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Skagit River Journal

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Noel V. Bourasaw, editor (bullet) 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
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15th Alabama Infantry attacks Marblemount
April 28-29, 2007, teaches about Civil War

(Aikens rehearse for Civil War)
Kelly Aiken, left, and Mike Aiken, his father, prepare for battle, standing guard in Marblemount. Click on this thumbnail for a larger photo
      Civil War reenactors will attack the town of Marblemount again on May 3-4, 2008, the sixth year that they have camped out at nearby Alpine Resort in preparation for battle. They invite guests to observe drills from 10 a.m. to noon, and the actual battle begins each day at 1 p.m., with strolls through this town until 5 p.m. in this small North Cascades village at the confluence of the Cascade and Skagit rivers. There is no cost of admission. You can see them most often near the North Cascades Chamber of Commerce building just north of Hwy. 20 as you enter town. Below is a story written by your humble country editor in 2003, while dressing up as a lowly grunt private.
      We will post the 2008 schedule when we receive it. The 2007 schedule was: Battle of Spokane, Spokane, WA May 26-28 . . . Battle of Port Gamble, Port Gamble, WA June 23-24 . . . Battle of Snohomish, Snohomish WA July 21-22 . . . Battle of Ferndale, Ferndale, WA Aug 11-12. For more information and details of how you can enlist and participate as a soldier or in costume, email David Imburgia: DVIMB1@aol.com
2003: the first skirmish
      You could hear the rustle of petticoats and hoop skirts as townspeople gathered to watch the siege by the 15th Alabama Infantry. Grey-clad soldiers, some guerillas, others disciplined and drilled, surrounded the brightly colored caboose that housed the power center of town. After the commanding officer warned the locals that they were under attack and demanded that they surrender their goods, the first shot rang out from his pistol and the battle was struck. Marblemount was under attack and the civilians took cover lest they take a stray bullet.
      The smell of black powder immediately filled the crisp morning air as the troops rushed the few remaining defenders of the caboose. Capt. Tobey Gulley of the 15th Alabama Infantry had warned the mayor and the town's militia to come out with their hands up and surrender, but they were still returning fire. A woman in a calico hoop skirt cried out for mercy for her boy who was trapped inside but her entreaties were drowned out by a mighty fuselage of shots from the soldiers who had the caboose completely surrounded and were storming through doors at both ends.
      Oh, the humanity. The owners of the caboose finally surrendered and the battle was over almost as soon as it began. The soldiers soon filed out with their booty, 6-inch-tall ice cream cones that were soon a chocolate blur on their moustaches and beards. Such is the life of a civil war re-enactor. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.
      But wait. A civilian woman rushed onto the porch, obviously distraught. She grabbed the lapels of First Sergeant Fergus and cried out. "Won't you please attack my Marblemount Market, too?" Sure, if you want to put up a fight, we will lay waste to your store." Ordinance Sgt Ted Carter growled. "Prepare yourselves for doom." And off the platoon went to strike fear into the hearts of more townspeople. Soon they surrounded the store and fired off a mighty volley that made all the passersby cringe. Not to be left out in the cold, the owner of the Buffalo Run restaurant got into the act. But he surrendered quickly and offered the troops victuals and libations so they could celebrate their victory.
      I was an embed with the platoon that April day and was witness to the snappy drills that prepared the Confederate soldiers for their attack on the town. Although I planned to be a mere ink-stained wretch of a reporter, I was soon surrounded by the soldiers and wound up in a hand-me-down uniform with a bullet hole above the heart, and a black-powder rifle in my hands.
      Led by David Imburgia, whose shock of fine hair rippled in the breeze, we practiced right-wheel turns and left, and a clever maneuver called the right-about that we had observed the Federals employ at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Oohs and aahs rose up from townspeople as they marveled at our ability to sort out our left foot from our right. All these inspiring movements were photographed by Dave Peckinpaugh, director of the Marblemount Chamber of Commerce, our Matthew Brady for the day. The parade ground was in front of the chamber's impressive tourist information center just west of downtown Marblemount. Much of the materiel was appropriated by Mike Aiken, better known as "Scrounge," who has been hooked on reenactment since Imburgia recruited him last year.
      The 15th Alabama includes volunteers from Skagit and Whatcom county gather for a handful of events every year that teach people about the civil war and invite folks to see what an encampment looked like. This was the first drilling weekend of the year and one of the missions was to attract new recruits for actual battle reenactments later this year. Long rows of A-frame tents are the home away from home for men and women who enjoy play-acting and are serious about their immersion into a time 140 years ago when the north and south fought for nearly four years up and down the Atlantic Seaboard in a civil war that tore the country apart. Some of us who are way too old for this encampment nearly froze on the hard ground that night as the thermometer dipped towards freezing.
      The re-enactors arrived on Friday at Aiken's Alpine RV park and quickly erected a camp, donned their military garb and established a perimeter. Men and boys from age 17 to 60 soon became Confederate soldiers. Capt. Gulley has been doing this for nearly a dozen years, starting when he was a lowly private at age 24. Members of the platoon pay for their own period clothing and uniforms and replica weapons and pool funds to purchase tents and equipment that comprise an amazing replica of a field encampment.
      Jerry Shiner is the quartermaster sergeant and he doles out cartridges of powder before the drills and battle. On the parade ground, we bite off the paper end and then pour black powder down the barrel. Safety is the watchword when weapons are in hand and Capt. Gulley is quick to admonish any trooper who forgets to install a percussion cap in his rifle, an oversight that could cause an explosion at the wrong time. Back in camp, Sgt. Carter teaches us how to rinse out the barrel of our weapons and attach various implements onto the end of our ramrod, which is then used to thoroughly clean the barrel and dislodge any grit, powder and residue. Wherever the unit is encamped, townspeople are invited to observe the camp and see first-hand how soldiers lived on the road and how they conducted various rituals and duties.

What the 15th Alabama does and how you can join
      Re-enactor Imburgia explains that the 15th Alabama Infantry is a non-profit, living history organization that practices and presents accurate impressions of military and civilian life during the years of 1861-65. He notes that the assembled soldiers become a family unit and the re-enactors are composed of both individuals and their families. That day in Marblemount, four different families were gathered at the camp. Some of the women dressed in hoop skirts and blouses and bonnets to resemble wives of the day, but some units also include female combatants.
      The mission for the club is to celebrate American history and to be good neighbors, providing community service and education to communities throughout Washington state. Some of the observers are surprised to learn that a few of the reenactors do not glorify war. Rather, they want people of all ages to see what soldiers endured during the 1860s war that drug out over four years. Imburgia traveled to war sites in Virginia and Tennessee, where he met descendants of Confederate J.D. Brock, who was killed in battle in Maryland. Brock has become his persona.
      The 15th Alabama also provides speakers and actors for clubs, school classes and tourist organizations throughout the year, apart from their reenactments. We will update this story with plans and a schedule for the rest of the year. For more information, you can email Aiken or Imburgia.
Story posted April 21, 2007, last updated April 21, 2008
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