Re-enactment to mark Civil War sesquicentennial

On April 12, 1861, the first guns were fired at Fort Sumter, and the American Civil War began.

In 1861, issues long unresolved in the United States between the different cultures of the industrializing North and the affluent agrarian South boiled over into a kind of madness.

Good people on both sides were thoroughly convinced they were totally correct in their beliefs and they had to stand up for them.

Professional soldiers warned that a civil war would be a long and bloody undertaking, but politicians in the North and South were convinced that mustering an army for as little as three months would convince the other side of the folly of their views.

At the First Battle of Bull Run, they began to see what terror they had unleashed.

Patriotism, honor, states’ rights, self-determination, emancipation, history, progress — men and women on both sides fought for many reasons.

In the North, President Abraham Lincoln called for 90-day enlistments, believing the war could be won in that short a time.

The professionals were right — on July 21, 1861, the two armies collided at Bull Run outside of Manassas, Va.

Into the fight came the 69th New York State Militia under the command of Col. Michael Corcoran. The unit served gallantly, and even though Col. Corcoran was captured by the Confederate forces, the unit retained cohesion and retreated in good order.

The unit served as the rear guard for the rather hasty retreat of the Federal forces after the defeat. Capt. Meagher, K Company commander, asked that the unit be recommissioned after its 90 days and brigaded together with other Irish troops into a single Irish Brigade.

Thus began the story of the “Fighting Irish” Irish Brigade. Predominantly Catholic with Catholic chaplains, the brigade’s steadfastness in battle and cheerful service throughout the war brought much acceptance of the Irish in the larger predominantly Protestant American community.

Fr. William Corby, CSC (later president of Notre Dame University), impressed many of the Union officers who witnessed his famous address and general absolution at Gettysburg.

Many of the “Fighting Irish” returned with Fr. Corby to Notre Dame after the war — and the name stuck to this day.

As the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War begins, Galvestonian I decided to get involved in the re-enactment activities. As an Orthodox priest and a former CSC (Holy Cross) seminarian, I decided to do an impression of a federal chaplain based on the Holy Cross chaplains who served throughout the war.

While I will be at the 150th anniversary at Manassas later in the month, I will not be serving as chaplain. At that point in time, the 69th’s chaplain had been recalled (for blessing a cannon).

I will instead fall in with the field musicians. Some 8,000 re-enactors are expected for the 150th anniversary of Bull Run.

More information on the battle, the current site and the anniversary activities can be found at www.manassasbullrun.com.

The Very Rev. Dr. Stephen F. Duncan is director of Fine Arts for the Galveston Independent School District and church chanter at Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church.