The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma is shaping up to be the largest re-enactment Selma has ever experienced.

More people will participate in the annual event than ever before, according to James Hammonds, president of April 1865 Society.

Hammonds said more than 1,300 individuals, 100 horses, four horse-drawn cannons and 100 cannons have been registered for this year’s battle.

“It’s going to be the biggest and best re-enactment that we have seen here in years,” Hammonds said.

The April 1865 Society, Inc. is sponsoring the 150th Battle of Selma Re-enactment April 23-26. The four-day event is expected to draw thousands of history and Civil War buffs from across the country.

“We have horse-drawn guns coming from Texas; we have infantries from Illinois and Kentucky to play real Federal infantry; and we have mounted Calvary unit all the way from Wisconsin,” Hammonds said. “We have people coming from as far away as California to participate.”

The living history school tours will kick the weekend off with hands-on instruction and period music Thursday. Later that evening, a Civil War writer forum will be held at ArtsRevive at 5:30 p.m. It is a free event.

The celebration continues Friday with the sights and sounds of Civil War era artillery at 7:30 p.m. and the re-enactor’s camp dance at 8 p.m. at Riverside Park.

“You have to think of the Battle of Selma that we put on here as a four-day play or pageant put on outside,” Hammonds said. “Just the production of this play is amazing and the making it work out on the field … takes a lot of coordination and a lot of practice.”

The gates to the event will open at 9 a.m. Saturday at Riverside Park. A Civil War infantry, cavalry and artillery tactics event will be held at 2 p.m. at the park with a $7 admission fee. Hammonds said people should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the event.

The annual Battle of Selma Grand Military Ball for re-enactors and society members in period dress will be from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. at Sturdivant Hall.

At 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, there will be a Civil War Memorial Service and history tour at historic Old Live Oak Cemetery.

“There will be talks given at certain graves of the historic people that are buried in Live Oak, and that’s open to the public as well,” Hammonds said.

The main attraction – the re-enactment of the Battle of Selma – will be Sunday at Riverside Park and admission is $7. At 9 a.m., the gates will open and a period worship service will be held. The battle will begin at 2 p.m. and guests are again asked to arrive in plenty of time before the event begins.

“We encourage everybody in town … to come out and support us with a much larger re-enactment,” Hammonds said. “We want everybody to come and participate. People may have seen a battle re-enactment before, but they haven’t seen the one that’s going to be on Sunday the 26th and if they’ve seen four or five in the past, they will enjoy this one.”

The way the weather has been lately, rain has been of concern, but Hammonds said the event will go on as planned rain or shine.

“We have planned that if it rains, we go right on,” Hammonds said. “I’ve been looking forward to it ever since we started planning the first one back in 1986.”