THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610090124
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 55 lines
The ironclad CSS Virginia helped change the course of naval history around the world and gave Portsmouth a prominent place in Civil War history and in the annals of naval warfare.
The Virginia was created by local shipyard workers from the remains of the steam frigate Merrimac when the Federal forces burned and abandoned the shipyard on April 20, 1861.
These turbulent times at the Naval Shipyard will be spotlighted Saturday at Trophy Park, where an encampment of Civil War re-enactors will tell visitors what life was like during this difficult period in the nation's history. They will give close-order drill demonstrations and fire rifles of the Civil War era.
The Civil War Day event, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is part of the region's Fleet Week activities. In addition to the demonstrations, visitors will be invited to tour a modern destroyer, the Comte de Grasse, which is berthed near Trophy Park.
Trophy Park, which contains a collection of more than 200 years of naval weaponry, is located near the site of the conversion of the USS Merrimac to the ironclad CSS Virginia in 1862.
Visitors will see an authentic Civil War coffee wagon once operated for troops on both sides of the battles. The wagon was used by the Armed Forces YMCA, which traces its origins to the Naval Shipyard during the Civil War. The wagon began to serve troops who were trained at the boot camp and powder magazine at St. Helena Annex.
A 22-foot-long replica of a Confederate torpedo boat will be berthed near Trophy Park.
Writing recently in an employee newsletter, the shipyard commander, Capt. Bill Klemm, said, ``There is so much history here in our workplace that it should be celebrated as the fabric of our nation.''
He noted that the current yard workers are the 12th generation to labor in the yard.
``Nowhere else on the soil of this land have so many contributions to our nation's defense been made over the years, from before the Revolutionary War to the present,'' Klemm wrote. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A re-enactment group simulates the steps a Confederate naval gun
crew must take to fire the Civil War cannon displayed at Trophy
Park.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
What: Civil War Day.
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Trophy Park at the Naval Shipyard. Enter through Gate 3
off of First Street.
Who: The event is open to the public. by CNB