Civil War days return to Hope this weekend

Step back in time this weekend as Hope kicks off the return of Hope Civil War Days on the town square.

The free event officially begins Saturday morning, but people are encouraged to visit with the Civil War reenactors as they arrive to set up camp Friday evening, organizers say.

“We are hoping to make this an annual event again,” says Lizzie Flora, museum manager with the Yellow Trail Museum.

The event was last held in 2015, says Barb Johnson, Yellow Trail Museum board member, but it came to an end with the death of Larry Simpson, former Hope Star Journal publisher and event organizer.

Sponsored by the Yellow Trail Museum and the Hope Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Main Street of HOPE, the event will feature a variety of activities for all ages, from music and storytelling to a walking tour, kids’ activities, and demonstrations.

“Hoosier author Chris Walker, from Indiana Wesleyan, will come in and bring some information about the 33rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, which is the infantry that a lot of the Civil War veterans from Hope were in,” Flora says.

The 33rd Regiment actively recruited in the town of Hope, Johnson explains. From the town of Hope, they started their regimental band with members from the Moravian Church band.

“Some of the members of that band will be highlighted on the walking tour,” Johnson says. “For people to be able to hear the music and get the story that the reenactors have from all their research should be an interesting highlight to the afternoon.”

Walker will be on hand at the Yellow Trail Museum throughout the day Saturday to talk with visitors about his research and what he’s learned about Hope’s Civil War history, Johnson adds.

As long as weather cooperates, many of the weekend’s events will be held in and around the square.

One of the several kids’ activities planned takes place at the Yellow Trail Museum where kids will have the opportunity to make hard tack, a bland cracker that was intended to keep the troops going if they couldn’t find any other food items, Johnson explains.

“They are things that take forever to bake,” she says. “So basically the kids are going to be mixing it up to see there isn’t much in it and why it tastes so bad.”

Youngsters will also have the chance to make their own sewing kit, known in Civil War days as a house wife. The kits would contain the essentials soldiers would need to mend their clothes, such as a needle, thread and thimble, housed in a container the size of an eyeglass case.

Saturday evening will close with a little theatre, a little music and, of course, dancing.

Camp reopens Sunday with a 10 a.m. church service beginning the final day’s festivities that will end with an infantry drill at 4 p.m.

Jake Miller, president of the Hope Chamber of Commerce, says the event speaks to the heritage of Hope.

“It goes back to the historical aspect of Hope and what we’ve done and respecting our heritage as a whole,” he says.
Demonstrations and talks will be offered throughout the weekend on such topics as Civil War medicine, what happened to the soldiers and the dead after battle, and Hope’s historical role at the time.

“I hope people will come, enjoy what we are doing and get a sense of the history of the area and the fact it has made such a difference in where we are today,” Johnson says.

Miller says he too hopes visitors will learn a bit of history they may not have known before. The reenactors will speak about the war itself, but also offer a glimpse into what daily living was like, Miller says.

“If anything, I think, it will give people some education about what it was like in that era compared to what it is like now,” Miller says. “And maybe a little bit of appreciation for what advancements we’ve had in all areas of life from then to now.”