Filming Firetrail

at the Battle For Columbia

By Lydia Filzen

Movie set before the shoot

Near Columbia, South Carolina: The filming of Firetrail took a dramatic turn the night of May 6, with a replication of the burning of Columbia, South Carolina during the War Between the States. The scenes were created by filmmaker Christopher Forbes for a screen adaptation of the novel by Lydia Hawke.

Union soldiers celebrate the burning of a "church" at Columbia movie set

Watching their house burn

The Battle For Columbia reenactment organizers and the owner of the property, Mr. Culler, sponsored the building of a movie set on the grounds of the event near Sandy Run, South Carolina. Forbes and volunteers spent weeks constructing a church, a store, a house and a shed. Before the scheduled burning, the still intact set was used for shooting the required scenes.

After sunset, the Saturday night of the reenactment, cameras and sound equipment readied. Hundreds of spectators waited at a safe distance. The cast of civilians, Union soldiers and period-clad extras gathered. Behind the buildings, a firefighter pouring accelerants grinned and said "We don't normally set the fires."

The director, Chris Forbes, mapped out scenarios. "When I say ‘Go," scream and run from here to here," he pointed out to a group of child extras. To civilians waiting to flee their house, he instructed, "I'll say ‘Larry, now!' and both of you run out the fence, stop here, turn around and watch the house burn."

Store owner getting "assistance" from Union soldiers

As a store burst into flames, the owner, played by Emory Fiveash, yelled for help. Instead of coming to his aid, Union soldiers took him down and held him at gunpoint. Children fled down the street screaming. The house went up and the residents ran out into the street to gaze at their "home" and their worldly possessions burning to ash. Soldiers shouted and shot into the air in front of a blazing church.

After the flames did their work and the cameras captured the action, the same firefighters who had earlier played arsonist brought out the fire hoses and accomplished what had not happened during the actual burning of Columbia in February, 1865. This time, the firestorm did not roar out of control and was quickly quenched in piles of steaming rubble.

Reflections of the blaze

February, 2005, Forbes created a similar scenario when filming "Battle of Aiken." He constructed three buildings at the Battle of Aiken reenactment site and burned them for the film during the event weekend. At that time the scene represented the burning of Barnwell, South Carolina by Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's troops.

"I'm going to get a reputation for burning stuff," Forbes said. When asked if he was sad to see his weeks of work and sweat destroyed within minutes, Forbes laughed and shook his head, saying, "No. I love this."

For further information about the movie, log onto www.forbesfilm.com or www.lydiahawke.us.