Encampment at the Columns Museum: Living History, Music, Exhibits at 11th Annual Civil War event

This year the representatives of the 142nd PVI Company G, which was formed in Stroudsburg and utilized men from both Monroe and Pike Counties, will bring to life what the residents of this area and the country experienced in the troubled times of the American Civil War. The living history and exhibits will include soldiers in camp life, their uniforms, what they ate, how they cooked, the arms they used; as well as Ladies fashions of the day, toys of the time, and a real “Granny”, the local woman who knew what plants and everyday household items could be used for curing, cleaning and many other uses in everyday life.

Also attending this year is Company A 7th NJ Volunteer Infantry Regiment , which was formed in the spring of 1861 and served in almost every major battle of the civil war up until General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. They will be showcasing a display of civil war medical supplies and medicines.

Some of the troops will be setting up and spending the night Friday, while others will arrive early Saturday morning. The event opens to the public at 10 a.m. on Saturday May 21. Guests are welcome to tour the grounds and see the displays and demonstrations as well as tour the museum - all for a general admission price of $10. Kids under 12 are free. There will be live music of the times performed by The Bard of the Hills from 12-2 p.m. and food and beverages will be available for purchase from 12-3 p.m.

The Pike County Historical Society offers programs that educate about history and provide a glimpse into the past, to remind of the trials and tribulations that came before now and the men and women who navigated through them. The museum will always be attached to the Civil War because of a prized artifact - The Lincoln Flag. The Lincoln Flag is a large 36 star flag used for decoration in the Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865 - the night President Lincoln was shot.

The flag was placed under his head while he lay on the floor of the Presidential Box - dying. After he was taken across the street to the Peterson House, where he would die the next morning, several of the flags used to decorate the theatre that evening where taken. The Lincoln flag, stained with the blood of the 16th President of the United States, was brought to Milford in 1888 by Jeannie Gourlay, an actress in the play being performed that fateful night (Our American Cousin). Gourlay kept the flag in her home on Water Street in Milford until she died in 1928. She left the flag to her son Vivian Paul. He donated the flag to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954.