Descendant of Civil War Movie Hero Opens Peterboro Civil War Weekend
Pat Ennis of Fayetteville will open the 24th annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend, sharing the story of how the transcriptions of family diaries by Pat and her husband Bryan lead to Union Bound, a Civil War movie released in 2015. Pat grew up knowing the oral story of her great, great grandfather Joseph Hoover, who had enlisted in the 121st Herkimer, was captured at the Wilderness, thrown into Andersonville and moved to Florence Prison when Sherman marched through Georgia.
The movie follows Joseph and a fellow soldier as they escaped from Florence Sept. 21, 1864, and made their way to the Union lines 33 days later – with the help of slaves who were running away, too.
Hoover re-joined his unit and was shot at the siege of Petersburg, but survived and after the war spent most of his adult life in Utica. He is buried in Forest Hill cemetery, Utica.
Pat’s mother, Barbara Mott Crane of Clinton was two when her great-grandfather died. Related to the Bouckville Applesauce Motts, Barbara was in real estate, a columnist on antiques, and involved in civic and historic organizations in Clinton. Barbara had always wanted to see Hoover’s diaries, so Pat decided to find them.
A cousin loaned the two leatherbound volumes to Pat for one year, and she and husband Bryan began transcribing the cramped pencil-recorded entries with a magnifying glass. As they discovered certain recordings, they thought, “This ought to be a movie,” and so it has come to be.
“The historic importance of Union Bound is that it is primary proof that Union soldiers were helped by slaves,” Ennis said. “It is not so much a ‘war movie’ as a story of the triumph of the human spirit. It was released April 22 and continues running in select theaters across the country.
“There is also a tour throughout May: a combination of concert, drum corps, UB movie memorabilia (including the diary) & showing of the movie. The emcee is Tank Jones, one of the stars of the movie. Finally, there is also a book Union Bound (historical novel based on his diaries) due out any day, which covers more of Hoover’s life prior to and after the story told in the movie.”
Sean Stone, son of movie producer and director Oliver Stone, plays Joseph Hoover. Stone stated
“It’s an adventure,” Stone said. “It’s like an odyssey, the story of a man trying to get home.”Carl Westmoreland, Senior Historian for the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati OH declared Joseph’s diary as the first primary evidence that Union soldiers were aided by slaves and the Underground Railroad.
Carl Westmoreland, senior historian for the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, declared Joseph’s diary as the first primary evidence that Union soldiers were aided by slaves and the Underground Railroad.
“The descendants of Joseph Hoover wish to particularly thank Patrick Schroeder and David Krutz, whom we met at Peterboro Reenactment, for their part in making this discovery possible,” Ennis said during a visit to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro three years ago.
Pat and Bryan Ennis will describe their own 10-year odyssey with the Hoover story at 11:00 am Saturday, June 11, at the West Tent at the 24th annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend with photo albums, posters, binders, etc. The public is encouraged to attend this special program. The Civil War Weekend is an educational and fund-raising event for the Smithfield Community Association, a 501c3, running Saturday, June 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $3 for chidren 6 to 12 years old and children under 6 attend free. Admission covers the encampment, the skirmishes, programs, exhibits, museums, demonstrations, walking tours and many other activities. For more information or to volunteer, visit www.PeterboroNY.org, call 315-280-8828, email mail@sca-peterboro.org or write Peterboro Civil War Weekend, P.O. Box 6, Peterboro N.Y. 13134.