Did you know that one of Lawrence County’s earliest recorded battle reenactments occurred in front of the old grand stand at Rotary Park, more than 85 years ago?

When we think of reenacting today, we are probably more likely to think of Civil War reenactments, where modern men dress in Civil War-era clothing, fire reproduction Civil War weaponry, and display Civil War-era military tactics.

On November 11, 1927, however, a different kind of reenactment happened in Lawrenceburg.

That day, as part of the Armistice Day celebrations marking the ninth anniversary of the end of World War I, the local American Legion sponsored a “sham battle,” or reenactment of the Battle of the Marne. As the event was sponsored by the American Legion, no doubt many of the participants of the reenactment were World War I veterans, themselves.

As this ad says, the reenactment included “tanks, fireworks, infantry, machine guns, flashing bayonets…to the accompaniment of crashing artillery and musketry.” The event was watched by a huge crowd that the Lawrence ‘Democrat’ said “packed and jammed the big grand stand at the fair grounds.”

Source: Lawrence ‘Democrat.’