While Williamsburg is best known for its colonial history, the city and surrounding area also played a key role in the early stages of the Civil War when more than 41,000 Union troops and 32,000 Confederates clashed in and around Williamsburg on May 5, 1862.
This weekend, the Williamsburg Battlefield Association — a local nonprofit group dedicated to preserving Civil War sites in the area — will mark the 156th anniversary of those skirmishes with lectures and tours that explore the battle and its aftermath.
While often overlooked by Civil War buffs in the past, the Battle of Williamsburg — which resulted in almost 4,000 Union and Confederate casualties — has gained more visibility over the past few years, said Drew Gruber of the Williamsburg Battlefield Association.
In addition to the battle, this weekend’s events also will explore the effect of secession, emancipation and reunion on the region.
“We’re really only beginning to tell these stories,” he said.
The events kick off at 11:45 a.m. Friday (May 4) with an illustrated lecture by Williamsburg Battlefield Association director and historian Carson O. Hudson Jr. on his book “Yankees in the Streets: Forgotten People and Stories of Civil War Williamsburg” at Colonial Williamsburg’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, 325 W. Francis St. The lecture is free but requires admission to the museum, which is $12.99 for adults and $6.49 for ages 6-12.
At 4:30 p.m. Friday, Hudson — also an accomplished musician — will present “The Civil War in 7 Songs,” a play list of patriotic and romantic tunes that soldiers of the era likely heard, at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. The performance is free but requires admission to the museum, which is also $12.99 for adults and $6.49 for ages 6-12.
The centerpiece of the weekend’s events is a series of battlefield “pop-up” tours at a trio of area Civil War sites on Saturday (May 5).
Williamsburg Battle Association board members will give short presentations and be available to answer questions from 9 a.m. to noon at Redoubt Park (510 Quarterpath Road), Fort Magruder (1042 Penniman Road) and the New Quarter Park visitor center (1000 Lakeshead Drive), Gruber said.
Visitors can choose which sites they would like to visit and in which order, but Gruber suggested the best way to understand the battle is to start at Redoubt Park, followed by Fort Magruder and then New Quarter Park. Parking for Fort Magruder is at Unity Fellowship Church, 624 Queens Creek Road, or the solo gas station across the street from the site.
The “pop-up” tours are free, but donations are welcome.
Last year, the tours drew more than 800 people over five days to sites around Jamestown and Yorktown, Gruber said.
At 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, a walking tour of Duke of Gloucester Street will recount what Williamsburg was like on the eve of the Civil War. The one-hour tours, which are free, begin at the Capitol building at the end of the street.
For more information, visit the Williamsburg Battlefield Association’s website.
