The Value of Living History: Reenacting the Vote on Secession in Virginia

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a reenactment of the Virginia vote on secession in Vienna, Virginia.  The Town of Vienna, Historic Vienna, Inc., and the Vienna Sesquicentennial Committee sponsored the event, which was held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the May 23, 1861 vote on the Ordinance of Secession.  As I stood in the audience, I couldn't help but think of the recent blogosphere controversy over Civil War reenactments and living history. (Much of the discussion has focused on the military aspect of reenacting.) Professor Glenn LaFantasie fired the opening salvo on Salon.com, and since then, several bloggers have weighed in on the topic. (See here , here, and here.)   I found LaFantasie's commentary filled with condescension, over-generalization, and political bias. The Vienna event demonstrated the folly of outright dismissing living history events and the value that they bring to educating the public about the Civil War.

The Vienna reenactment on May 21 put the political and social history of the war front and center.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found confirmed my longstanding support for living history.  Just as Craig Swain pointed out the other day, I too am glad to see that community groups and other organizations are looking at unique ways to commemorate the Sesquicentennial.  The sponsoring organizations held the event at the restored Lydecker's (now Freeman) Store, where the actual vote took place 150 years ago.  A commentator kicked off the commemoration by discussing the history of the vote on the Ordinance in Fairfax and Vienna.  The only omission was the failure to explore claims of intimidation and  irregularities that plagued the voting that day in Fairfax and across the Commonwealth.

After the introductory remarks, the commentator turned the "stage" over to reenactors outfitted in 1860s-era civilian costumes. Each civilian stood on Lydecker's porch and gave a brief speech as to why he was for or against secession, while reenactors planted in the crowd yelled insults. (I suppose this taunting represented intimidation, although it seemed at times aimed at getting laughs from the audience.) All major views on secession in Fairfax were represented. A Northern transplant, who was also the election commissioner, opposed secession out of commitment to Union and family ties. He stood on the porch and engaged others in debate. A native Virginian joined him in opposing the Ordinance over fears that war would bring economic ruin to the region. 

The election commissioner and Northern transplant (Peter Hendrick) debates with a pro-secession tobacco farmer (Ernest Birdsong).

A hotheaded secessionist (Charles Adams) makes his views known.

The pro-secession vote ran the gamut.  A tobacco farmer explained his anger over Lincoln's call for volunteers and his worry about the future of slavery under the Republican party.  A few others spoke about their overriding and unquestioning loyalty to Virginia.  The village drunk stumbled onto the porch, whiskey in hand, and proclaimed his support for the South. 

A Unionist farmer (Eric Owens) casts his vote against the Ordinance.

Following the debate and discussion, a reenactment of the actual vote was held.  Each voter approached the election officer, who was seated at a desk, and announced his vote aloud, as was done in 1861.  The officer recorded the vote in his ledger.  A group of women walked towards the polling official and attempted to vote, but was turned away.  Although I don't think this exact episode occurred at Lydecker's in 1861, it gave the reenactors a chance to demonstrate the injustice of denying women the right to vote.  The reenactment concluded, and the audience was invited to vote by a show of hands.  The Ordinance was defeated, just like it was at Lydecker's 150 years ago. (And if you are wondering, yes, I voted against secession!)

The organizers had three reenactments throughout the day, and all were well attended.  Given that the Freeman House is located right off the W&OD Trail and busy Church Street, quite a few passers-by were drawn to the event, along with the usual crew of history enthusiasts.  The reenactment explored the complexities of secession in Fairfax by bringing the vote alive for a modern audience.  More than a few audience members likely walked away with a better understanding of what secession meant to the inhabitants of Fairfax 150 years ago.  Now that is living history worth commending.