Welcome to Gem of the Hills Historian, where I am delighted to share my experiences as a living historian as well as my observations about this educational hobby.

I am proud to serve as Captain of the 31st Alabama Infantry / 79th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry - Company E. and have integrated information about my company of living historians into this site in order to give visitors an insight into how we operate and to help others better understand our ongoing mission to teach about a crucial event in the United States' history as well as the soldiers who lived through it.

Spring 2025 Schedule:

Captain Sumner's Schedule - Upcoming Events:

Adopted Spring 2025 Schedule:

14th - 16th February, 2025 - Battle of Olustee - Olustee, FL (Encouraged Company Event)
28th February - 2nd March, 2025 - Hardee Guard Battalion Drill - Chickamauga, Georgia (Encouraged Company Event)
14th - 16th March, 2025 - Battle of Bentonville, "A Terrible Storm" - Bentonville, NC (Company Voted Event)
28th - 30th March, 2025 - Skirmish at Ft. Harker - Stevenson, AL (Company Voted Event)
4th - 5th April, 2025 - 160th Ft. Blakeley - Spanish Fort, AL (Select Company Participation)
25th - 27th April, 2025 - Confederate Memorial Park - Marbury, AL (Encouraged Company Event)
2nd - 4th May, 2025 - Streight's Raid - Ceder Bluff, AL (Company Voted Event)
16th - 18th May, 2025 - Battle of Resaca - Resaca, Ga (Company Voted Event)

31st Alabama - Captain Sumner's Schedule of Events - Spring 2025-4.png

Yes, I know, you are seeing the schedule for the Spring Season twice at this point; however, I wanted to provide a flyer that could be saved to your device and that would be sharable.

It is my hope that you will consider joining us at an event. I am always more than happy to provide additional information about each of the events that our company members have selected each season and the historical significance on which each is based. The schedule I have provided here is reflective of my own schedule and does not represent that of the company completely, as members within our company elect a schedule of four maximum effort events each season (Spring & Fall), of which each member is required to attend at least two events.

This spring season is particularly busy for the members of the company and myself, as we endeavor to attend a wide range of "new to us" events. We've seen a change in some of our normal seasonal events as Fiddler's Green (our home event in Jacksonville, AL) will no longer take place and has been replaced with Streight's Raid, which datewise, aligns historically with the actual surrender date by Abel Streight in early May.

Conclusively, we appreciate the continued support that we have received as we continue to provide educational living history and as we endeavor to give proper impressions of the past with high dedication to accuracy and detail.