(Catholic Herald photo/Brian Payne)
When Fr. Bruce Hennington attended St. Lawrence Seminary — a high school seminary located in Mt. Calvary, Wis. — he got interested in history, especially in the Civil War.
“I read anything I could get my hands on,” said the now retired Diocese of Madison priest. “Fifty years later, I joined up!”
What he means is that Father Hennington is a Civil War reenactor. He has been traveling the country for the past four years in his RV, taking part in Civil War reenactments not only in his home state of Wisconsin, but also in such states as Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Texas, and Arizona.
In fact, he plans his RV travels to coincide with Civil War reenactments.
How he got started
When he retired from parish work in 2010, Father Hennington said someone suggested that he attend the Civil War reenactment held each year in Boscobel, Wis.
“So I went as a spectator,” he recalled. “I met some people involved with the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which spent most of the Civil War as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War.”
Called “Muskets and Memories,” the Civil War reenactment in Boscobel has become one of the largest and most popular Civil War Era reenactments in the upper Midwest, attracting nearly 1,000 participants and over 8,000 spectators each year in early August. This year’s reenactment was the 22nd annual event.
When Father Hennington went to the reenactment in Boscobel in 2010, he didn’t intend to get involved. However, by the final day on Sunday, he was “hooked up” with the Second Wisconsin as a chaplain. “It was so fascinating,” he said of the reenactment.
Taking role of chaplain
“They had a chaplain before, but he had died. Nobody had replaced him,” said Father Hennington. He took the position and went with the regiment to another reenactment event at Old World Wisconsin in Eagle that year.
Experience at Gettysburg
Fr. Bruce Hennington especially enjoyed being at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg reenacted in 2013.
“There were seven days of reenacting. I spent three days with the 17th Corp Hospital unit and four days with the Second Wisconsin. The Second Wisconsin fought on the first day at Gettysburg. There were 150 federals and 100 Confederates in the reenactment, and I was chosen to be chaplain for the federals.
“That was an awesome experience. We reenacted the battle on almost the exact spot where it really happened,” he said.
In the Civil War, the Second Wisconsin Regiment went into service in June of 1861 and was mustered out in November of 1864. A few of the soldiers reenlisted with the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment, serving until the Civil War ended in 1865.
The rest is history, as they say.
He has returned to Boscobel every year since and has expanded his reenactment experience to other parts of the country. He always reenacts as a chaplain, specifically as a priest.
“I started doing research on chaplains in the Civil War and found all the chaplains listed for the Wisconsin units,” he said.
A name he recognized
One of the chaplains on the list was Fr. George Riordan. “I knew that name,” said Father Hennington. “My first assignment as a priest was at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison, and I remembered that priest. I contacted the archivist in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and she sent me the information on the priest chaplains from Wisconsin.
“Sure enough, it was the same guy. Father Riordan had been an associate and then pastor for one year at St. Raphael Parish in Madison in the mid-1850s. When St. Raphael Church was dedicated, he preached the sermon.”
Father Hennington found out that Father Riordan was born in Ireland and ordained in Boston, Mass. His first assignment was at St. Raphael Parish in Madison. He served as a chaplain in the Civil War and then moved to St. Thomas Parish in Beloit, Wis. He died in 1868.
“Since he died within three years of the ending of the Civil War, his death would have been considered a casualty of the war,” said Father Hennington, who hasn’t discovered any details of Father Riordan’s death.
Although Father Hennington doesn’t do a “first person impression” of Father Riordan, he does dress and act similar to what a chaplain like Father Riordan would have in the Civil War.
Roles of chaplains in Civil War
What did chaplains in the Civil War do? In his research, Father Hennington has discovered that they did much more than provide religious services. He found that the chaplains were considered members of the commander’s staff. Among their duties were:
•To promote the good morale of the troops. “They saw to the sufficiency of food and the quality of life in the camp,” said Father Hennington. “Camps were gruesome in the Civil War. The chaplains would make sure that the troops were paid regularly and would ensure that mail was delivered.”
• To promote good morals of the troops. The chaplain would conduct a preached service in the camp every Sunday to last no more than 20 minutes, “so as not to interfere with scheduled drills,” noted Father Hennington. “Sunday was not a free day in camp.”
There was only one chaplain in a regiment, so the chaplain served everyone of all denominations. However, the chaplain could do a ritual service in his own denomination. “That still applies to chaplaincy today,” said Father Hennington. “I do a Catholic Mass for Catholics, but a preached service for others.”
The chaplains also had printed religious tracts/devotionals which they handed out in the camp to provide spiritual reading and entertainment for the troops. “They would sit around the campfire and read the tracts,” said Father Hennington. “I print my own and hand them out. They include stories and prayers, some of them specifically Catholic in nature.”
• To lead classes for the troops. Chaplains would often hold classes in reading, writing, and arithmetic for the troops. Since many of them couldn’t read or write, chaplains would also handle letters from home. Chaplains were often responsible for notifying families of the death of soldiers.
• To tend to the wounded and dying. Chaplains would pray with the wounded and conduct funerals. Father Hennington discovered that wealthier soldiers would buy insurance and wear a copper tag, which offered embalming and shipping services to send bodies home.
‘Family-friendly’ reenactment
Father Hennington has found his experience very enriching. “I have met so many fascinating, gregarious people. Our unit is ‘family-friendly,’ so many families travel with the reenactors.”
The priest actually celebrates Mass. He carries with him a field altar, vestments, and everything he needs. “I don’t do a period Mass. Some priests do a Mass in Latin exactly like it was celebrated in the Civil War. I use the current sacramentary.”
However, he said all the reenactments are “period correct,” which means that modern watches are put away and cell phones are turned off. People cook over open wood fires, and all try to be “as authentic as you can be,” he said.
“We try to recreate what life was like in the Civil War. The public comes to watch, so it is a real learning experience.”
For Fr. Bruce Hennington, it has made his retirement years come alive in ways he never imagined.