Video: Commemorating The Battles Held At Iuka And Farmington

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IUKA, Miss. (WCBI) — It’s been 152 years since Union and Confederate soldiers fought bloody battles at Iuka and Farmington in Northeast Mississippi. Those campaigns were part of the struggle for control over the key transportation routes along Corinth and Shiloh. But as WCBI’s Alyssa Martin tells us, it might as well have been yesterday as hundreds of re-enactors and visitors converge on the scenes for three days of re-enactments and more importantly, education.

Civil War music, cannons and carriage rides are just a few things students enjoyed during Education Day at the Battle of Iuka and Farmington. Held just a few miles from the actual battlefield, visitors got a feel for what life was like in 1862.

“It’s just an opportunity to let them see what happened in their community 152 years ago,” said organizer, Harold Lomenick.

One of this year’s featured re-enactors travels through Mississippi teaching students about the Civil War era.

He says it is important to educate students in history so they will have a new appreciation of their community.

“If you don’t know history, you’re destined to repeat the mistakes of the past and I think it’s very important for kids to know a little about the history and where they came from and also helps them to realize the advantages they have today that our ancestors did not have,” said music historian, Pat Arinder.

The Battle of Iuka resulted in a victory for the Union and the Confederate States lost more than 1,000 troops in only a matter of minutes.

“We’re not here to do anything except try and portray a good impression of the solders that fought. We’re not here to take sides one way or another or say who was right or who was wrong, just to try and give them an accurate portrayal of what occurred in this area 150 years ago,” said re-enactor, David Lindley.
More than 1,000 students were at the Education Day.

The schedule of events throughout the week is as follows:

On the schedule:

• Friday, 6 p.m.: A “Meet and Greet the Generals” fundraiser for the Old Courthouse Museum, featuring a photo-op with re-enactors of several generals for a small donation, Dr. Ben Earl Kitchens autographing his latest book about Gov. John Marshall Stone and Fielding Tyler autographing his book on General Henry Little, with all proceeds from both books going to the museum. Musical entertainment will be provided by Lost Cause.

• Friday, 7:30 p.m.: A Grand Illumination will be held around the Old Tishomingo County Courthouse Museum and Iuka Mineral Springs Park.

• Saturday, 9:30 a.m.: A Civil War parade with Civil War re-enactors parading through downtown Iuka.

• Saturday, 11 a.m.: Tribute to the 175th Anniversary of the Trail of Tears, a federal government policy that forced Native Americans to leave their homelands in 1838-39 and walk thousands of miles to Oklahoma to designated “Indian territory.” A four-cannon salute will be fired at Eastport and heard across the Tennessee River at Waterloo, Alabama, where participants in the town’s “River Walk” will be honoring the memory of those who died on the Trail of Tears.

• Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Historic Trolley Tours begin hourly and include a 45-minute ride aboard an air-conditioned trolley with a tour guide sharing 150 years of Iuka’s history.

• Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Battle of Iuka re-enactment.

• Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: Grand Ball at the Kitchens Barn to meet and greet the generals and enjoy an evening of dancing and entertainment.

• Sunday, 8 a.m.: Memorial Service at Shady Grove Cemetery, site of a mass grave of unknown Civil War Confederate soldiers.

• Sunday, 10:30 a.m.: Cannon salute and commemoration of the Trail of Tears.

• Sunday, 11-11:30 a.m.: Church service at the battlefield site.

• Sunday, 1 p.m.: Battle of Farmington re-enactment.