18-05-2025
Crowd turns out to support 27th Battle of Sacramento reenactment
Prepared with muskets and cannons, reenactors depicting Confederate and Union soldiers took to the battlefield on Saturday afternoon for the 27th rendition of the Battle of Sacramento reenactment.
'Thank you to all of the volunteers who have made this event possible,' said event speaker Dr. Jimmy Fields. 'But I also want to send a blessing to anyone affected by last night's storms. We're lucky that we can come together today to tell a story about the history of our great nation.'
Saturday's Battle of Sacramento reenactment commemorates the Dec. 28, 1861, engagement of Union and Confederate troops during the American Civil War. The late December battle between Confederate troops, led by Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Union troops ultimately ended in a victory for the South, though historic accounts of specific battle details have been disputed. Forrest went on to become a lieutenant general in the Confederate army, the only soldier in United States history to enlist as a private and promote all the way up to a lieutenant general in a single war.
The 52nd Regimental String Band out of Memphis, Tennessee played period music while the crowd awaited the first shots from the muskets and cannons on the battlefield and Lee Miller took to the microphone to act as the event's emcee.
Vendors set up tents around the battlefield selling food and craft items.
Former high school history teacher Eddie Price, from Hancock County, had a table set up showcasing all of the historical books that he had written, children's books and adult books.
'But since I'm the only Navy man here,' Price said as he pointed to his Navy attire, 'they let me come and set up my book table near the Union Ironclad ship model from the Sons of Confederate Veterans out of Calvert City.'
Price explained how the Ironclad boats, made with wooden hulls and plated iron, would transport and protect the Union troops along the Ohio River.
'And maybe the Mississippi River, too,' he said.
Price also displayed an accurate diagram of an Ironclad ship, showing how the vessel operated up and down the river during the Civil War.
Some of the battle reenactors even set up historically accurate tents and camped out on the battlefield site in preparation for Saturday's festivities.
In addition to the battle reenactment, organizers also hosted a dedication ceremony for some granite benches that were being added to Battlefield Park near the Pavilion. A church service has also been planned for 11 a.m. on Sunday morning near the park Pavilion before hosting a second battle reenactment at 1:30 p.m.
Work by Price can be found by visiting his website at
