Bucktail Regiment Honored, Remembered
Story, Photos By Paul W. Heimel, Endeavor Staff Writer

As part of the annual Bucktail Reunion, the 2nd South Carolina String Band performed an impromptu concert on Saturday afternoon, then entertained about 100 people during an evening "campfire performance" that night in Driftwood. Below, left, a reenactor explains how the campfire musicians dealt with the impact of evening humidity on their instruments. They cured them over the campfire to keep them in tune.

The nationally renowned 2nd South Carolina String Band brought its authentic Civil War music to the southern Cameron County town of Driftwood over the weekend as featured performers during the annual Bucktail Reunion.

Band members have traveled around the world, performing and preserving Civil War music.

Their selections, presented on authentic 19th century instruments, are filled with the language, slang, and experiences of the times.

The 2nd South Carolina String Band has issued three albums and has been featured on numerous movies and television shows, including producer Ken Burns' highly acclaimed Civil War series on public television.

Also on hand was John Wanzel of Symrna, Del., grandson of an original member of the Bucktails, Christian Wanzel Sr. A Lancaster County native, Christian Wanzel volunteered for the Grand Army of the Republic in 1861 while he was living in a McKean County lumber camp.

John Wanzel placed a commemorative wreath at the foot of the Bucktails Monument, a popular tourist attraction erected in Driftwood in 1906.

Volunteers from the region roughly bounded by today's McKean, Cameron, Potter, Elk and counties answered the call to serve in the Pa. Bucktails, a Civil War regiment under the leadership of General Thomas L. Kane. They were distinguished from other soldiers by the tail of a whitetailed deer attached to the back of their hats as a symbol of unity and a badge of marksmanship.

'Keeping history alive'

Murray Neeper, keynote speaker at Saturday's ceremony, said the deer tail served another important purpose. As the affiliations and assignments of the original volunteers changed, it is the one identifying characteristic that has stood the test of time.

Today, because of that tail, historians and descendants have a fairly clear idea of what happened to most of the soldiers who left the mountains in 1861 to serve their Union and save their flag.

Many Bucktails were heroes of the Civil War, Neeper noted, as the regiment played a critical role in important Union battle victories, including Gettysburg. He said their effectiveness was a tribute to the leadership skills of General Kane, as well as the mental and physical toughness of the volunteers.

Neeper, a descendant of an original Bucktail, is a retired Pa. National Guard colonel. An amateur historian, he now serves as St. Marys Public School Superintendent.

Neeper commended the reenactors and others present for their commitment to the cause of history.

"We're keeping history alive,' he said. "Let's do our part to make sure that this special history will live on for the next 150 years."

Very rare rifles

Dozens of uniformed reenactors and other Civil War buffs moved into Driftwood for the weekend, camping in the same area where General Kane's troops embarked to fight for the Union in 1861.

Among the displays drawing the most attention was a collection of Civil War memorabilia owned by Kerry Blettner of Hanover, Pa. Blettner recently acquired two of the 20 known Bucktailsissued long rifles still in existence. One of the weapons had been confiscated from the regiment by Confederates, as indicated by the distinct "X" symbol on the stock.

The reunion concluded with a memorial service at the restored gravesite of

George W. English, who traveled from Tioga County to join the Bucktails in 1861.

Bucktails Regiment leaders announced that next year's reunion will be hosted by Company I of Smethport.