Civil War Encampment & Frederick Douglass Reading

Learn about one of the most important turning points in our nation’s history.

Step back in time to the era of the Civil War and experience some of the sights, sounds, and emotions of that momentous time in our nation’s history.

DATE: Saturday, June 29, 2024
TIME: 10:00 – 4:00
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Civil War Encampment

Historical re-enactors portraying soldiers of Company A of the 5th New Hampshire Regiment will be encamped at the Wentworth House with demonstrations and displays of the tents, uniforms, muskets, and other equipment used by Union soldiers during the Civil War.

LIVE DRILLS & MUSKET FIRINGS
The soldiers will conduct drills and firings in the morning and afternoon, and special kids’ drills at 10:30 am and 2 pm. They will also present informal talks about the history of the 5th NH, which saw action in many of the significant battles of the Civil War and also sustained the greatest loss in battle of any infantry or cavalry regiment in the Union Army.

Frederick Douglass Reading

At noon, the Wentworth House will also host a community reading of “What to the slave is your Fourth of July,” famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ blistering indictment of an American idealism which ignored and accepted the inhuman treatment of enslaved African Americans.

Held in collaboration with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, the reading at the Wentworth House will be one of 16 community readings taking place simultaneously across the Granite State.

Public participation in this meaningful experience is encouraged. To volunteer to read a section of the speech, or to request additional information, send an email to paulwentworthhouse@gmail.com.

Who were the N.H. Fifth Regiment Volunteers?

New Hampshire’s “Fighting Fifth” Regiment fought in numerous battles throughout the Civil War, and earned a reputation for its tenacity and combat readiness. By the end of the Civil War, this regiment had suffered more dead and wounded men than any infantry or cavalry regiment in the entire Union Army.

The regiment’s first substantial contribution to the war came on May 28, 1862, when they built the famed Grapevine Bridge (pictured here), “passable for artillery,” across Virginia’s Chickahominy River and its swamp within just two days.

Just three days later, Colonel Cross (leader of the Fighting Fifth) wrote in his private journal: “Confederates had driven Casey’s Division from its camp and captured a large amount of property. The arrival of Sedgwick’s Division alone saved the army from disastrous defeat, and be it remembered Sedgwick’s Division crossed the Chickahominy swamp on the bridge of logs 70 rods [385 yards] long, built by the 5th New Hampshire Regiment! Let the impartial historian remember this.”

Over the course of the Civil War, 31,650 New Hampshire men served in the Union Army, representing over ten percent of the state’s population. The Fifth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers remained active until the war ended, with nearly 2,600 soldiers passing through its ranks. Throughout the Civil War, the regiment sustained 1,051 casualties, including 473 deaths. The Fifth Regiment carries the unfortunate but honorable distinction of having suffered more dead and wounded men than any infantry or cavalry regiment in the entire Union Army.