|
One of the war's iconic images is of these homes along Hanover Street
Director Scott Eyestone shoots Scott Walker atop Caroline Street's Executive Plaza for a then-and-now scene.
Men in Fredericksburg prepare Union soldiers' bodies Union and Confederate re-enactors depict fighting at Slaughter Pen Farm in Spotsylvania County during a video shoot in February. |
By CLINT SCHEMMER
Local videographers are about to wrap up an ambitious documentary about the event for which this area is arguably best known--the Battle of Fredericksburg.
A six-man team of Fredericksburg-area residents will unveil their 21/2-hour, two-DVD set, the result of more than a year's intensive labor, this fall at the University of Mary Washington's Jepson Alumni Center.
But those who've seen the edited footage are impressed by the accuracy, professionalism and narrative power of the "Civil War Fredericksburg--Then and Now" production.
"This video is a wonderful--and unusual--expression of grass-roots support for preservation," John Hennessy, chief historian of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, said yesterday. "Most people write letters, yell loudly or wave their arms, but the Fredericksburg Civil War Round Table has elevated public advocacy for preservation to a cinematic art."
The DVD is a joint undertaking of the Fredericksburg CWRT, one of America's oldest round tables, and the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. Proceeds from it will go directly toward preserving battlefield land in the area; CVBT has helped save more than 800 acres to date.
"With all the loss of hallowed ground in our area, CVBT hopes this video sparks awareness of the importance of acting act now to save our history," trust spokesman Thomas Van Winkle said.
A second portion of the proceeds will be donated to UMW's Department of Historic Preservation.
"The Round Table's project is well-conceived and very nicely executed," Fredericksburg tourism director Karen Hedelt said yesterday. "I like that it presents information in a less-traditional format, and that we'll have it ready to go as we approach the Civil War sesquicentennial."
The documentary, with five half-hour segments, is designed to be used by educators, visitors to the area, and the nation's Civil War round tables--private discussion groups that hold regular programs on leaders, battles and issues of America's bloodiest conflict. Each segment would make an ideal program or the basis for a classroom lesson, one building upon the next, said associate producer Bill Huber.
Huber, a retired Prince William County educator who lives in Fredericksburg, came up with the initial idea in the winter of 2007-08. But he had in mind something smaller in scope, a CD of high-resolution Civil War-era photographs of the Fredericksburg area, with musical accompaniment, that could be used by groups and teachers across the country.
But once he began working with Round Table member Scott Eyestone, a Stafford County resident who has been shooting commercial videos since the 1980s, that seed blossomed into something much larger.
"We thought, if we're going to tell story of the battle, we need to get beyond just Robert E. Lee vs. Ambrose Burnside," Huber said. "We need to bring it down to a personal level, for people who aren't Civil War buffs, as well as appeal to people who had an ancestor in the war and might want to visit here and walk in their footsteps."
And when Huber and Eyestone saw an audiovisual presentation by Round Table member Scott Walker, they decided the production needed an on-screen host. They figured Walker, a Fredericksburg historian and tour-business owner, was perfect for the role, and recruited him.
Scenes include Spotsylvania County's Slaughter Pen Farm, where hand-to-hand fighting and a Union break-through occurred in the Battle of Fredericksburg; streetscapes and rooftop panoramas of Old Town Fredericksburg; aerial videography of the Fredericksburg battlefield's famous Sunken Road; and artillery demonstrations by the gun crew at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Two Virginia-based re-enactment units, the 47th Virginia Regiment and the 28th Massachusetts Regiment, re-created action at the Slaughter Pen for the documentary.
"From a director's point of view, you worry about being able to get 35 to 40 people to do what you want done in a scene, having everyone in the right spots," Eyestone said of the Slaughter Pen shoot.
"But that's not a problem when you're dealing with military organizations. So shooting these scenes turned out to be an absolute pleasure, one of the high points of the filmmaking."
The high-definition DVD, available in October, will include five sections:
A battle overview, reviewing the political situation prior to the December 1862 battle and telling the story of the battle from a military perspective.
A 'then-and-now' tour of the battlefield area, comparing period photographs to sites' current appearances from the same camera angles.
A video sharing the experiences of Battle of Fredericksburg veterans through the mind's eye of four of their descendants, at the sites where wartime events happened.
Preservation challenges, describing current issues and successes in Fredericksburg-area battlefield preservation.
Helpful tips on planning a trip to the area.
The Round Table and CVBT are seeking contributions to help fund the $30,000 cost of full-scale reproduction of the DVD.
cvbt.org/cvbt_fcwrt_dvd.html civilwarroundtablefredericksburg .com
Clint Schemmer: 540/368-5029
Email: cschemmer@freelancestar.com
|
To buy a DVD or aid battlefield preservation, call 540/907-0527, e-mail comdir@cvbt.com or write Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Box 3417, Fredericksburg, Va. 22402. To sponsor DVD reproduction costs, call Frederic N. Howe III at 540/604-5877.
|
