Civil War Encampment brings passion and history to Zanesville

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The Lorena Sternwheeler Reenactment and Encampment brought history and passion to Zanesville this weekend.

Doug Gill from Newark, Ohio has been portraying a confederate surgeon for more than 20 years. As a former school teacher and Navy officer in the Vietnam war, Gill said being a part of Civil War encampments is important and a passion of his.

“It’s not a re-enactment, it’s a living history and that’s why I like to talk to the public about things like this, and that’s why I come down here,” Gill said. “It’s our heritage. It was fought on our land, not like World War I or World War II, this was fought on our land, brother against brother it is very important for our history.”

Gill demonstrates amputations and displays medical instruments to show people what a field hospital was like during wartime and said being surrounded by others with the same passion is one of his favorite parts.

“The camaraderie with the reenactors, it is a very good, tight group and I love to talk to the public, love to demonstrate to the public, and love to portray history,” Gill said, “it is part of history and if you just let history go, no one’s going to remember it.”

Gill said he’s made appearances in movies and television shows to talk about history and next week he will be heading to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where he will camp out on the battlefield with the Society of Civil War Surgeons.