A Civil War Weekend Summary

By Hilary Johnson, NPS Volunteer-in-Park

On August 13 and 14, hundreds of weekend visitors to Governors Island National Monument will step back in time when they step off the ferry from lower Manhattan.

They won't just see a beckoning expanse of green grass and waterfront, they'll also see living historians, dressed in Civil War uniforms and acting out scenes from a typical day in the life for soldiers of the garrison stationed on the island in August of 1863.

It's likely that the earliest visitors to Governors Island that weekend may see a Union Army guard detail march past the landing, with a group of men dressed as confederate prisoners. And, if past experience is any guide, these visitors in turn will march up to the soldiers and ask "What's going on?" says Joe Korber, a Civil War living historian who has taken part in Civil War weekend every year.

"We're the front porch of the island, the first thing everybody sees when they get off the boat," Mr. Korber says. "They come over and say, 'What's going on here?' And that's when you can segue into explaining that people were trained here, and prisoners were kept here, and you branch out from there. We almost become auxiliary rangers for the weekend."

This year marks the sixth year that the National Park Service has invited Civil War living historians to come to Governors Island and help interpret the island's rich history.

This year is especially notable because of the Civil War's Sesquicentennial, and because Castle Williams, a fort built in the early 1800s and used as a prison during the Civil War, will open to visitors with new exhibits, and for the first time, tours to the roof, later in the season.

On Civil War weekend living historians, including seasonal and permanent park rangers, will engage visitors with demonstrations throughout the two days, including firearm demonstrations, drills, and a civilian demonstrations such as a laundress station, a medical station and a recruitment rally.

Living historians, whenever they are used in our national parks, always have a unique ability to "Spark the imagination, and visitors' enthusiasm for the site and for the history" said Edwin Cole Bearss, retired chief historian of the National Park Service, interviewed after a lecture in Connecticut this spring.

During August 1863, Governors Island was a busy place, because it was just a month after the Battle of Gettysburg, and the end of the draft riots in Manhattan, where immigrants who could not afford to pay to their way out of the draft protested their fate.

The army sent regiments up to the New York area to help keep the peace after the riots, among them the First Minnesota, who stayed on the island for about a month. It's the company that Mr. Korber usually portrays, as a fife player.

Mr. Korber, who has played the fife for over 30 years, gives demonstrations of typical tunes the fifers played to the soldiers throughout the day, acting almost as an "alarm clock" for soldiers who needed to be on time to drills, roll calls, and meals.

For Mr. Korber, playing his fife at Governors Island is especially meaningful, when he reflects on Governors Island's 40-year history as the Army's music school, from 1830 to 1870. Governors Island was the place to come, if you wanted to serve the Army as a musician.

"It's kind of like being a Beatles fan and somebody saying 'Hey, would you like to play in Liverpool?'" Mr. Korber says.

Playing the fife for visitors gives him a special way to connect with them, he says.

"By far my favorite aspect is talking about the music school, because people love music, and when you talk about it, it's a way to relate to the history of the place."

His experience on Governors Island over the past six years also shows how popular a destination it's become, for New Yorkers looking for a spot of green and a harbor breeze, and for visitors to the New York City area.

"Every year, there are more and more people there. When we first started, one or two people an hour would wander up to you and ask what was going on. Last year, it was just phenomenal, the amount of people we had face time with. It's great, because that's why we're there."

Like a true auxiliary ranger, Mr. Korber understands and practices the National Park Service mission of preservation through interpretation.

"What I try to do is transfer my passion for the subject to the person I'm talking to. You can't do a whole lot in 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, or two days, except try to instill some of the passion you have for the subject in the person you're dealing with, and hopefully, the desire to learn more."

Check out the schedule of events for Civil War Weekend 2011 here.