Services
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The speaker will be Calvin Ashwell, a confederate reenactor from Lynchburg and a member of Lee’s Lieutenants, a confederate reenactor group interested in preserving Civil War history. He portrays Commander Ebenezer Farrand of the Confederate Navy. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1823 and was a career officer until 1861 when he resigned and joined the Confederate Navy. He “commanded the naval defenses
at Drewry’s Bluff [Richmond, VA in] 1862. He supervised the defenses of the fort by ordering numerous ships to be sunk as obstructions in the river beneath the bluff. He installed six additional large guns in pits just up river from the fort. Men worked around the clock to ensure a full state of readiness when the Union fleet arrived.”
Calvin has been interested in Civil War History for most of his life. In the last few years he has devoted his research primarily to the Confederate Navy and its ships. Calvin also builds wood ship models. [Quotes and information from the website <http://www.leeslieutenants.com>.]