The Civil War is coming to Piatt County July 7

[June 30, 2012]  BEMENT -- Civil War military camp life and a firing demonstration will be featured at Bryant Cottage State Historic Site in Bement on July 7 from noon to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

"The Troops Are Coming" commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and features an authentic military camp where guests can visit with the soldiers and learn more about their life "away from home." The soldiers will perform a firing demonstration, military drills and a "tableau vivante," or living picture. Members of the Soldiers' Aid Society and the114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry will participate in the event. Gene Schnierle will present "The Rest of the Story" in the adjacent Bryant House at 12:30 p.m.

The event will be on the Bryant Cottage lawn, and visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Bryant Cottage State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is the 1856 home of early Bement businessman Francis E. Bryant, a friend of both Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. It is located at 146 E. Wilson St. and is open Thursday through Sunday for free public tours. More information is available at http://www.bement.com/about-bement/
parks-recreation-historical-tours/
bryant-cottage-historic-site.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]