Camp Jackson:
the Tipping Point
Captain Nathaniel Lyon General Daniel M. Frost
150th Anniversary
April 29-May 1, 2011
at
Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis County
Camp Jackson will be one of the first of the Sesquicentennial events in the nation, and is being organized in conjunction with Freedom's Gateway: St. Louis In The Civil War. Camp Jackson will be reenacted at the historic Jefferson Barracks. The event will depict events that occurred during the Missouri Volunteer Militia's encampment in early May, 1861. The reenactment will take place over three days starting on Friday, April 29 and ending on Sunday, May 1, 2011. On Friday and Saturday spectators will be transported through time to the outskirts of St. Louis in 1861. They will see reenactors depicting the events and daily routines in the state-sanctioned camp of the Missouri Volunteer Militia at Lindell's Grove. A short walk will take visitors to the opposing pro-Union and mostly German immigrant camp of pro-Union Home Guardsmen at the St. Louis Arsenal who sought to keep Missouri in the Union and the Arsenal out of Southern hands.
There will be a variety of demonstrations including Civil War era music, vignettes describing the lives and experiences of slaves in St. Louis, Artillery and Musket firing and drill demonstrations as well as a reenactment of the capture of Camp Jackson, which proved to be the tipping point that set Missouri down a violent, turbulent path. Soon the entire state was embroiled in four grueling years of civil war. Missouri had the third highest number of Civil War engagements. Military camps will be open to the public and tours will be available for school groups and public alike. In addition several "sutlers" and food vendors will be on hand.
The event will end on Sunday with a reenactment of an early war battle that occurred in the summer of 1861. **Please note: an event flyer is attached below. Please feel free to download, print, and distribute widely! Thanks.
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