With much regret, the Renville County Historical Society has cancelled the planned Birch Coulee Civil War Encampment scheduled for 22-24 July, 2011.

The reason for this cancelation is that we cannot obtain permission from the Minnesota Historical Society to use the Battlefield for any purpose during the State shutdown. Without the necessary permissions to fire blank ammunition, tour the battlefield, and honor those who served at Birch Coulee in 1862, the encampment becomes much less than it should be, and in fact becomes unsupportable for many participants.

RCHS would like to thank all of those who planned to make this a great event for the area, but especially the 3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Artillery Battery. It is the Society's goal to inspire kids of all ages by teaching history in experiential ways. Events such as this help us do this important work. We hope to be able to successfully sponsor a similar event next year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Birch Coulee.