MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This year the American Civil War Association reenactors’ knowledge of the Civil War period is proving more appealing than anticipated. They are overbooked. Some of the schoolkids will have to settle for discount coupons to the Saturday and Sunday event.

Eight ACWA volunteers will come to Middletown a day before the two-day "Windows to the Civil War" event Nov. 3 and 4, sponsored by Gibson Museum.

Stationed at hay-bale classrooms, the reenactors will share their years of study as “instructors” for classes whose teachers have signed them up for the School Day.

Almost twice as many students as can be accommodated have signed on. Time restraints have prevented recruiting additional ACWA volunteers to be instructors. Gibson Museum representatives will instead offer a presentation to the schools that cannot attend.

Students and teachers not included in the school day will also receive discount coupons for themselves and their families to attend the event itself.

“We were unable to pull together the School Day until late in our preparations,” said Voris Brumfield, president of the Friends of Gibson Museum. “So gathering enough personnel to handle over 400 schoolchildren at this late stage was more than we could manage. We need far more volunteers at Gibson for all of our activities.”

Those who utilize the coupons to the event itself will enjoy added attractions, she explained. They will see the contests between the Blue and the Gray with muskets and cannon. There will be opportunities to talk one-on-one with the reenactors and their families between the battle displays.

Throughout the event, visitors can chat with the sutlers – the salespeople who followed troops to sell them food and needed personal supplies – who have immersed themselves in the history of the Civil War for years.

Scheduled speakers and displays will afford even more interesting and entertaining routes to learning about this most critical period in American history.

Dean Enderlin, Commander of the Department of California & Pacific/Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, will speak of California’s role in the war and in particular how it affected Lake County..

Phil Smoley, local realtor with a lifelong interest in the Civil War, will explain the position of the seceding Southern states and their experience with the war.

Carolynn Birilli of the Museums of Lake County will discuss the impact of food supplies and preparation on military, civilian and enslaved populations before, during and after the war.

Brumfield herself will present one of the more popular folk songs of the Civil War era, Goober Peas, and read the Emancipation Proclamation.

On a lighter note, popular local guitarist Don Coffin and fiddler Andi Skelton will open event activities Saturday with some good old-fashioned music, followed by a parade of the Union and Confederate troops in their authentic attire, including colorful Zouave uniforms, at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday evening an old-fashioned Contra Dance on the Middletown Mansion grounds, featuring music by the Cobb Stompers with caller Celia Ramsey, is open to all. It is free, although a $5 donation is recommended to help compensate the caller and musicians.

Informational displays will feature unusual stories about the Civil War that may offer new points of view, even to some of the most involved participants.

The elegant mansion grounds will also host local food vendors and period music each day.

“Interest seems to be especially high this year,” Brumfield remarked. “Perhaps because there is so much about today’s political climate that is reminiscent of the tensions in the antebellum period before the Civil War. Gibson Museum is proud to be able to help our citizens gain from living history.”

This year titled “Windows to the Civil War,” the event will again take place at the Middletown Mansion Event Center, just north of Middletown at 20650 Highway 29. Gates will open at 9 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Advance tickets are available at all three Lake County Museums and online at www.thegibsonmuseum.com.

For further information, see www.friendsofgibson.com or call 707-890-5605.