DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708220090

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: TRAVELWISE

SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN

                                            LENGTH:  136 lines

UNDERSTANDING A TRAGEDY AT ANTIETAM

WE AMERICANS think of ourselves as a peace-loving people. Maybe it is because of that rather than in spite of it that we continue, more than a century after the fact, to commemorate a Civil War in which at least 185,000 Americans killed or mortally wounded each other . . . by fighting it all over again.

We do it with re-enactments. Nobody gets killed, and the few injuries that invariably occur are generally minor in nature. It's all ``play like.''

Thankfully, mercifully, that other element of 19th century warfare - disease, which killed another 260,000 soldiers and sailors from 1861-65 - is not worked into the script.

It gives a lot of guys, and not a small number of women, a chance to dress up and play war. Yankees, Rebels, camp followers, the whole lot. You fire a few rounds with your authentic reproduction Springfield or Enfield rifle musket, you get black powder all over your face, you sweat a lot in your authentically heavy uniform, you get ``shot,'' you fall down and lie there a while, then you get up and go home.

And these re-enactments give thousands of spectators a chance to see and understand, to some extent at least, what a particular battle was all about.

``Live it, learn it'' is the theme of this year's big one, the re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam, known to Confederates as the Battle of Sharpsburg. This battle was fought on the outskirts of the village of Sharpsburg, along Antietam Creek, in western Maryland on Sept. 17, 1862 - 135 years ago.

It remains today the bloodiest single day in American history. Nearly 21,000 Americans fell that day.

Many Civil War battles have double names. Long ago, Confederate general D.H. Hill offered this explanation:

``It is the unusual that impressed,'' he wrote. ``The troops of the North came mainly from cities, towns and villages and were, therefore, impressed by natural objects near the scene of the conflict and named the battle for it. The soldiers from the South were chiefly from the country and were, therefore, impressed by some artificial object near the field of action. In one section the naming has been after the handiwork of God; in the other section it has been after the handiwork of man.''

The re-enactment will be staged Sept. 12-14 on a farm just south of Hagerstown, Md., a few miles from the actual site. The battlefield is a National Park, and re-enactments are not allowed on the hallowed grounds. Could be an educational weekend trip.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 re-enactors are expected to participate and attract as many as 50,000 spectators during the three days.

From 75 to 100 cannon, the largest massing of guns since the filming of the TV epic ``Gettysburg,'' will assemble and fire in line Friday morning to begin the commemoration.

Among the re-enactors will be ``Gettysburg'' actors Patrick Gorman and Pat Falci, who portrayed Confederate generals John B. Hood and A.P. Hill respectively. Both Hood and Hill played critical roles in the original battle.

Three phases of the original battle will be re-fought Saturday and Sunday. A.P. Hill's attack against the Federals crossing Burnside's Bridge will be staged at 3 p.m. Saturday. At 5:30 a.m. Sunday the vicious fight in the Cornfield will take place, and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday the struggle for the Sunken Road (``Bloody Lane'') will be re-enacted.

For advance tickets or more information, call (888) 248-4597, toll free. Prices for adults are $8 per day or $13 for three days, for students $4.50 or $8. At the gate tickets will be $9 and $6 per day. Hagerstown is less than an hour's drive northwest of Washington via I-270. CIVIL WAR, THE PREQUEL

The final battle of the English Civil War, the 1651 Battle of Worcester (pronounced WOOS-ter), will be re-enacted Sept. 6 and 7 at the Museum of American Frontier Culture in Staunton. More than 600 re-enactors are expected, about 300 of them from England.

Why that war? Why here?

It's part of the 12th annual traditional heritage festival at the museum that portrays pre-immigration life in Europe and American farm culture to the mid-1800s.

A lot of Scots and Scotch-Irish settled in the Shenandoah Valley. The battle celebrates Scottish heritage is the battle theme because of the thousands of Scottish soldiers who lost their lives, their freedom and their homeland as a result of this battle.

The history in a capsule: King Charles I had his head chopped off in 1649. In 1651, his son, the future King Charles II was crowned king of Scotland. He raised a Scottish army and invaded England with 16,000 men. Oliver Cromwell met him with 28,000 at Worcester. The ensuing battle left 3,000 Scots dead and another 10,000 captured; only 1,000 made it back to their homeland.

Scottish prisoners who did not die from disease were sold to the American colonies, including Virginia.

Festival hours are 9-5 each day. Re-enactments will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for children 6-12. To get there, take I-64 west to its intersection with I-81, turn north and take Staunton exit 222 to U.S. 250 west; then follow signs to the museum. It is about 3:30 from South Hampton Roads. Info: (800) 332-5219. OTHER sEPTEMBER EVENTS

Sept. 6 - Fall canoe trip on the James River from Buffalo Station to Wingina in Nelson County. Bring your own and pay a $15 registration fee, which includes one lunch, guide booklet and shuttle service; rent a canoe for another $40. You must register by this Tuesday. Info: (804) 263-5239.

Sept. 6-7 - The 29th annual Fincastle Festival, an old-fashioned fair in the several streets of this near little, sort of English-like village. Beautiful country. It's southwest of Lexington, north of Roanoke, just a few miles off I-81. Info: (540) 473-3077.

Sept. 13-14 - First-ever Crafts Fair at Mount Vernon, George Washington's Potomac River home south of Alexandria. Hours 9-5 each day. All the fair's activities are included in the estate's regular admission price. Info: (703) 780-2000. (For getting to Mount Vernon by boat, see below.)

Sept. 20 - The Westover Church Autumn Plantation Tour includes more than a dozen stately private homes, some contemporary, some historic, including six that have never been open to the public. Info: (804) 750-1211.

Sept. 27-28 - Occoquan's huge Fall Arts & Crafts Show includes more than 350 artists and craftspeople. The little riverside village is just off I-95, less than a half-hour south of the Washington Beltway. Info: (703) 491-2168.Mount Vernon via river

In the 18th century, guests of George Washington often arrived at his Virginia estate by boat via the Potomac River. Today, visitors to Mount Vernon may also travel by water from Washington and Alexandria. Here are two ways:

Spirit Cruise has half-day trips to Mount Vernon aboard the 350-passenger Potomac Spirit. It departs from Pier Four at Sixth and Water streets in downtown Washington Tuesday through Sunday at 9 a.m., March to October. The excursion includes a 2 1/2-hour visit to Mount Vernon; the boat arrives back in Washington about 2:15 p.m. Price: $23.50 including admission to Mount Vernon. Reservations accepted. Info: (202) 554-8000.

The Potomac Riverboat Company has excursions to Mount Vernon from Old Town Alexandria aboard the Matthew Hayes, a 149-passenger open-air boat. Through Labor Day, departures are Tuesday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. from the docks adjacent to the Torpedo Factory Art Gallery. The return leaves Mount Vernon at 12:30, 3 and 5 p.m. Price: $22 including admission to Mount Vernon. Reservations accepted. Info: (703) 684-0580. REMEMBER, SEND A CARD

Moscow - remember Moscow, capital of the failed Evil Empire? - has been dolling itself up for a party. The city will mark the 850th anniversary of its founding with a celebration Sept. 5-7 that will include a concert by Luciano Pavarotti in Red Square, an outdoor multimedia extravaganza by the French performer-composer Jean-Michel Jarre, a commissioned work by the Bolshoi Ballet and a parade, of course. Always a parade. But this time the emphasis won't be on rattling sabres. What a welcome change.

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