Botetourt native Debbie Sifford is an attorney who dresses antebellum for Civil War re-enactments. She met with women from the Buchanan Community on Saturday afternoon to loan costumes and give advice on how to become a southern belle -- or at least how to dress like one.

Sifford arrived with an arm load of antebellum dresses, skirts, tops and hats. Among the other goodies were gloves, hair pieces, Cameos, snoods and hair accessories, undergarments and assortment of shawls. She had patterns, books of period dress and plenty of advice for some local women that included Trish Kidd, Gloria Carter, Peggy Ramsey and Debbie Huff.

The dresses were wide assortment of styles-- ball gowns in taffeta and day dresses in cotton. The Civil War Weekend is scheduled for Friday through Sunday April 25-27 and will feature a ball on the carnival grounds on Saturday night. Huff who is past president of the Buchanan United Daughters of the Confederacy also had items of clothing to sell.

Sifford had made many of her clothing items but she also purchased clothing at Gettysburg. Her brother Lewis Sifford a local real estate agent is a re-enactor with the Botetourt Artillery and is a member of the Sons of the Confederacy, so they keep the Civil War alive by going to re-enactments she said.

She has purchased many of her blouses from department stores like TJ Maxx and Target. She will alter necklines if she has to do so, she told the ladies. She noted that Goodwill is an excellent place to find crinolines, blouses and things to fashion chemise and pantaloons from and had a website where the ladies could purchase a hoop for their skirts! Everyone had a grand time trying on clothes and rummaging through the clothing and accessories. She pulled out a device she called a "Shatalaine" a pin with chains and holders for scissors, thimbles, needles, a magnifying glass-- what ever the genteel Virginia lady might need while she attended to her sewing.

She helped Kidd cut out a triangular top that will go over a blouse and be edged in lace. Two hours fairly flew by as the women looked at the items, played a bit of dress up and decided on borrow, buy or make for their costumes to wear during the three- day event.

Last year over a thousand tourists lined the streets on a one day event to see a re-enactment of Union General David Hunter's attack on Buchanan. That event included a parade down Main Street, a battle at the swinging bridge and a calvary charge on the carnival grounds and the roar of cannons firing in succession.

Buchanan is a site on Virginia's Civil War Trails due to Hunter's Raid on his way from Lexington through Buchanan over the mountain to Liberty (Bedford) then on to Lynchburg to attack that important rail and hospital city. There Hunter's army was defeated by the forces commanded by General Jubal Anderson Early but calvary commander General John McCausland who had battled with Hunter from Lexington through Buchanan and over to Lynchburg, chased Hunter back to Hanging Rock near Salem where the Union Army army suffered its final defeat. Hunter's forces were sent packing into West Virginia via New Castle and Potts Mountain. Hunter burned homes in Buchanan -- a town in its prime known as an important shipping route of pig iron and supplies via the James River and Lynchburg through to the Tredegar Iron works in Richmond and confederate forces in Virginia.

The three day event will include historic encampments, music, re-enactments of battles, a ball and of course food will be available. More to follow as the event draws closer.

Photo: Debbie Sifford models Civil War era clothing for Buchanan women who plan to dress in period costumes for the town's Civil War Weekend April 25-27.

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• Posted by cathy benson in Arts & entertainmentArts & entertainmentArts & entertainment
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