too, had been refreshed.”
12/25/1862——On this day there were two letters accounting the soldiers’ lives on the march. The first two quotes are from the letter from the 129th regiment and the other is from the 46th regiment.
“We were forced to leave behind, in charge of a Brigade surgeon, more than sixty sick men of our regiment. This being left behind the regiment, is one of the great trials of a soldiers life. Another sever trial is to be sick with your regiment; a sick man never feels so much out of place and in the way of others, as in camp or on the march.”
“The Sabbeth day will always be remembered as the day on which we made one of the most ‘exhausting tramps: rapid marching all day rests few and short,’ weather very warm, and road wearisome and rough. We got to Snickersville at evening and encamped, as we all supposed, for the night. All at once the order “Fall in” came upon our worn out and astounded men. We did fall in, and marched.”
“A soldier does not know what is before him. Whenever he thinks most that he is to remain quiet and have a good time, orders to march are received, and tents struck, knapsacks packed, line formed, arms shouldered, and then comes the command, ‘Right Face—Forward March!’”
5/8/1862——–This is a write up on a speech given at Citizen Hall by Prof. McCoy about ‘His seething rebuke of secret and open foes of our country, both home and abroad.”
“We are sorry to confess that even our community still harbors some of these secret traitors who, recreant to the duty which they owe to the mother that bore them, and unmindful of shame, not only stand apart, cold-hearted from an active support of their country’s case, but secretly go about whispering their slanders, hatching discontent among the ignorant, and plotting mischief against the laws of the Constitution.”
5/20/1862——-A report on the 46th after their attack at Winchester, and a reference to a painting called “Camp Scene on the Lehigh.”
“As they were in the recent retreat of Gen. Bank’s army from the valley of Shenandoah, and exposed to the overwhelming attacks of the enemy, the greatest anxiety prevails in our community to obtain intelligence from them. Up to the time of our going to press, however, the only reliable information we have received, is to the effect that Col. Knipe, after being wounded, was taken prisoner; Lieut. Col. Selfridge, Capt. Luckenbach and Lieut. Horace Jones are safe with the army at Williamsport. Others, including Lieut. Alex Selfridge, are known to be at Hancock, MD. There is cause for the apprehension that many are left behind in the power of the enemy.”
8/7/1862———New Enlistments are named on this day on the 7th of August 1862, as well as a description of their send-off.
“On the night of the late county meeting, a considerable gathering took place at out Citizens’ Hall, and stirring addresses were delivered, which served to deepen in the bosoms of our citizens the conviction that our country at this crisis demands great individual effort, self-sacrifice and devotion in order to rescue it from impending danger.”
“Mr. Wm. Henry Rice, who has been pursuing his theological studies at Yale College, has offered his services as Chaplain of the regiment, and we trust that he may be accepted.”
Hidden Women of War
A Resting Place is full of characters; some come straight from the research, some that sprang from the imagination, and many more who are a combination of the two. Aiden, the Irish soldier, is one of those characters. Aiden helps tell the story of men at war. But there’s one major difference between Aiden and fellow comrades. Aiden is a woman.
Miss Abigail Gillespie in rehearsal as the Irish Soldier, Aiden, the secret female fighter. Photography © H. Scott Heist 12 / splintercottage.com
Our research never turned up an account of a soldier named Aiden, let alone one who was female. But, in Bethlehem Boy, the diary of James Peifer reveals, “We have two female soldiers aboard, and create quite an excitement.” One the very next day Peifer writes, “8 a.m: One of our females has defected, some Dutchman reported. (he was, however, knocked out) She is taken to the provost marshall. She unpacked her apparel and started out…. Our ladies have left us, still wearing their uniforms.”
The first time I came across that passage I read it over and over again. I thought, could I really be reading this right? There were women who chose to fight? In a time where white men made all the rules and where women stayed at home to look after the family, there were women quietly breaking barriers and fighting for what was important to them. It’s hard to know what really happened to the women soldiers, no one, including Peifer, revealed much to illuminate these details, but just knowing these women existed is enough for me.
Maybe it’s just the excitement of knowing that women did more than sit at home knitting socks that I find so inspiring. It’s not that I think knitting is unimportant, because in truth it was crucial work. But in a fight that was about equality, about standing for what we believe in, and for the right to be our own masters rather than being owned by others, there is something so inspiring and even satisfying in knowing beyond doubt that women did more for this country than we can ever imagine. I never did find any other accounts of women in battle, but considering that Peifer wrote about it makes me believe that there must be other women who pushed their way into the fight.
To them I say thank you. We may not know who you are, but you will be remembered.
Building an Elephant
Yesterday I spent four hours rehearsing under a warm blue sky with over fifty of my fellow cast mates and awesome production team. As I stood with students from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts, where I am often times a substitute teacher, I couldn’t help but remember what I love about theater in general, and this project specifically.
I get such a charge of making things with others. Theater has always been an opportunity to come together with sometimes perfect strangers and make something that not only didn’t exist before, but simply could not have existed without everyone participating. A Resting Place is an amazing example of this. This play was made for our community, for the Civil War anniversary, and for Touchstone Theatre. It will be produced five times in five venues on three days, thus insuring it will never be quite the same twice, and once it is over, perhaps will never be performed by anyone ever again.
When rehearsal was over my brain kept going. Thinking about all the tasks I have to accomplish this week, wondering how much time I could spend on each project, considering what just happened during practice and how I would jump in to rehearsal the next time it’s my turn to lead. Instead of going home to enjoy what was left of my Sunday I found myself back at the theatre, where my fellow apprentice Rob White and Mock Turtle Marionette founder Doug Roysdonare hard at work building a nine foot elephant puppet that will lead our show’s pageant wagon.
Apprentice Rob White and Mock Turtle Marionette founder Doug Roysdon building the frame of what will be a very large elephant puppet.
I spent over an hour filming them build the inner chamber of their bad boy. I got to learn something about the value of “chimpanzee engineering,” as Doug affectionately referred to it. He defined it in a way that I think goes well with the show we are creating, “First you try something, and if it doesn’t work, you try something new. You do that until you get it right.” I asked him what kind of right to wrong ratio he has come to expect and he smiled and said, “Well, you always get it right in the end. That’s what makes it magic.”
Well said Doug. Well said.
The Pageant Wagon and a Big Caldron of Ideas Pushing
Today, a talk with Jp Jordan, Touchstone’s Artistic Director, about institutional memory, the ways of the world and how A Resting Place fits into all that.
…and how the Pageant Wagon finally rounds the bend. Behind a nine-foot elephant.
Jp begins discussing A Resting Place: “All of Touchstone leads to Catharsis.”
A Resting Place is a premium title. Looking at it from the physical… yes the graveyard is the resting place, that is the past, but further considering the primary divisions we see in the present, in today’s politics, the society still isn’t “at rest”. So it’s something to work with.
Also a good fit for us. The zen of the project… isn’t unique in the History of Touchstone’s community based theatre. Just sort of a next step. A celebration of people and freedom. Life. All of Touchstone leads to catharsis. And that’s how we free ourselves from certain parts of our past.
After doing Steelbound, Touchstone moved along to Quixote, learning from its experiences with the community. In that regard, A Resting Place matches up well, working with current issues before us. Again, the the role of catharsis. Working edges off “hot” button issues. War and race. Creating more common ground than before. Through theater.
Special thanks to our generous sponsors:
The Civil War/Cemetery Project - Touchstone Theatre 