Fort Scott National Historic Site - Memorial Day Weekend (U.S. National Park Service)

Site volunteer dressed a a soldier assigned to braad making duty. Here he is tending the fire. Breadmaking will be one of the activities going on at the Fort during Memorial Day weekend.

Photo by VIP Susan Geertsen

Volunteer Rick Quinteros tends the fire in preparation for making bread during a demonstration

As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation's wars. This Memorial Day weekend, Fort Scott NHS is pleased to honor the courage and dedication of the U.S. military. The sounds of hooves clattering and artillery roaring across the parade ground will greet visitors to the site as will the smell of freshly baked bread and the sight of a soldier swinging an axe.

On Saturday, May 28, staff and volunteers dressed in period clothing will portray life at Fort Scott in the 1840s. Laundresses will be scrubbing clothes and the post sutler will be hawking his wares. Programs on Saturday will include two artillery firings, a mounted drill, and a demonstration of tools used to build the fort. Capping the day will be a special tour led by Park Ranger Robert Thomas. The tour will highlight people who lived in Fort Scott during the 1840s and will feature each character giving a short vignette about themselves and their importance to the site's history.

On Sunday and Monday, May 29 and 30, the site will offer a series of programs highlighting different time periods of the site's history. In the program "Ballots and Bullets", an 1850s Fort Scott man recounts the turmoil and conflict of Bleeding Kansas and its effects on the town of Fort Scott."Flash Flood" will focus on the role that the dragoon soldier played in westward expansion. "Bullpup" will highlight the role of the mountain howitzer in the American Civil War.

Additionally on Monday, there will be special programs for Memorial Day. A Civil War cavalry program will be held at noon on Monday and at 2:30 a special Memorial Day program will honor the sacrifice of Civil War soldiers at Fort Scott who lost their lives in combat. Artillery demonstrations and flag retreat ceremonies will be presented all three days that weekend. The schedule of activities is listed below:

SATURDAY, MAY 28

10:00 a.m. –"Flour, Sweat and Tears" – 1840s Bakehouse-Interpretive Talk
11:00 a.m. – "Thunder Wagon"-1840s Artillery Demonstration
12:00 p.m. – "Fine Dashing Fellows"-1840s Dragoon Program
12:30 p.m. – "Axe, Pick, and Saw"-Historic Construction Tools Demonstration
1:00 p.m. – Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – "Thunder Wagon" 1840s Artillery Demonstration
3:00 p.m. –"People of Fort Scott"-Tour
4:00 p.m. – Flag Retreat

SUNDAY, MAY 29

11:00 a.m. – "Thunder Wagon" –Artillery Demonstration
12:00 p.m. – "Ballots and Bullets"-Interpretive Talk
1:00 p.m. – Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – "Flash Flood" –Interpretive Talk
2:30 p.m. -–"Thunder Wagon"- Artillery Demonstration
3:00 p.m. – "Bullpup"-Interpretive Talk
4:00 p.m. – Flag Retreat

MONDAY, MAY 30

10:00 a.m. – "Flash Flood"-Interpretive Talk
11:00 a.m. – "Thunder Wagon" –Artillery Demonstration
12:00 p.m. – "Thundering Hooves"-Civil War Cavalry Talk
1:00 p.m. – Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – "Ballots and Bullets"-Interpretive Talk
2:30 p.m. – "Empty Cots: Honoring Civil War Soldiers at Fort Scott"-Special Memorial Day Program
3:00 p.m. – National Moment of Remembrance
4:00 p.m. – Flag Retreat

Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no entrance fee charged. For more information call the site at 620-223-0310.

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