Historic Jerusalem Mill Village is hosting its 5th Annual Civil War Encampment on the weekend of July 18-20, 2008. The event commemorates CSA Major Harry Gilmor's 1864 raid on McCourtney's Store, one of several restored buildings still located in the village. In July of 1864, a portion of Major Gilmor’s command, the 1st and 2nd Maryland Cavalry, passed through the small settlement, stopping long enough at McCourtney's Store to requisition "vittles" and other supplies, and "liberate" fresh mounts. Gilmor’s men then continued on their way to burn the railroad bridge at Magnolia Station over the Little Gunpowder, where they encountered a company of 100-day Ohio militiamen.

Join us, in the scenic Little Gunpowder Falls State Park for our Civil War Weekend. Each day will be a reenactment of at least one part of "Gilmor's raid," as well as a Civil War "demonstration" battle. Between actions visitors are urged to stroll through the camps and interact with reenactors. A period period band will provide several performances, and Dan Toomey, a local historian and author, will be available to sign and discuss his work, "The Johnson-Gilmor Raid." Refreshments are also available for a nominal charge.

Directions to the site and further information can be found at the Jerusalem Mill website (www.jerusalemmill.org). Select the “Gilmor’s Raid” link for information directly related to this event (note: as of this posting, the website is still to be updated to reflect 2008 dates).

For further information, or if interested in attending, please contact Charles Kibler (cjkibler@comcast.net).

Jerusalem Mill Village, Harford County, Maryland
July 18-20, 2008

I should mention that any/all proceeds from this event gets funneled right back into preservation, care & maintenance of the historic buildings of Jerusalem Mill. There's nary a cent going in anyone's pockets.

Here's a direct link to the Gilmor's Raid event site, which has been recently revamped.  
http://www.jerusalemmill.org/gilmors.htm
The header picture is from 2006 when we had about 35 mounted cavalry there.

This year we're hoping to attract even more (mounted) cavalry -- CS or US.  We also have an historical scenario needing some Federal cavalry we'd like to try, should any like to come.

Please, if interested, email (cjkibler@comcast.net) or PM me.

The most recent America's Civil War magazine had an article about this raid in it.  

Greg,
Thanks for the info. I've not seen that yet, and don't have a sub. to that 'zine, unfortunately. Right now I can only afford one sub, and it's to CWHistorian. I'll try to procure a copy of this. Again, thanks for the heads up.

The 2008 Gilmor's Raid event is not far off -- it will be the weekend of July 19-20.

New happenings for this year include...

Sutlers: The Dirty Back Boys, E.J.Thomas Mercantile, Sullivan Press, and T.N. Harrington (Collodian Artist).

Raffle: We'll be selling tickets (at the registration desk) throughout the event for a raffle, which we'll be drawing for around noon on Sunday. Raffle items include but are not limited to the following:
1] hand-detailed Federal double-bag knapsack (Dirty Back Boys)
2] authentically made CS cap box (E.J.Thomas Mercantile)
3] quarter-plate ferrotype (T.N.Harrington)
4] several music CDs (Camptown Shakers)
5] authentically made US cap box (E.J.Thomas Mercantile)
6] subscrïption to the Civil War News
7] period items from Bob Sullivan Press
8] boxed set of four hardback books, one of which is a nicely bound copy of "Hardtack & Coffee: Soldiers Life in the Civil War" by John Billings.
Winners must be present at the drawing (12:30pm Sunday) to claim their choice of prize. All proceeds go towards the preservation of the historic buildings of Jerusalem Mill Village, so be sure to bring a few spares greenbacks for your chance at some of these fine prizes.

Period Ball Game: On Saturday afternoon, from about 12:30 'til 2pm, the village will be witness to a period "rounders" game, when the "professionals" of the Chesapeake & Potomac Baseball Club will take on a specially selected "Blue & Gray" team, chosen among attending re-enactors. If you are interested in participating in this activity, I encourage you to "put your name in the hat" at registration. Anticipating a potentially large number of re-enactors desirous of playing in this game, we will randomly select an appropriate number of players.

Tactical Battle: On Saturday evening the wooded hills and grassy fields lining the Little Gunpowder Falls will roll with gunpowder & gunfire as we "let loose the dogs of war" ...as well as some horses, riders and some ground-pounders. The tactical battle will begin around 8pm, shortly after the Camptown Shakers conclude their Saturday evening set.

For more information, please visit the Gilmor's Raid website here: http://www.jerusalemmill.org/gilmors.htm (note: for some reason, this Gilmor's Raid page of this site does not display well in some internet browsers; I suggest using Internet Explorer for best viewing results). This web-page has been recently updated, with new links & information about the coming event.

Enjoy, and we hope to see you there!

I've recently been contacted by the esteemed Julio Z., and have found out that he intends to be at this year's Gilmor's Raid event as a Special Correspondent.  Doubtless he will be conducting a few interviews and capturing some images.  He also has informed me that he will be donating a few more items to the raffle.