BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. –
Robert Vanover became passionate about the Civil War at an early age.
“When I was about 12 years old, my uncle lived in Manassas, and we took a family trip and spent a week with him,” he said. “We toured the Manassas battlefield. That stuck with me as a boy. I just ordered books and I have been a history buff ever since.”
Vanover, in particular, is fascinated with Pickett’s Charge, the fateful event in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg where thousands of Confederate soldiers died. Like Vanover, Pickett was from Virginia, so there was a personal connection.
“I guess as a Virginian, every Virginian dreams of being with Pickett and going in on Pickett’s Charge,” he said. “It’s just part of being a young boy in Virginia.”
Vanover, now a Kingsport resident, channeled that passion. He wrote, produced and stars in a one-man play about Pickett’s Charge called “A Fight fer Shoes.” The central character is Malachi Slemp, a fictional soldier from Turkey Cove in Lee County, Va., who fought in the battle.
“Malachi is a made-up character but the name and where he is from is the same as my people,” Vanover said.
The play was recently performed at the Sullivan County Courthouse and garnered positive reviews.
“It touched a chord in the heart,” said Shelia Hunt, executive director of the Sullivan County Department of Archives and Tourism. “You realize what our ancestors went through.”
Getting started
Vanover has been active for years in the Civil War reenactment community. He often performs in reenactments, like the Battle of Blountville, with other Civil War enthusiasts, and once was an extra in a Civil War movie.
After a career at Eastman Chemical, Vanover retired and took a job at Sullivan North High School as a special education assistant. He did several presentations about the Civil War but was never satisfied. There was no emotional connection to the past.
“I was so sick and tired of standing in front of people and saying, ‘They wore a blue uniform. We wore a gray uniform. And this is a gun,’” he said. “I was tired of it. It’s just facts.”
He knew there had to be another way and reflected on his trips to the theater. Vanover and his wife often attend the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va.
“We go like four, five, six times a year,” he said. “I know the play will actually create emotion. You are happy. You are sad. You are sympathetic.”
He thought about writing a play for a while but was encouraged by a teacher at Sullivan North. The problem was a topic. The Civil War is filled with interesting characters but he needed a focus.
“I said, ‘What is my favorite thing? What captivates people about the Civil War? What would be the most interesting?’” he said. “To me that’s Pickett’s Charge. Pickett’s Charge is the most hashed over, argued thing about the whole Civil War.”
In search of shoes
A central question of the Battle of Gettysburg revolves around shoes. General Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate army, was most concerned about ample supplies of food and shoes. The soldiers were always on the move and needed a constant supply of shoes.
“A good pair of shoes, I have read, would only last about 250 miles at most because the shoes were so shoddy,” Vanover said.
Before the Battle of Gettysburg, a general had sent men into town. He had heard a rumor that the town had an ample supply of shoes. The two armies crossed paths near the town and the battle started.
Vanover said the idea of the shoes had always fascinated him, as the question of whether the shoes actually existed has never been answered. He wanted that to be a part of the story.
He took two years to write the play, spending time developing the characters and the arch of the story. The play begins the night before Pickett’s Charge. Malachi reads a letter from home and learns about the suffering of his family. Vanover said he wanted people to have that personal connection.
“It’s a story about this one family,” he said.
The play was first performed at Sullivan North. Students and faculty were touched by the performance. With that success, Vanover recorded the narration and sound effects in a church basement. He and his son-in-law, Mark Hollomon, edited the recording.
Hollomon eventually gave a copy of the recording to Hunt.
“She just contacts me and asks me if I will do it,” Vanover said.
He agreed, partly because Hunt has helped the reenactment community over the years.
“She does so many things, I couldn’t refuse her,” he said.
Vanover said he was pleased with his performance last week, but admitted that he was a little nervous.
The reaction was positive. One man said he had goose bumps after seeing the play, Vanover said.
“I want to bring out emotion,” Vanover said. “That’s the whole purpose of the play.”
There are no plans to perform again at the courthouse, but Vanover said several groups have contacted him. He wants people to learn about and share his passion for the Civil War.
“One of the reasons we are captivated by the Civil War is we still can’t understand how Americans could be so brutal to each other,” Vanover said. “It actually affected almost every man, woman and child,”
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Article source: http://www2.tricities.com/news/2012/jan/26/local-man-channels-passion-play-about-picketts-cha-ar-1640325/