"Raid on Prairie du Rocher" April 21 - 22 will feature re-enactment of 1864 skirmish
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Civil War returns to Randolph County, Illinois on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as the "Raid on Prairie du Rocher," a re-enactment of a skirmish that took place in 1864, is presented at the historic Creole House in Prairie du Rocher. The event is free and open to the public.
The Randolph Civil War Society is hosting the re-enactment of the April 6, 1864 skirmish between Confederate and Union troops on Illinois soil. On that date a small group of Union mounted Missouri militia came across the Mississippi River and, according to their officer's report, "charged on Prairie du Rocher." They had information that Confederate guerrillas were in Prairie du Rocher. When the Union troops entered town the Confederates ran from several houses and made a brief stand on the bluffs. It was a short fight, and resulted in three Confederate soldiers dead and one captured with one Union soldier wounded. Before the Union troops left town they caused trouble by stealing goods from the general store and taking horses and weapons from local citizens.
The "Raid on Prairie du Rocher" skirmish re-enactments will take place at 10 a.m. and 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 22. There will be a period fashion show at 10:30 a.m. and a cavalry demonstration at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Activities for children in the village park will be provided, and there will be several food vendors on site. The Prairie du Rocher Chamber of Commerce will host a BBQ competition open to the public on Sunday, April 22 in conjunction with the event.
"Raid on Prairie du Rocher" is listed on the official Illinois Civil War Sesquicentennial website, www.illinoiscivilwar150.org .