Civil War re-enactors dig in again Saturday at Everett cemetery

No matter the weather Saturday, Marilee Rehfield will pile on the clothing.

“I will be wearing all seven layers of appropriate underpinnings before my dress goes on,” said Rehfield, who represents a civilian supporting the Confederacy at Civil War re-enactments.

Rehfield, 53, will be in Everett Saturday — in her full-skirted gown and high-top shoes — for the annual “Echoes of Blue &Gray” event at Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Members of the Washington Civil War Association will be there with Union and Confederate re-enactors. Gene Fosheim, of the Historic Everett preservation group, will lead a cemetery tour of Civil War veterans’ graves. The free event will include a battlefield skirmish, historical displays, and a keynote speech by Steve Bertrand, a Cascade High School teacher and Civil War re-enactor.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, which left 620,000 people dead. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered April 9, 1865.

“My unit is the Mason-Dixon unit; we represent Confederate civilians,” said Rehfield, whose husband takes part in battlefield events. Her ancestors fought for the Union, but Rehfield and her husband switched to the Confederate side after a couple years as re-enactors.

“When we are re-enacting, we do become a family,” she said. “There’s something to be said for Southern hospitality.”

This has also been a season of Southern controversy. After the shooting deaths of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, the Confederate battle flag was removed from that state’s Capitol complex. The accused gunman had posed with the flag, seen by many as a symbol of racism. To others, the flag once flown by Gen. Lee’s Confederate unit represents Southern heritage.

To Rehfield, the Confederate battle flag is part of history. It will be displayed Saturday. “We are living history, and do our best to portray history as it occurred,” she said. “History is what history is. It consists of both sides.”

Bruce Smith, 69, is a Washington Civil War Association member and Echoes of Blue &Gray organizer. The Woodinville man and his wife, Barbara, have been involved since 1998. He is on the Union side, a member of the 4th U.S. Regular Infantry. That unit was once stationed at Fort Steilacoom. “They moved it to the East Coast with the Army of the Potomac,” said Smith, whose interest in the Civil War dates to the 1950s when he read a Classic Comics version of “The Red Badge of Courage.”

Although he fights for the Union, Smith supports the display of the Confederate flag at Civil War events. “This is the context of when that flag would have existed. That was the soldiers’ flag,” he said.

For years, Smith and researcher Karyn Weingarden have used miliary archives and cemetery records to write biographies for Civil War veterans buried in Washington.

While Smith has written history, James Shipman has turned his ancestor’s Civil War service into historical fiction. Shipman is an Everett attorney whose late father, Jim Shipman, worked to identify and honor Civil War veterans buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

Jim Shipman, who died in 2013, was the longtime owner of Marysville’s Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home and a former manager of Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery.

James Shipman’s book, “Going Home: A Novel of the Civil War,” was published July 28 by Lake Union Publishing, part of Amazon Publishing. “It’s a historical novel based on my great-great grandfather. My dad did a ton of research for the book,” he said.

The main character, Joseph Forsyth, was an Irishman who came to upstate New York via Canada. Forsyth’s family was murdered while he served with the 186th New York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, Shipman said.

Evergreen Cemetery manager Nancy Hansen said the late Jim Shipman’s historical contributions, including his work on the Civil War biographies, will be acknowledged during Echoes of Blue &Gray.

Rehfield, Smith and other re-enactors are faithful to the history, with all of its pain and suffering.

“We can’t erase our history,” Rehfield said. “We do need to learn from it.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Civil War event Saturday

“Echoes of Blue &Gray,” an annual Civil War re-enactment, will be held Saturday at Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery. Free event includes costumed re-enactors from Washington Civil War Association, a cemetery tour, battlefield skirmish, black-powder musket and artillery salutes, and historical artifacts. Displays open 10 a.m. in funeral home; cemetery tour starts 11 a.m. at north cemetery gate; hot dog lunch at noon; keynote talk 12:30 p.m.; battlefield skirmish 1 p.m.; event ends 3 p.m. Evergreen Cemetery is at 4504 Broadway, Everett.

Read biographies of our state’s Civil War veterans at: http://civilwarvetswastate.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.