Cannons and muskets will ring out in Clinton again this weekend, looking back to the days surrounding the Civil War.
War Days will take place in Clinton April 30 and May 1. Gates will open at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The reenactment of the Battle of Sunshine Church and the Battle of Griswoldville will begin at 2:05 each day.
As is tradition, Saturday’s program will conclude at 8:05 p.m. with the 16th Georgia, Company G, Jackson Rifles, CSA conducting a memorial service in the Clinton Methodist Church Cemetery to honor Clinton’s Confederate dead.
The battles of Sunshine Church and Griswoldville took place in 1864 as a result of Sherman’s March to the Sea.
War Days began as part of a spring celebration in 1982 with a few re-enactors being invited as almost an afterthought to the festival. The popularity of the re-enactment so enhanced the occasion that War Days emerged as the center of the activity.
The event is sponsored by the Old Clinton Historical Society to raise funds for the revitalization and upkeep of the town.
The McCarthy-Pope House, circa 1809, the oldest existing house in Clinton, will be open for tours. Ladies of the Confederacy will have the house furnished and decorated in the era of the War Between the States.
Miss Annie’s Store will house a display of a wide variety of war relics, a prize-winning exhibit of Griswold pistol parts, a beautifu example of a finished Griswold pistol, a Burnside carbine, other war weapons, and authentic
Confederate currency.
The entire event takes place in the Old Clinton Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Self-guided walking tour information will be available, and guided tours are available by pre-reservation.
Crafts of the era will be demonstrated; ‘modern’ arts and crafts will also be available for purchase and favorites of today as well as food of the period will be served.
The Old Clinton Historic District is located on the outskirts of Gray, 10 miles northeast of Macon, just off US Highway 129. For more information, call 478-251-6745.
