Kevin Spradlin
CUMBERLAND — Crossing the border from Toronto, Canada to Cumberland this weekend, Daniela Azeroual and David Mulders knew they would be changing countries.
They had no idea they’d be jumping back nearly 150 years through time. That’s about what happened, though, as the pair toured the Western Maryland Railway Station and happened upon the Civil War encampment of Company B, Third Maryland Infantry Regiment. Some 30 volunteer re-enactors pitched tents, donned 1860s-style clothing and uniforms and chatted with passersby.
The re-enactors maintained the camp until 5 p.m. Sunday. Visitors watched soldiers drill, fire their replica rifles, conduct mail calls, perform guard duty and listen to period music.
“I’m about stunned,” Azeroual said of the encampment. “I’ve never seen anything like this. You guys love your history.”
Azeroual was wowed by the re-enactors who donned period uniforms, wool and all. Mulders was captivated by the pitched wedge, A-frame tents that took him back to when he was young.
“That’s the kind of technology we had,” Mulders said of his days camping as a Boy Scout.
For Newtown, Conn., resident Jose Rosa, his visit to downtown Cumberland on Saturday was with kindred spirits. He stumbled upon the encampment while his daughter, Jacques Rosa, and her friends prepared for a bicycle journey to Washington. Rosa, a sergeant in his home state’s Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, had to take a moment to review the troops.
Rosa called it an honor to come across his comrades. Rosa’s unit, 201 years old, is one of only four remaining militia units in Connecticut. He said until President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, the four units had participated in every presidential swearing-in since 1808. The units were invited this year, he said, but the governor’s budget cuts prevented unit members from attending.
Despite her familiarity with such camps, one woman was surprised at how loud the rifle shots were.
“That always gets me,” said a spectator of a weapons demonstration.
For more information on Company B, Third Maryland Infantry Regiment re-enactors, visit . www.thirdmd.com.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.
