The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War Sutton Performance

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) were a welcome and major addition to Sutton's 2012 Dugout Days celebration. We thank the men and women who came to Sutton, camped for two nights and gave us a look at the sights of Civil War units.

Confederate Cavalry officer putting his steed through its paces at the Sutton Civil War Reeneactment

A Civil War reenactment was held in Sutton during Dugout Days on June 30th and July 1. We had a small group of gents and gals and they put on two fine little shows. 


We had small units representing Union and Confederate infantry plus seven Confederate cavalry troops from Missouri led by this officer, with a Sutton connection.

The band of Union infantry marching towards the field of battle.

A couple of our local scouts joined the camp and participated in the action.


The Chamber of Commerce and several Sutton folks contributed (straw, food, water, etc.) to help make the visit go smoothly.


During the preparations for the event the story of Sutton's local hero, Orion P. Howe came up prompting the reenactment planners to include a piece of that story in the action of the battle. Howe's story took place at the Battle of Vicksburg and the general flow of the reenactment followed the  action of that battle.

Howe starts his ammo run under fire.

The incident at the Battle of Vicksburg that earned Howe his Medal of Honor involved his successful run through confederate lines to tell General Sherman that the 55th Illinois Infantry was trapped and running out of ammunition. 

The little piece of that story in the action by the reenactment group was a touch of class for the local crowd.,

The crowds both days enjoyed the performance. The Saturday afternoon actions were especially enjoyable as a solid could cover held temperatures down after days of serious heat.

A bit of smoke and mayhem as the cavalry pins down a couple of infantry troops.

The event illustrated to the Sutton folks that these men have taken a hobby to a very serious level. The realism of the uniforms and the equipment have a certain beauty that emphasizes and connects the spectator to the soldiers of 150 years ago.

A big part of the SUVCW mission is to identify and document the graves of Civil War veterans and the monument throughout the country that have been erected to the memory of the Civil War. At noon on Saturday a small group of SUVCW members met at the Civil War monument at the west side of Sutton's City Park to perform a solemn ceremony dedicating the monument.

This band the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War were impressive in their quiet, private celebration of Sutton's monument to the Civil War Veterans.

A single honor guard and the Sutton monument.