Civil War re-enactors will return to Medina in April

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – More than 100 Civil War re-enactors marched down Main Street as part of the Civil War encampment in April.

MEDINA – They are coming back for another parade through historic Medina, two days of battles in a field next to Genesee Community College, and other “living history” programs.

Civil War re-enactors this past April did a series of events in Medina in a partnership with GCC. The event went so well, with so much support from the community, that GCC has committed to two more years of Civil War initiatives in Medina, including encampments.

Those two years will fall within the 150^th anniversary of the war, which ended in 1865. GCC may extend the Civil War events after 2015. The college has committed funding and resources for the next two years, said Derek Maxfield, Civil War Initiative coordinator and a history professor at GCC.

Re-enactors were prominent in Medina, including a downtown parade, during the encampment in April.

When GCC proposed Medina as a host for the initiative, the village government and several local civic groups joined the effort. The groups planned the parade that went from St. Mary’s Catholic Church, through Main Street and to the Medina Railroad Museum.

The encampment is planned for April 25-27 in 2014. This time the parade on Saturday is planned to start near the museum and go through the downtown, with the re-enactors heading to Boxwood Cemetery for a memorial service.

“The re-enactors said the experience in Medina was unique,” Maxfield said.

The encampment also includes formal lectures and artifact displays.

“We’ve merged the living history with the academic element,” Maxfield said.