 The members of the 114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry
(Reactivated) will re-enact the activities surrounding the
recruiting, enlisting and training of men in the new Union infantry
regiment formed in Sangamon County in 1862. Some of the activities
will be open to public participation by adults and children,
including enlistment and drilling. Other activities during the day
will include physical exams of the recruits, issuance of uniforms
and weapons, and firing demonstrations.In addition to the
military activities, the
Soldiers' Aid Society will have activities
during the day, similar to what women did in 1862 to support their
men in the service. The society members will be in the Old State
Capitol Senate Chamber sewing, knitting, quilting and rolling
bandages. Visitors may assist with some of these activities. At 2
and 2:30 p.m. the Soldiers' Aid Society will present "tableaux vivants," popular amateur theatrical presentations of the Civil War
period, on the south steps of the Old State Capitol.
At the end of the day, at 4 p.m., the ladies will present the
departing 114th Regiment their national and regimental colors as was
done for some Union regiments 150 years ago.
President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 100,000 new recruits
for the Union Army in the summer of 1862. Men from Cass, Menard and
Sangamon counties answered the call to form the 114th Regiment
Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
The current 114th Regiment, reactivated in 1969, is well-known
for its participation in numerous period re-enactments, including
the popular flag retreat ceremony each summer at the Lincoln Tomb.
"A Call to Arms" is being held during the 11th annual
International Route 66 Mother Road Festival and Car Show.
The
Old State Capitol State Historic Site is administered by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
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 The following is a detailed schedule of the day's activities:
"A Call to Arms"
Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Old State Capitol
-
9 a.m. --
Recruiting speeches
-
9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
-- Soldiers' Aid Society activities, Senate Chamber
(Limited public participation)
-
10 a.m. --
Enlistment and physical exams
(Limited public participation)
-
11 a.m. -- Issuing
of new uniforms, School of the Soldier
(Public participation)
-
Firing
demonstrations
-
1 p.m. -- Issuing
of new weapons and drill
(Limited public participation)
-
2 and 2:30 p.m. --
Tableaux vivants by Soldiers' Aid Society, south steps
-
3 p.m. -- Drill
and firing demonstrations
-
4 p.m. -- Presentation of colors to the
regiment by the ladies
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency]
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