Fort Duffield Civil War Days: Encampment, Ceremony for Memorial Day Weekend
Civil War reenactments, cannon and musket firing and period music will highlight the living history encampment at the Fort Duffield Civil War Days event Sunday, May 29, 2011, at West Point, Kentucky.
Fort Duffield Park and Civil War Historic Site hosts the annual living history encampment, which features continuous infantry and artillery demonstrations. Union and Confederate re-enactors bring to life the daily routines of Civil War soldiers, according to Connie Moore, a member of the Fort Duffield Heritage Committee, appointed by the city of West Point to oversee the park’s operations.
The Civil War Days event runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Other highlights will include storytelling, refreshments and souvenir sales. Admission is $3 per person or $7 per family (parents and children under 18).
The holiday weekend also will feature Memorial Day services at Fort Duffield’s Memorial Hill Cemetery, which pays tribute to the 61 soldiers who died building the fort. Services start at noon. The event is free, and shuttle service will be provided. Park patrons are asked to bring a lawn chair for guaranteed seating.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fort Duffield Park and Civil War Historic Site contains Kentucky’s largest and best-preserved earthen fortification, which sits 300 feet above the small river town of West Point. The fort was built in 1861 to protect the Union supply base at the confluence of the Salt and Ohio rivers and to protect Louisville from Confederate forces.
Appointed by the city of West Point to oversee operations, the Fort Duffield Heritage Committee is assisted by the Friends of Fort Duffield, a support group that raises most of the funds for maintenance and interpretation.
The park and historic site are open daily year round from 8 a.m. to dusk and are run by volunteers.
Posted on May 2, 2011 by Bobbi Buchanan
