Civil War Days coming to HB this Labor Day weekend
by: Jerry Person
Published: September 2, 2026
Union reenactors at the Civil War Days 1993 in Bartlett Park
HUNTINGTON BEACH...William Taykor Newland was only Eleven years old and the eldest in the family of six children when the American Civil War began in 1861. His father John Newland left home to enlist and served in the Third Missouri Cavalry in the Civil War and died during his service two years later.
John's death left William the practical head of the family and it became necessary for him to assist his mother in caring for the younger children.
The same sounds of thunder that John and his fellow comrades in arms heard so many years ago will again roar throughout Huntington Beach Central Park east on Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, September 6th as cannons fill the air with smell of black powder smoke and the sounds of rifle fire unless it rains.
Boom goes the cannons at the first reenactment in 1993 in Bartlett Park
This year the nation will celebrate the 165th Anniversary of the War between the States or as most of us know it as the American Civil War. The State of California did send, but before they could reach the battlefields, the war ended and they came back home according to former HB Historical Society president Carl Clink at a 1993 Society meeting.
The annual Civil War reenactment of the North (Union) vs South (Rebs) in mock battles will be repeated as hundreds of actors will take part in the two battles a day and in the end will it be the North or the South that will win or will it end in a tie.
Union soldiers line up in Central Park
The Rebs charge in Central Park
Over this Labor Day weekend Huntington Beach will host the 33rd Annual Civil War Days event with hundreds of reenactors participating this year. There will be live demonstrations in many of the soldier's camps to show the public what life had to offer soldiers of the 19th Century. On Sunday morning, if no rain, the men and women will gather for a church service, prior to the start of Sunday's battles.
The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars that was ever fought on American soil and in the end shaped what the United States is today, for better or worst. Hundreds of thousands of men and boys lost their lives in that war. Brother fought brother, childhood friends fought and killed each other. Blacks fought on both sides and many lost their lives in the bloody battles.
The camps open to the public 10 a.m. daily with Saturday's battles at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Sunday battle times are 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and as aways it is free to the public.
Americans camp 1993 in Bartlett Park
Troops line up 1993 in Bartlett Park
Ladies did their part in the 1993 reenactment
The event has come a long ways since the first Civil War Days were held. The first event was the brainchild of former Huntington Beach Historical Society President Carl Clink and was held on November 13th and 14th in 1993 in Bartlett Park in back of the Newland Shopping Center.
Clink was a member of the Civil War Round Table of Orange County and had participated in other Civil War reenactments.
Clink wanted to bring the Civil War history to the people of Huntington Beach and to Orange County. Beginning with less than a hundred reenactors and a handful of tents in that first reenactment. The next year it was brought over to a much larger site in Huntington Central Park where it has grown to become the largest Civil War reenactment in the Western United States. Photos:Jerry Person