This month is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, for those of you wondering why Hallmark’s Happy Civil War Day cards were out of stock. To help commemorate the war and the more than 600k fallen soldiers, Chestnut Street in Philadelphia will be packed from Sixth to Broad Street on Saturday, April 16 at 10am for the Philadelphia Civil War Sesquicentennial Parade and Review. Union Army reenactors, living history specialists and others in period clothing (hopefully part of the parade), will continue down Broad to Washington Avenue, mirroring the original troop route, to the site of the 1861 passenger depot where the troops left for Washington where you can watch military drills, sidesaddle riding demonstrations, and Civil War-era cooking and games.

That night there’s even a public Gala Civil War Ball at The Union League of Philadelphia from 6 – 10pm with cocktails, dinner,and dancing. Click here for the flyer. The Civil War Sesquicentennial goes all spring and summer long in Philly and includes a Civil War road show and a battle reenactment at Fairmount Park.