TRAER – The Traer Civil War Reenactment Committee along with Tama County Conservation is proud to announce and host The Battle of the Wilderness beginning Friday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 22, at T.F. Clark Park in rural Traer.

The Battle of the Wilderness was fought May 5-7, 1864, in a woodland near Locust Grove, Va. It pitted Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant against Gen. Robert E. Lee for the first time.

Iowa fought for the Union in the Civil War. And while no major battles took place in Iowa during the war, the state had the highest percentage of its male population (ages 15 to 40) serving as part of the military during that time than any other state.

According to Iowa PBS, by the end of the Civil War, 76,534 Iowa men had served the Union army of which 13,169 lost their lives.

The Traer Civil War Reenactment Committee chose to highlight the Battle of the Wilderness due to the number of Tama County Wolf Creek Rangers involved in the 1864 battle.

Below is an abbreviated schedule of events:

Friday, Sept. 20

Set up, registration and Kids Day. The park will be open to the public from noon to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 21

Event grounds open to the public from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Full day of activities including first person presenters, Battle of the Wilderness, silent auction along with a pie auction to raise money for the Traer Civil War Reenactment Committee, and a military ball with night fire. Winners of the silent auction will be announced during the military ball.

Sunday, Sept. 22

Event grounds open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Period church service, Battle of the Wilderness, and announcements of thank yous plus wishes of a safe return home for the reenactors.

During the three-day event there will be two food trucks available to choose from including Boyds Food Truck based in Fairbank and STRKR BBQ from West Union. For a sweet treat, Dee-licious Unique Treats from Oelwein will also be on site.

The veteran owned meadery Three Drunk Brothers – which uses locally sourced honey from northern Iowa – will be on the grounds as well as Uncle Stinky from Dewar with his amazing blacksmithing techniques and a few Civil War sutlers wearing period correct clothing and accessories.

The Committee invites the public to come on out to T.F Clark Park next weekend and see how life was lived during the Civil War.