Saturday, October 27, 2012

A Delightful Day at the Unison Heritage Day 2012


A Delightful Day at the Unison Heritage Day 2012


Todd & I spent a beautiful autumn day at Unison Heritage Day 2012, which celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Unison, a charming village in Loudoun County, Virginia.

We set up our fly and A -frame tent at the Unison United Methodist Church, which was used as a field hospital during the battle. One can still see the pencil scratched inscriptions by the casualties on the walls. It was such a pleasure to talk with the locals and explain the historic photographic processes. The re-enactors that participate in the Unison event are top notch living historians. We proudly advised the villagers they were viewing the best of the best cavalry, artillery and infantry impressions in the hobby.

Unison is one of the earliest settlements in Loudoun County, Virginia – dating from the 1730’s. It is still a charming gem in the midst of the horse country. Despite its being overshadowed by more glamorous battles, Unison was critical in prolonging the war. Following the bloody engagements at Antietam, President Lincoln looked for an opportunity to stop Lee and capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate cavalry led by JEB Stuart kept the federals at bay and allowed Lee to regroup.  This led to the removal of General McClellan, a decision still debated by Civil War historians today.

For us Unison is a confluence of spending a day as a living historian absorbing the beauty of the countryside, the joy spending time with friends, the pleasure of sharing our love of historic photography and recreating history, the opportunity to meet fascinating people and the fabulous hospitality of the Unison Preservation Society who have worked tirelessly to raise money and to generate interest in the history of this critical but little known battle.

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