Pvt. Dan Shippee, of Foster, left, and Pvt. Eric Anderson, of Moosup, Conn., take part in drills at the Governor Sprague Mansion, in Cranston.

The Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

CRANSTON — “Lieutenant, captain has given the order to form the troops!” Lt. Gregg Mierka barked yesterday afternoon. Sweat glistened on his forehead as the sun soaked his dark blue wool jacket and lighter blue wool pants — the uniform of a Union soldier.

“Color guard,” Lt. Greg Payne responded, “forward march!”

As a lone drummer kept beat, a dozen members of the Rhode Island Second Regiment paraded across the lawn at Governor Sprague Mansion, marching across the decades that separate modern Rhode Island from its Civil War counterpart.

“Governor Sprague was one of the first governors to mobilize to defend Washington,” explained Mierka, who, besides playing a Civil War lieutenant, is also a director of the Cranston Historical Society and facilities manager of the society’s Governor Sprague Mansion.

This weekend, a Civil War encampment on the mansion’s grounds highlighted Gov. William Sprague’s connection to Abraham Lincoln as the country prepares to mark the 200th anniversary of the Great Emancipator’s birth next year.

The encampment also served as a fundraiser.

“All the events we have raise money for the preservation of the Sprague Mansion,” said Mierka. “The mansion needs a lot of tender loving care. It’s very fragile.”

The historical society is holding several Lincoln-themed fundraisers, planning to use the money for a larger event next year, when it hopes to bring actor Sam Waterston, of television’s Law & Order, to Rhode Island to perform as Lincoln. Waterston is on the national advisory committee for the Lincoln bicentennial and has portrayed the 16th president on stage and screen.

Money from the Waterston event would then go toward repair and maintenance of the mansion.

Sprague has more than a tenuous tie to Lincoln. When the Civil War began, Lincoln put out a call to governors to send troops to defend the capital. Sprague answered Lincoln’s call personally, leading 3,000 soldiers to Washington and into battle at Bull Run.

In 1863, Sprague resigned as governor to become one of Rhode Island’s U.S. senators. That same year, he married Kate Chase, the daughter of Lincoln’s treasury secretary, Salmon P. Chase.

pparker@projo.com