Nelson portrayer physically resembles
Battle of Richmond commander

Physically, he resembles Union Major Gen. William (Bull) Nelson, is a veteran re-enactment commander and is experienced in both infantry and artillery maneuvers.

But, unlike the Union general he portrays at the Battle of Richmond, Robert Preston is genial and an excellent communicator and speaker. In addition to portraying the irascible Nelson, who commanded Federal forces at the 1862 Richmond conflict, Preston also served as Union commander for Richmond’s Aug. 28-29 re-enactment and is a long-time volunteer at the Perryville Battlefield.

At 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, the Harrodsburg resident is nearly the same size as the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Nelson. But unlike Nelson, he has the respect of the men he commands. The 20-year re-enactment veteran helped form the 10th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry in 2006 along with the unit’s Executive Officer Chad Greene.

Other re-enactors who have performed under Preston’s leadership, describe him as “the ultimate professional” who stresses authenticity.

“Robert wants to provide the public with an accurate picture of the Civil War soldier, what his life was like and how the war was fought,” one member of the 10th Kentucky said.

Preston’s re-enactment experience includes Richmond and Perryville in Kentucky, Fredericksburg and Richmond in Virginia, Resaca and Andersonville in Georgia, Gettysburg, Pa., Antietam, Md., Franklin, Tenn., and Selma, Ala., among others.

His stops with the 10th Kentucky include Richmond and Perryville, Chattanooga and Chickamauga, Tenn., and Andersonville, Ga., plus small events all across the country. At Richmond, the unit portrays the 18th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, which was one of the participants in the 1862 Battle of Richmond.

At Perryville, Preston serves as lieutenant colonel for the Western Federal Blues, which is the Union command structure at Perryville’s re-enactments. He also is vice president of the Friends of Perryville Battlefield.

“We’re very lucky to have Robert as a mainstay at Perryville,” Joan House, director of the Perryville Battlefield Association, points out. “Robert has put in hundreds of hours of volunteer time during the last few years and never fails to show up with a chain saw and a warm grin. He’s one of those rare individuals who puts his money and time where it’s needed.”

One of Preston’s newest additions to his portrayals is an American saddle bred named “Perfect Bourbon,” who is being trained to participate in re-enactments. Robert, who’s president of a Nicholasville industrial chimney and stack company, has brought the horse to Richmond and Perryville for events the past two years.