History comes alive with Civil War battle reenacted on the Muskingum River

ZANESVILLE, OH- The Lorena Sternwheeler Civil War Reenactment and Encampment on the Mighty Muskingum River thrilled participants throughout the day, offering a unique blend of history and adventure.

This annual event allowed attendees to witness a dramatic Civil War battle while floating along the Muskingum River. Registration was required to secure a spot on this popular voyage.

“I started doing it with me and my son, my whole family got involved, it’s kind of addicting, it turns into a large family affair, all these reenactors you see out here, we’re all much more than friends, we’re all family and that goes for both sides, the blue and the grey, we go to all these different events together, we eat together, we have our battles, we fight, it’s just a really good time,” said Captain Mager Erlenwein.

The experience extended beyond the boat, as participants also visited the Civil War Encampment.

“We sleep in the tents, everybody doesn’t believe that, we’ve been asked what do you do in a thunder storm, we go to bed, if we get to bed we get up in the morning early, we do our chores just like any other camping like trip or military maneuver, we have to feed everybody so breakfast has to get done, after breakfast you have to clean everything up, you have to get your uniform ready, you have to get the rounds ready, the canons ready, the guns ready, so there’s a lot of stuff we do ahead of time, and then pretty much like the military we stand around and wait, and then when the show gets started we forget about everything and we get transported back to 1863,” said Erlenwein.

For those who missed this year’s event, the organizers encourage keeping an eye on the Visit Zanesville website for next year’s reenactment.