Tickets will be available at the Fun Fest Store beginning June 24th until noon on July 11th. Remaining tickets are available at 5 pm at the ticket booth at Renaissance center until they are sold out or when the show starts at 7 pm.

On Monday, July 11, “A Civil War Evening” event will be cosponsored by the Tri Cities Civil War Round Table & Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts. We will present the “Battle of the Wilderness: Two Days in Hell“, a first-person, two-act docudrama given by Curt Fields, Living Historian, as U.S. Grant and Thomas Lee Jessee as Robert E. Lee, Living Historian.  These reenactors/actors leave one spellbound throughout the first-person docudrama.

“General US Grant” Bio for Dr. Curt Fields – He has been an avid, lifelong student of the American Civil War.  His interest in portraying General Ulysses S. Grant was driven by that study and his deep respect and admiration for General Grant.  Dr. Fields is the same height and body style as General Grant and, therefore, presents a convincing image of the man as he really looked. His presentations are in first person, quoting from General Grant’s Memoirs; articles and letters the General wrote, statements he made in interviews or wrote himself, and of people who knew the General or were with him and witnessed him during events.  As a Living Historian, Dr. Fields portrayed General Grant at the 150th Sesquicentennial observations of: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, TN, Raymond and Vicksburg, MS, and Appomattox Court House, VA.  He was selected to portray General Grant at the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, VA.  He portrayed General Grant in the Visitor Center film at Appomattox.

Thomas Lee Jessee, Historian. reenactor.  A native Virginian, Thomas became interested in military history at a young age while living in the heart of Mosby’s Rangers country. After moving to Florida with his family, he joined a reenactment unit in 1969 at the age of 18. He started out as a Private and worked his way up the ranks to General.
Over the years, he has attended & commanded reenactments of all the major “War Between the States” battles.  For over 40 years, Thomas has been an active member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
In 2015, Thomas was approved by the National Park Service to portray General Robert E. Lee at the 150th Anniversary of Appomattox reenactment in Virginia and for the new Appomattox Visitors Center film shown to the public daily. He will again be appearing in that role as General Lee on April 9-10, 2022 at the park.  As a longtime student of General Lee, Thomas has portrayed General Lee in various venues throughout the US over the years.  He and his wife, Gail Rebecca, currently live in Lakeland, FL.  Professionally, he was an Electrical Superintendent for a major electrical contractor in Tampa, retiring in June of 2015.