RICHMOND, Va. — Hitting 60-plus battlefields in four years during the Civil War’s 150th anniversary takes as much passion and commitment as getting married or having a child.
Rob Orrison has squeezed in all of that since 2011, albeit not without some marital compromises, such as a wedding day on the anniversary of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va.
This week, Orrison will conclude his epic march at the place where the curtain fell on the Civil War, with his spouse, Jamie, and 2-year-old son, Carter, joining him.
“There are worse hobbies,” Orrison said, while acknowledging his wife’s occasional impatience.
Orrison estimates he has spent well over $10,000 and logged “thousands and thousands” of miles on the road, plus a couple of flights to his farthest destinations.
Name a Civil War battlefield, and he has been there.
Petersburg? Yes.
Fort Sumter? Of course.
Gettysburg? Please.
Antietam, Perryville, Chancellorsville — been there, done that.
Orrison, 39, marched 3 miserable miles on a dark night in a drenching rain at Harpers Ferry, a rare low point in his travels.
He stood under a glittering starlit sky at 4 a.m. at Shiloh, a highlight. On his way, he wondered, “Who’s going to be here?” About 2,000 people had the same idea.
He travels in his 2005 Ford Escape or 2011 Toyota RAV4, typically encamping at the nearest Hampton Inn. He often travels with a friend or co-worker, and returns home with T-shirts and books.
Orrison compares his travels to a baseball fan’s pilgrimage to every major-league ballpark.
“It’s the exact same thing, to say you were there,” he said. “I just enjoy going, and the fact is that when you go to an event, there are usually a couple hundred other people who are weird like yourself.”
