A Civil War conflict in Alabama that proved vital in the Union victory at Chickamauga, Ga., will be re-enacted this weekend. The 16th annual Siege at Bridgeport will include not only battle re-enactments each day but live mortar and anvil shoots.
According to historical accounts, the conflicts fought at and near Bridgeport in 1862 were rightly called sieges rather than battles because of the small number of troops involved.
During the early part of the war, the Confederacy controlled Bridgeport and its railroad bridge across the Tennessee River, which connected Alabama to Chattanooga and points north and south.
Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, occupying Huntsville after the Battle of Shiloh, seized Bridgeport in April 1862 and held it until August. The Union recaptured the town in July 1863 as Gen. William Rosecrans took Chattanooga. As the terminus of the railway from Nashville, Bridgeport became a key base of operations in the Union victory at Chickamauga and lifting of the siege of Chattanooga.
The re-enactment is on one of the original sites in Jackson County, on County Road 255 off Highway 72, just outside Bridgeport (directions will be posted).
Gate admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children. All profits go toward preservation of local history.
For information, visit www.siegeatbridgeport.com.
Siege at Bridgeport 2010 schedule
(All times are Central)
Saturday
* 10 a.m. Camp opens to public
* 10:30 a.m. Lades tea (big tent)
* 12:30 p.m. Mortar shoot
* 1 p.m. Anvil shooting
* 2 p.m. Siege at Bridgeport re-enactment
* 4 p.m. Camp closes to public
Sunday
* 8:45 a.m. Church service
* 10 a.m. Camp opens to public
* Noon. Cemetery ceremony
* 12:30 p.m. Mortar shoot
* 1 p.m. Anvil shoot
* 2 p.m. Siege at Bridgeport re-enactment
* 7 p.m. Camp closes to public