LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – The place we now know as Lewisburg was a huge bustling campsite from August to September 1774! There were likely a lot less than 1300 people living in Greenbrier County at the time and only a handful in Lewisburg. But, the call had gone out for the militia to gather at “Camp Union” and form the southern division of Lord Dunmore’s militia army. The armed force would then march to Point Pleasant to attack the Native American villages across the Ohio River in an effort to secure the settlements in Western Virginia once and for all. Eventually, over 1300 documented troops passed through Camp Union not including the undocumented wives, camp followers, and enslaved people.
This summer marks the 250th anniversary of Camp Union, established by (then) Col. Andrew Lewis in late August 1774 as the rendezvous point and supply depot for the southern division of Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s militia army, as part of Lord Dunmore’s War. The Greenbrier Historical Society has planned a commemorative event and invites everyone to attend.
The September 27-29, 2024, Camp Union weekend will consist of living history re-enactments on the grounds of the Greenbrier Historical Society’s Barracks and across from the Lewis Spring which was the center of the militia gathering; visits by all 8th-grade students in Greenbrier County on Friday; open to the public on Saturday and on Sunday morning. Eighteenth-century surveyors, fife and drum musicians, Native American interpreters, and militia reenactors will all bring this history to life. There will also be space available in Montwell Commons’ Clingman Center for any indoor needs. The GHS’s Barracks building will host a new traveling exhibit about Camp Union/Lord Dunmore’s War. The exhibit will later be loaned to libraries, schools, or other museums.
The weekend will culminate in a keynote lecture by Alan Gutchess, Director of the Fort Pitt Museum, on Sunday, September 29 at 2 p.m. at Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall. This lecture will provide insights on the settler-Native American conflicts that led to Lord Dunmore’s War and Native American perspectives. Lecture attendees are invited to attend a reception afterwards at the North House Museum, where the Camp Union traveling exhibit will again be on view.
Dr. Kim Arbogast McBride, one of the organizers of the event, said, “A lot of what we believe about these early settlers and events is only known through documents and archaeology. It is exciting to have reenactors to place people in the setting and imagine the practicalities of such a huge troop movement.”
Led by the Greenbrier Historical Society, this large event is a result of the cooperative efforts of several local groups including the Greenbrier County Commission through their Arts and Recreation fund; the City of Lewisburg through their Arts and Humanities fund; the WV Humanities Council; Carnegie Hall; Montwell Commons; and the General Lewis Inn.
