MANSFIELD — Brian McNamara led his troops from the 41st Ohio Voluntary Infantry Regiment into battle Saturday at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
Cannons boomed. Rifles fired.
And in the end, no one was injured and viewers had a chance to learn what it was all about.
The mock battle was all part of the 45th annual Ohio Civil War and World War I & II Show, taking place Saturday and Sunday at the 750 N. Home Road site on the city’s north side.
A Mount Vernon resident, the 52-year-old McNamara has the rank of captain in the unit, which attracts re-enactors from northeast and central Ohio.
In terms of history, the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized for service in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Its original strength of 400-plus soldiers largely came from the Cleveland area.
Assigned to the 15th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, the regiment saw action all throughout the western theater, including the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone’s River, Chickamauga, Franklin and Nashville.
It also participated in the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns, the latter of which saw two soldiers earn medals of honor.
It was his own interest in history, as well as his son’s interest in re-enacting, that attracted McNamara to the lifestyle in 2010.
(Above: Cannons fire during a demonstration Saturday at the Richland County Fairgrounds.)
“I always loved history, especially Civil War history,” said McNamara, who works for the U.S. Dept. of Defense in Columbus and retired from the Ohio Air National Guard.
“I originally would go to re-enactments and I always wanted to become a re-enactor, but just never really jumped into it when my wife and I had young kids.
“My oldest boy, his grandparents kind of got him involved in a round-table group and then he started to participate in some of the re-enactment stuff. Naturally, I went along with him and that kind of got us started.
“So now, pretty much the whole family does it,” McNamara said from his unit’s historical tent campsite at the fairgrounds.
The 45th annual Ohio Civil War and WWI & II Show is taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
Observers will experience living history encampments at the largest historical event in the U.S. — presenting U.S. military history from 1775 through 1945.
Show times on Sunday are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $7 and children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Parking is included in the cost of admission.
There will be 450 exhibitors, from 38 states participating in Ohio’s only Civil War and World War I & II Show. The show features 750+ tables of military memorabilia from 1775 through 1945 for buy, sell, trade and display making this the largest quality show of its kind in the country.
His group has participated in national re-enactment events in places like Gettysburg, Shiloh and Chickamauga, as well as the annual event at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
“Doing some of those big national events have been a big highlight, just to see the sheer numbers of re-enactors. It gives you a better feel of what it would’ve been like back then.
“It’s funny, too, because a lot of it is just being in camp with fellow soldiers, seeing fellows from other units that we know … there’s always a joy,” he said.
(Above: The Camp Chase Fife & Drum Corps performs on Saturday.)
“On Friday, we did a middle school program for eighth-grade classes (in Wayne County) who getting ready to go to Gettysburg. We did a presentation for them, answering their questions and stuff before they go, just trying to get them interested in this group,” McNamara said.
Why does he think there is so much interested in the Civil War, a conflict that ended 158 years ago?
“That’s a good question. If you look, there’s thousands of books written on the war. I think a lot of it is because it’s so personal to everyone. They had family members who were in it and they want to learn more about it,” McNamara said.
“I think just that struggle of Americans fighting Americans and understanding why. For a lot of us, it has nothing to do with the political side of it, but it’s just what was a soldier’s life like?
“You can read the books, but (it’s different) when you actually get out here and experience it, to understand what they went through and kind of see a little bit of it to get a better understanding of what they dealt with,” he said.
The actual 41st Ohio Voluntary Infantry Regiment suffered reported losses of 300 men — eight officers and 168 enlisted in combat and one officer and 153 enlisted due to disease.
“Disease is what killed so many Civil War soldiers,” McNamara said. “A soldier’s life was also one of endless marching and then being stuck in camp for months at a time, depending on when and where it was.”
The friendships McNamara experienced in his own military experience is something he has also found in re-enactment.
“This gives you that same camaraderie. You get to know everyone around you and you’ve really become good close friends, like brothers. You get that same experience during the re-enactment.
“I’m sure that’s the same thing that they experienced back then, too. I’m sure they built some good friendships.”
