McDONOUGH– Over the weekend, Federal forces collided with retreating Confederate troops in a failed attempt to cut-off the rebels’ escape route from McDonough.

The original Civil War battle of Manassas Gap was fought in Virginia in 1863 following the monumental battle at Gettysburg, but last weekend three dozen patrons from the Living History Guild reenacted the conflict on the grounds of the Beckwith family farm in McDonough. Saturday afternoon, the Union forces attacked the confederate position atop a hill, southwest of the Balsam Pond, under the command of Doug Oakes. By late afternoon, the mock Confederates withdrew from the hill and set up camp further east under the command of Dave Berndt.

Karri and Mike Beckwith, both members of the guild, sponsored the event on their 300-acre farm and invited 48 guests to attend a tour of the battlefield following the fight.

“Almost all our members in the guild have a special affection for history. Many of them have traced their roots back to ancestors that actually fought in Civil War. Participating in the reenactments might seem strange to some, but I feel a sense of closeness to my heritage,” said Karri. The couple traveled through Gettysburg during their honeymoon and both having an interest in history began wondering if they had any historical connection to the war. “We got back home and began looking through our genealogy and found we had four ancestors that served in the Civil War,” said Mike.