Encampment event preceded by Friday lecture
From staff reports
Beaufort History Museum once again welcomes the 79th New York Highlander Regiment re-enactors to the Beaufort Arsenal courtyard for a living history encampment event from 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4.
The re-enactors will set up camp in the walled courtyard and provide a unique educational opportunity for visitors of all ages, who will be able to interact with the soldiers to learn firsthand how life was lived in Beaufort during the Civil War years.
Here’s what you can expect.
- Historical re-enactors in full military regalia;
- Civil War era camp experience life through live presentations;
- Educational discussions and interactive activities for the whole family; and
- Drills and marching throughout the day
Admission is free to the Encampment in the Arsenal courtyard, though donations to support the Museum are much appreciated. On the day of the event, admission to the Museum’s Exhibition Hall on the second floor of the Arsenal will be specially priced at $5 per visitor. Museum members, children, and active military and their families are admitted to the Museum free of charge at all times.
In preparation for Saturday’s Encampment event, there will be a lecture entitled “History of the New York Highlanders” from 2 to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 3 in the Beaufort Downtown Library Meeting Room.
Tom Vaselopulos, of the 79th N.Y. Highlander Re-enactors, will present a brief history of the Highlanders and their role as part of the Union Port Royal Expedition from November 1861 to June 1862. A brief look at some of the military operations and how the Highlanders spent their time in Beaufort will be the focus of his talk.
Vaselopulos is the only native New Yorker in a New York re-enacting unit and has been reenacting for more than 15 years as part of H Company, 79th N.Y. Volunteer Infantry. Currently serving as a Captain, he is the Aide-de-Camp to the commander, and is also the recruiting officer and the Provost Marshal for the unit.
Retired from a 20-year career as a U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard Security Police Supervisor, Vaselopulos served in the first Gulf War. He also worked as a security contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy for Safeguards, Security and Emergency Services issues, working at several national security sites before retiring at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The highlight of his career was teaching a security course for his Russian counterparts at the Karchatov Institute in Moscow.
