Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park

Bristow, VA ~ The official commemoration of the Battle of Bristoe was officially inaugurated on October 12, 2007 and followed by activities in the weekend. The commemoration attracted about 300-400 visitors from far and near. Exhibits were on hand to showcase the public what a soldier might have endured during the battle of Bristoe in October 14, 1863.

Some of the exhibits showcased visitors a make shift hospital on how Confederate soldiers were treated for major wounds, on-the-fly surgery, and view of a fenced marked grave site. It is interesting to note soldiers back then who were shot in the chest were not operated and were given instead ample dosage of morphine to alleviate the pain. In some cases soldiers who experienced far severed wounds were either amputated or left to die. It is indeed a gruesome reminder that war however what the cause may have been can leave both men and landscape destitute; destitute in a sense that land was stripped and decimated of the natural resources to accommodate soldiers on both sides to fend for themselves. Trees were cut down to a point not a single branch stood to protect the soldiers from extreme heat and cold during these war campaigns. In the end, both sides suffered unimaginable lost. Among the out of town visitors were the 1st Minnesota re-enactors Confederates who probably camped on the very same spot 144 years ago. The re-enactors were more than willing to share and answer questions from the general public regarding how camp life might have been. Their diet mainly consisted of salted pork, unleavened bread which was the staple among soldiers and other provisions common at that time.

Date Published: 2007-10-17 06:00:00

Section: Local News,