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Joseph Ritchey prepares for a Civil War reenactment as a Union soldier at Henderson Hall on Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

BOAZ — Some kind of battle left the Mid-Ohio Valley filled with the sound of cannon fire and gunfire and clouds of powder in the air Saturday.

The Museums of the Mid-Ohio Valley, which manages Henderson Hall and other local museums, hosted a Civil War reenactment at Henderson Hall in Boaz on Saturday and Sunday.

According to the Henderson Hall website, the property was purchased in the 18th century by Scottish-born Alexander Henderson Sr., who, along with his brother John, played a key role in foiling a treason plot by Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett. The house was built in 1859 by G.W. Henderson, who remained loyal to the Union, although the family owned slaves and some members from Virginia joined the Confederate Army.

Senta Goudy, board member of the Museums of the Mid-Ohio Valley, said the reenactment was one of the largest in recent memory at Henderson Hall and the first to include cavalry. “which is really cool.”

She also said that there would be a Civil War Ball on Saturday evening from 8 to 10 p.m., with a “The group will perform the Virginia Reel and early music from Appalachian Musica.”

Civil War re-enactors fire a cannon while portraying a Union company during a reenactment of a fictitious battle at Henderson Hall Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

The board organizes Civil War reenactments at Henderson Hall because “History People”, Said CEO Paul Hoblitzell.

“We must preserve history,” he said. “(June 20) is the anniversary of West Virginia. West Virginia became a state during the Civil War … that’s why we celebrate West Virginia Day and the history so far.”

Events planned for Saturday included an artillery demonstration, a foot soldier combat demonstration, a Civil War tea, a campfire cooking demonstration, a reenactors’ dinner and a ball featuring Appalachian music, while a second day of battle and a cavalry demonstration were planned for Sunday.

At Saturday tea, a small group drank lemonade, iced tea and hot tea under a white tent and listened to Marian King, who plays Mary Todd Lincoln, tell how she met Abraham Lincoln and her family didn’t want her to marry him because he was poor.

John King visited the camp, portrayed President Abraham Lincoln, and later that afternoon spoke about the battles of the Civil War and other topics.

Marietta resident Daniel Moss (right) shakes hands with John King, portraying President Abraham Lincoln, during a Civil War reenactment at Henderson Hall on Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

The Kings are part of We Made History, a group of reenactors based in Mentor, Ohio.

John King said he came to portray Lincoln because someone told him he looked exactly like the 16th president.

“I’ve been doing that ever since” he said.

He said he likes playing Lincoln because “It’s a history lesson.”

At 2 p.m. on Saturday, a small crowd gathered across from Henderson Hall to watch a battle. The spectators stood on a hill overlooking a field below, where Union troops stood on the left and Confederates on the right. Both sides were armed with cannons. During the battle, cavalrymen clashed and clashed swords; cannons were fired; rifles and pistols were fired, filling the air with clouds of black powder smoke. There were even a few “Deaths” where the participants laid “dead” in the field after he “Shot.”

Marian King, who plays Mary Todd Lincoln, recounts how she met and married President Abraham Lincoln at a tea party at a Civil War reenactment at Henderson Hall on Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

The battle was accompanied by the screams and war cries of the attacking soldiers and the excited shouts of the crowd.

According to the event schedule, the battle was a reenactment of a fictional confrontation that might have taken place during the Civil War between a Confederate advance guard searching for the best place for General Morgan’s river crossing and Union advance guard troops from Fort Boreman who had barricaded themselves on the grounds of Henderson Hall.

The companies involved in the battle were the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Carlin’s Battery D 1st West Virginia Light Artillery for the Union and the 9th Texas Mounted Cavalry and 17th Virginia Dismounted Cavalry Company F for the Confederacy, according to Logan Saho, board member of the Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley. Saho, who served as field commander for the Confederate soldiers in the battle, said the actual 17th Virginia Dismounted Cavalry Company F was formed “right here in Parkersburg, under the watchful eye of Fort Boreman.”

Scott McLeod, a member of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery Union reenactment group, said this is his second year participating in Civil War reenactments.

“I have been a Civil War fan since elementary school,” McLeod said, adding that he enjoys learning about “only the general struggle of the troops.”

Jarrod Roscoe (left) on his horse Smoke and Jessie Quinlan-Park on her horse Sunny fight as cavalrymen, one Unionist and one Confederate, during a reenactment of a fictional Civil War battle at Henderson Hall on Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

McLeod said he enjoys participating in reenactments because “It’s fun to come here and do what they did.”

Majer Erlenwein, leader of the Confederate Civil War reenactment group Byrne’s Battery Company D, spoke to attendees Saturday about cannons used in the Civil War.

He said that cannons do not fire cannonballs, but something that “Canister,” which resembles the discharge of a shotgun. The guns were “basically a giant shotgun” and each piece of canister could pass through four men and a horse, he said.

Erlenwein said he doesn’t participate in reenactments as often as he did 19 years ago when he started, but he still does so once or twice a month.

“For us it is an addiction,” he said. “Firing the cannon is a thrill. We don’t do it for political reasons. We live to fire the cannon.”

Logan Saho, board member of the Museums of the Mid-Ohio Valley, speaks after a reenactment of a mock Civil War battle at Henderson Hall on Saturday. Saho was the Confederate field commander at the event. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Erlenwein said the people he met during the reenactments on both sides had become like family.

According to Erlenwein, the group’s membership is declining and they are looking for new members. Anyone interested in joining can visit the group’s Facebook page.

Betty Ostrowski of the Cambridge area said she came on Saturday to see “the fight.”

“I also like to see people in their clothes,” She said.

Marietta resident Daniel Moss said there were “no option” in the re-enactment, the “is not fascinating” to him.

“I have been a history fan since third grade,” said Moss. “To talk to the actors here and get a history lesson, that’s why I’m here.”

Michelle Dillon can be reached at [email protected]

Majer Erlenwein, leader of the Confederate reenactment group Byrne’s Battery Company D, talks about how soldiers fired cannons during the Civil War at a reenactment event Saturday afternoon at Henderson Hall. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Actors portraying Confederate troops fire rifles during a reenactment of a fictional Civil War battle at Henderson Hall on Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Actors portraying Union troops prepare their rifles as one of them fires a pistol during a reenactment of a fictional Civil War battle Saturday at Henderson Hall. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

A group of actors portraying Union troops fire a cannon during a reenactment of a fictional Civil War battle at Henderson Hall on Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)