The Battle of Augusta was fought on Sept. 27, 1862, during the U.S. Civil War.
The battle was a clash between the Augusta Home Guard and the Confederate 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment in the streets of this river town. Although the Confederate regiment forced the union militia to surrender, the amount of deaths on the Confederate side were so great, the plans to continue onto Northern soil had to be abandoned, according to explorekentuckyhistory.ky.gov.
Now, nearly 160 years later, the city will commemorate that battle with its Civil War History Weekend.
Events are set to being Saturday with vintage-style baseball games at the Augusta Riverpark. Teams with such colorful names as the Georgetown Gentlemen and Bluegrass Baron, among others will engage in the bare-knuckle style of the game popular in the era. The Augusta Rotary Club will set up shop to serve up their famous Rotary Burgers at the location.
At 10 a.m., modern-day warriors from the Augusta VFW will be in charge of opening ceremonies, along with cannon firing and a rifle demonstration at Sunset Point on Riverside Drive.
A variety of vendors and living history displays will be set up both Saturday and Sunday along Riverside Drive and honorary canon firings are scheduled for several times throughout the weekend.
The historic Baker-Bird Winery and Distillery will be open both days from 1-5 p.m.
Civil War speaker Chris Burns will be at the Augusta Community Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday and a discussion on the Civil War is set for the same location from 6:30-8 p.m. On Sunday at 1 p.m., Civil War speaker Bernie O’Bryan will take the stage at the Community Center.
The Rabbit Hash String Band will provide period music from 2:30-4:30 on Saturday and again from 2:30-3:30 on Sunday.
A memorial service at Payne Cemetery on Kentucky 8 where several Civil War veterans are buried, is planned for 2 p.m., Sunday.
For more information on the event, visit the city’s Facebook page, Augusta, Kentucky or contact Tourism Director Janet Hunt at jhunt@augustaky.com
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