Media Contact:
Diane Bartlett
Director of Marketing Communications
Phone: (703) 777-2414
FAX: (703) 777-3282
E-mail: dbartlett@morvenpark.org

(Photo credit: Diane Bartlett/Morven Park.)

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA (November 2002) The historical landmark mansion at Morven Park in Loudoun County, Virginia will play the role of the White House during the filming of a reenactment of the meeting between Colonel Baker and President Abraham Lincoln before the battle at Ball’s Bluff on Sunday, November 10, 2002, from 10:00 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m.

The filming revolves around an October 1861 meeting between Union forces infantry brigade commander Colonel Edward Baker and his friend Abraham Lincoln before the battle at Ball’s Bluff in Leesburg. Colonel Baker is said to have had a premonition that he would die during this battle, and so came to Washington, DC to change his Will. Colonel Baker then stopped at the White House to meet with President Lincoln. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln presented Colonel Baker with a bouquet of flowers, to which the Colonel responded, “When these flowers are gone, I will be gone too.” Indeed, during the ensuing battle, Colonel Baker was shot in the head by a Rebel at close range and died on the Ball’s Bluff battlefield with his sword in his hand.

Filmmaker Kathleen McCormick has organized a group of period actors to portray Colonel Baker, President Lincoln and others for this historic reenactment. Morven Park was chosen for the film location because of its proximity to the Ball’s Bluff battlefield and the resemblance of the Park’s historic Greek Revival Mansion to the White House.

Morven Park is located off of Old Waterford Road northwest of Leesburg. Media reporters and photographers are invited to attend the filming, which will include actors in period costumes and antique horse-drawn carriages. Interviews with filmmaker Kathleen McCormick and actors will be available. For more information, call the Morven Park office at (703) 777-2414.

Additional Morven Park mansion photographs available.