Newspaper Page Text
4C Sunday, October 28, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCAL
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Above: Re-enactors prepare for an event at the Piedmont Hotel on Saturday, Oct. 27. Below:
Julia Grant, portrayed by Lena Fields, sits on a couch during a re-enactment event. Right: Ulysses
S. Grant, portrayed by E.C. Fields, left, speaks with James Longstreet, portrayed by Thomas H.
Rasmussen, on the front porch of the Piedmont Hotel.
LONG
■ Continued from 1C
here because we’re a
museum. We’re not here to
erase, we’re here to tell the
story of the Civil War. We
know General Longstreet
because he’s a Confeder
ate general, and that’s how
we recognize him, but he’s
much more. He became the
man that he became.”
Among the relics found
in the Piedmont Hotel are
mementos from the Civil
War, including firearms
and other weaponry, paint
ings depicting key moments
of the war, copies of docu
ments from Longstreet’s
career, and a bullet-hole-
ridden flag. The hotel also
acted as a stage for a his
torical re-enactments by
Living Historian Curt Fields
and Longstreet Society
Member Thomas H. Ras
mussen portraying United
States President Ulysses S.
Grant and Gen. Longstreet
respectively.
Those in attendance were
able to ask questions about
Longstreet and Grant’s rela
tionship, one spotlighted at
the Piedmont Hotel, with
Fields and Rasmussen
responding in-character.
The history of the items
on display at the hotel cul
minates in what Clarke
believes to be “the most his
torical thing in Gainesville
and maybe Hall County,”
and what the Longstreet
Society hopes will be a
place people will be able to
turn to to learn more about
the Civil War.
“We want this to be a com
munity center and for peo
ple to learn about history,”
Clarke said. “We have prob
ably the biggest collection
of Civil War books in Hall
County. There’s also some
World War II and Gaines
ville history over here. We
have some really incredible
items from union people as
well.”
The Piedmont Hotel
opened in 1876, acted as
Longstreet’s political base
and was owned by the gen
eral until his death in 1904.
In 1918 the two-wing, three-
story building was nearly
demolished entirely until a
last-minute decision saved
the ground floor of one wing,
which was bought and repur-
posed by the Longstreet
Society in 1994. According
to Longstreet Society found
ing member and Piedmont
Hotel Museum Manager
Richard Pilcher, the build
ing took a total of 15 years
and a quarter-million dol
lars in loans to renovate to
its current state.
“When we first got it we
borrowed enough money
to buy the property and
replace the roof,” Pilcher
said. “The roof was falling
in and we put the porches
back on it. Then we had to
stop because we were out of
money. It was probably 12 or
13 years before we came up
with enough money to start
again. In total I guess we bor
rowed $250,000 to do this.
We’re completely out of debt
now and as long as I’ve got
anything to do with it we’re
gonna stay out of debt.”
When the Piedmont Hotel
isn’t hosting a Longstreet
event, it can be rented for
gatherings such as weddings
and parties.
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C.J. Clarke IV
The Longstreet Society
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