‘It Don’t Look Right’ explores truth of Fort Fizzle
What really occurred at Fort Fizzle in Holmes County during the Civil War? An upcoming presentation by author and historian Patrick Drouhard will shed some light on it during his visit on June 6 at 6 p.m. at the Duncan Theater & Event Center in Killbuck.
What really took place at the skirmish at Fort Fizzle in Holmes County nearly two centuries ago?
While there are many conflicting rumors and the stories seem to grow by the day as to what took place between the local young men rebelling against being drafted into fighting during the Civil War and opposing military personnel, there are truths out there.
Those truths will come to light June 6 at 6 p.m. at the Duncan Theater & Event Center in Killbuck when historian and author Patrick J. Drouhard will present “It Don’t Look Right for the Times: The Factual History of the Holmes County Rebellion.”
The evening will be hosted by the Killbuck Valley Museum, and Drouhard will describe a colorful journey through some of the facts surrounding what took place.
In the forward of his book of the same title, Drouhard states, “One of the most interesting stories of Holmes County, Ohio history is that of an alleged insurrection against the United States government by residents of Richland Township during the American Civil War. Officially, the incident is referred to as the Holmes County Rebellion. Local Residents call it ‘Fort Fizzle.’”
The incident in question began with a simple rock being thrown at a military draft enrollment officer and culminated with a troop of 400 soldiers being sent to the supposed encampment of the resurrectionist rebels just south of Glenmont on the Laurant Blanchat farm.
What happened in between and even afterward has seen many descriptive tales. Drouhard has plenty of historical data that will paint a more realistic and vivid picture of what happened during the action at Fort Fizzle.
Bob Porter, board president of Killbuck Valley Museum, said he attended a prior Drouhard presentation in a tiny room crammed full of around 80 people in Loudonville’s Cleo Redd facility and said the evening was mesmerizing and informative as Drouhard shared the story of what took place.
“He was fascinating,” Porter said.
Porter knew he wanted Drouhard to come to Holmes County to speak, and the two men connected and set the date for this summer.
“Where else to talk about this than at the foot of where this historical incident took place would be more fitting to share this amazing story,” Porter said.
Drouhard’s book is available for $5 and will be available at Killbuck Valley Museum following the presentation at the theater. Drouhard’s story talks about not only the incident at Fort Fizzle but also of skirmishes down south to Mt. Vernon.
Drouhard said this story has fascinated him for four decades, enough so that he began delving into the historical details.
Included in the evening’s festivities are the two stone fence posts that played a pivotal role in the Fort Fizzle fiasco.
According to Porter, the museum houses two heavy stone 5-foot posts. The story goes that when the troops came to quell the rebellion on a foggy morning, they saw the two posts and fired on them believing them to be rebellion sentries.
Did that start the skirmish that followed? Were there arrests and a trial that followed?
“There’s plenty of rumors about who fired first, did anyone fire, what took place and what exactly happened?” Porter said with a laugh. “Remember, this is 1863, and the governor’s guards probably weren’t the most highly trained individuals, otherwise they would have probably been serving in the front line. So, what is fact or fiction?”
Drouhard will help put many of these rumors into perspective, fleshing out truth from fiction.
The event is free to the public, and Porter said the theater will provide ample, comfortable seating.
While the event is free, Porter said they will encourage anyone who would like to donate to the event to do so as they depart.
“It’s not a fundraiser for the museum, but we do want to show our support for the theater and their willingness to host these types of events for us in the future,” Porter said.
The Duncan Theater & Event Center is located at 110 North Main Street in Killbuck, with the Killbuck Valley Museum located catacorner across the street.