Students Experience the Civil War at Historic Cold Spring Village

CAPE MAY — With the crack of a rifle firing and the smell of a coffeepot boiling on a campfire, over 400 students experienced the Civil War in a way that brought history off a printed page and before their eyes on Sept. 13. As part of Civil War Weekend at Historic Cold Spring Village, students from Wildwood Middle School, Dennis Township Elementary School, Joy Miller Elementary School of Egg Harbor Township and West Cape May Elementary School watched reenactors explain life as experienced by Confederate and Union soldier.
Weapons were of particular interest to the students. Bill Yeager, portraying a Confederate ordnance sergeant, explained bayonets and the loading of an 1861 Springfield rifle. He told students only one-half of one percent of causalities in the Civil War came from a bayonets, swords or knives.
Reenactor John Murphy, also known as First Sgt. Nubbs of the 17th Virginia Company, due to missing fingers, explained backpacks and bedrolls and other equipment of the foot soldier. He has been participating in Civil War weekend for 20 years.
Murphy showed the impracticality of pistols due to their weight and difficulty in loading.
“I explain how the victor always writes history from their perspective,” he said.
Dennis Township Elementary School teacher Rick Champion said students were able to see the uniforms and weaponry of the Civil War soldiers and how they lived.
“I think it actually gives them an understanding of how difficult things were but not really how primitive the weapons were because they made us understand that these weapons were very deadly,” he said.
Wildwood Middle School eighth grader Justin Smith said he was interested in the equipment carried by soldiers, in particular canteens that also served as plates. Fellow student J. D. Cammarano said he liked watching a rifle being fired.
Reenactor Marty Runner, portraying an ordnance sergeant from a Confederate regiment, explained how musket rifles evolved from the Napoleonic era and how it changed the war.
Ray Hugg, portraying a sergeant with the 18th Virginia Company K, said despite being from Barnegat, he had ancestors that fought with the Confederate Army. He said his research indicated the vast majority of Southerners did not own slaves but were fighting because their homeland was being invaded.
“They saw it as the second American Revolution,” said Hugg.
Historic Cold Spring Village Education Director Jim Stephens said the event makes an impact on students, allowing them to see reenactors in uniform and firing weapons. Stephens, who was wearing a tall top hat, said his garb represented a 1820s-1830s Cape May County yeoman whaler, gentlemen farmer.
Joy Miller Elementary School teacher Cheryl Cottelli said fifth graders in her school take a lot of information back to their school to create an annual Civil War living museum.
Historic Cold Spring Village Executive Director Anne Salvatore said students have been visiting the Civil War weekend school day for 20 years. She said she hopes students understand they all have come from a place similar to the village whether it was in Europe, South America or elsewhere.
“They all have small villages and in the 1800s most everyone lived like this,” said Salvatore.
Historic Cold Spring Village has 30 acres of shaded lanes, gardens, a farm and 26 restored historic buildings housing historically-clothed interpreters.
Historic Cold Spring Village is a non-profit, open-air living history museum that portrays the daily life of a rural South Jersey community of the Early American period. It features 26 restored historic structures on a 30-acre site. From late June to early September, interpreters and artisans in period clothing preserve the trades, crafts and heritage of “the age of homespun.” Fun and educational activities for children are featured Tuesday through Sunday, with special events every weekend through mid-September.
Historic Cold Spring Village is located on Route 9, three miles north of Victorian Cape May and four miles south of Rio Grande (Exit 4 of the Garden State Parkway). Admission during the season is $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with Village membership. As a member of the national Blue Star Museums program, Historic Cold Spring Village is proud to offer free admission to active duty military personnel and up to 5 family members. The Village Nature Trail at Bradner’s Run is open to the public for free self-guided tours. Visit the Country Store, Needle Arts Coop, Bakery, Ice Cream Parlor and Cold Spring Grange Restaurant.
For more information on events, membership, volunteering, or booking private affairs, please call (609) 898-2300, ext. 10, or visit the Village website at www.hcsv.org.