Confederate Encampment

Confederate Encampment. Reconstructing a Company Street. Modern re-enactors from the 3rd Regiment of the Army of Northern Virginia constructed these huts. Like the South Carolina Brigade before them, the re-enactors cut these logs from the surrounding woods. The trees around you are about the same age as those McGowan's troops used to construct their camp in January 1864., The largest huts represent officers' quarters, while the smaller ones downslope are typical of enlisted soldiers' quarters. The arrangement of the reconstructed huts represent a company "street." The size of the huts was based on the archaeological evidence found in the McGowan encampment., The hut interiors contained the barest essentials. The fireplace was the only source of heat on frigid nights. Typically, three to four men slept in each hut on wooden platforms covered with straw mattresses. One account related that troops slept together spoon-style with the man in the middle being the warmest and the two on the outside risking frostbite.