History Came Alive This Weekend at the Annual Ohio Civil War / WWI & WWII Show in Mansfield
MANSFIELD, Ohio — The sound of cannon fire, the beat of fife and drum, and the voices of America’s past are filling the Richland County Fairgrounds this weekend as the Annual Ohio Civil War / WWI & WWII Show returns for another year of living history, military memorabilia, and patriotic celebration.
This year’s show, held Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3, 2026, is part of the lead-up to America 250, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary from 1776 to 2026. The event features military material from 1775 through 1945, covering the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and more.
For Teresa Williams Drushel, the show is more than just an event, it is a family legacy.
“My father started this show 48 years ago,” Drushel said. “It originated 49 years ago, but we had to close one year because of COVID.”
Her father, Donald B. Williams of Ashland, Ohio, began the show with just 60 tables. Today, Teresa and her brothers, Greg Williams and Wayne Williams, continue the tradition their father started after his passing in 2009.
What began in Ashland has now grown into one of the largest military shows in the country. Drushel said this year’s event includes at least 725 tables filled with military memorabilia, with dealers traveling from around 38 different states, including California, Tennessee, Hawaii, Oklahoma and Iowa.
“We sure did,” Drushel said when asked if the show started in Ashland. “Sixty tables at the very first show. And of those 60 tables, I’d say half of them were my father’s collection. Pretty cool.”
The show was once held at Ashland University’s Convocation Center, but for the past 34 years, it has called the Richland County Fairgrounds home.
Visitors this weekend can walk through multiple buildings filled with rare military artifacts, uniforms, weapons, displays, collectibles and historic material. But the event is not just about looking at history behind glass, it is about stepping into it.
Outside, living history encampments bring different time periods to life, while cannon firing demonstrations give spectators a powerful glimpse of the sights and sounds of war. Drushel said the demonstrations include Civil War cannons, a Revolutionary War gun and a Civil War mortar.
“They’re doing actual demonstrations, cannon firing demonstrations, not a reenactment,” Drushel explained.
One of the biggest crowd draws was the firing of a gun row of Civil War cannons, along with military drills and a World War II small arms firing demonstration on Saturday afternoon.
Visitors got the chance to meet historic figures brought to life through educational talks. Presentations include President Abraham Lincoln, who spoke delivering the Gettysburg Address; Kenneth Hammontree, a renowned historical reenactor played President George Washington, speaking on Valley Forge and the winter of 1777; and General George S. Patton, highlighting one of the most complex and feared military leaders of World War II.
The event also features a Civil War surgeon hospital scenario, where visitors came to learn about the brutal realities of battlefield medicine, including an amputation demonstration on a young soldier.
The surgeon explains to the spectators how vicious and cruel the war was, and how crude the tools were for surgery during war time. Pretty brutal.
Other featured attractions include the Camp Chase Fife & Drum Corps, 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band, 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron, Marlboro Volunteers Mobile Museum, WWII military vehicles, Revolutionary War reenactors, Civil War infantry units, Reilly’s Battery, and hands-on displays for all ages.
Drushel said people travel from across the country just to attend.
“They come from all over,” she said. “Visitors that just come to the event, same thing. They’re coming from Illinois, Maine, Florida, Tennessee. They all travel up here to Ohio just for this event.”
The show also welcomes families, campers, collectors, veterans, historians and even Boy Scouts, who can take part in history-related activities.
“We make it accessible for everybody to come and enjoy,” Drushel said.
For those who love American history, military memorabilia, living history, or simply wanted to experience the sights and sounds of the past, Mansfield was the place to be this weekend.
From Revolutionary War history to World War II displays, from cannon fire to drum music, this weekend’s show offered a powerful reminder that history is not just something written in books, sometimes, it roars to life right in front of you.
