– A War of 1812 victory commemoration will include a living history camp in Sheffield, with re-enactors portraying soldiers from the Battle of New Orleans
THE SHOALS-The celebrations that followed America’s victory over the British in the War of 1812 will be recreated with a victory ball and other events in the Shoals June 12-14.
Re-enactors, historians, dancers and musicians from throughout the Southeast and Midwest will join the Natchez Trace Parkway Association for the celebration that will commemorate the role the Shoals played in the War of 1812.
Robert Perry of Tuscumbia, an organizer of the celebration, said the events will be educational and entertaining.
A highlight of the celebration will be a Grand Victory Ball Saturday, June 13 at Locust 
Hill, 209 S. Cave St., Tuscumbia. A re-enactor portraying Andrew Jackson will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage at 5 p.m. The ball begins at 6 p.m. with heavy hors d’oeuvres and string music by Sinclair Strings of Jackson, Miss. A dance begins at 7 p.m., featuring music by Booneslick Boys and caller Marty Aubuchon of St. Louis. Period dress is encouraged, but not required. Admission to the Victory Ball is $40. Tickets are available at the Colbert County Tourism office and ColdWater Books in Tuscumbia and Florence-Lauderdale Tourism in Florence. For more details call 256-383-0783.
Admission is free to other celebration events.
Robert and Annie Perry
Perry said the Shoals celebration is part of a three-year series of events along the Natchez Trace Parkway to commemorate the War of 1812 bicentennial. He said the original Natchez Trace was an important route for the war effort.
“It was heavily used by soldiers the War of 1812 and after it ended in 1815,’’ Perry said “A boy who lived by the Natchez Trace wrote that soldiers who were headed home passed by his house for months following the war.”
More than 100 War of 1812 veterans settled in the Shoals. Numerous Shoals residents trace their ancestry to those veterans. Perry said Tuscumbia is named for Lt. Tuscumby, an Indian chief who was a War of 1812 veteran.
A living history encampment will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, June 12 at the Sheffield 
Standpipe on North Montgomery Avenue. It will provide a glimpse of what life was like in the South during the war. The camp will feature re-enactors portraying soldiers, Indians and civilians, period crafters and educational programs. At 5 p.m., Gene Smith of Texas Christian University will speak on freemen of color soldiers in the War of 1812. Also at 5 p.m, fish and chicken plates by Heavenly Fish and Soul Food of Tuscumbia will be available at the encampment. Plates are $10.
A memorial service for War of 1812 veterans will be held on front lawn of the Colbert County Courthouse at 2 p.m. Friday, June 12 with members of the American Legion, re-enactor soldiers, Uriah Blue’s Indians and Freemen of Color. Winners of a student essay contest will be announced.
On Saturday, June 13, an educational program, including a Native American circle, will be 10 a.m.-noon at the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Bureau Visitor Center, 200 Jim Spain Dr., Florence.
A church service begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, June 14 at Historic St. Johns Church, 300 N. Dixon St., Tuscumbia. The service will recreate a Sunday morning sermon and music from the War of 1812 era.
