AROUND THE COUNTIES WITH SYLVIE. On September 13th, I attended Civil War Day at The Lost Villages Museum in Ault Park. The event celebrated the 9th Anniversary of the unveiling and dedication of the granite monument honoring the American Civil War which took place from 1861-1865. Of the chosen location for the monument, Jim Brownell, President of the Lost Villages Historical Society, shared this reflection: “I have been asked, many times, why a memorial to an event that happened thousands of kilometers from this site should be built here. The answer is simple. This memorial does not memorialize an event, the American Civil War, but it does memorialize Canadians who participated in events to the south of the great border that identifies our great country and our neighbour to the south.” The celebration included demonstrations and reenactments by The Grays and Blues of Montréal, a not-for-profit living history association. GBM has been appearing here annually since 2017 to recreate the daily life of soldiers and civilians from that period to educate and preserve history. Its members portray both Confederate and Union soldiers. Vince Chiarelli, sporting Union blue, pointed out the stacking of the arms nearby, the practice of creating tripods with muskets. This practice was used to maintain order in camp and kept the weapons off the ground when not in use. Corporal Jackie Tremblay was there to represent the Canadian Women who fought in the American Civil War. The roughly 40,000 people who fought during the Civil War were not all men. “Amongst them there were almost 5,000 women,” said Corporal Jackie Tremblay. “Some of the women were spies, some of them were dressed like me in male uniforms and fought alongside their families.” As I walked through the grounds, I was reminded of how deeply our region is connected to stories far beyond its borders. It’s easy to think of that conflict as distant, but days like this make it feel close, human, and worth remembering. These volunteers help preserve the stories to keep them alive and for the community to continue to honour them.
Originally posted by Sylvie O'Rourke on Facebook. Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/localseekergroup/posts/28665274093066983/
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