Hello, All,
They
live in different towns, but are friends who meet repeatedly on "the
circuit". I hadn't realized It was so much a family affair, with roles
for teens and youngsters as well as the adults.
I
could see that re-enacting could be an absorbing hobby. Education was
the overall focus, with interests varying from pure history---what
happened and when and where---to weapons and armaments, and costuming.
Geneaology was a uniting factor. Most of the folks knew all about their
own ancestors, right down to their company, rank and serial number in
the war.
I
asked lots of questions. Here are some of the answers. Most of the
folks spend at least one summer weekend a month at some event. Some
events are re-creations of specific battles, like Gettysburg; others,
like this one, are more generic. Costumes and weapons are as authentic
as possible. I was surprised to learn that most of the re-enactors had
costumes for both the Confederates AND the Yankees, but as one young
father told me, "when there aren't Yankees enough to make it look good,
we have to wear that other uniform,...but our hearts aren't really in
it!".
We
were privileged to be given a personal explanation of the working
of "Lee's secret weapon", a fascinating repeating cannon, capable of
firing up to 65 rounds a minute. Totally revolutionary, devastatingly
effective.
We
watched the men preparing their charges: a twist of paper, a measure of
black powder, but no accompanying bullet. They would be shooting
blanks, with plenty of noise and smoke, but still would be careful to
always aim well above head height. Marvin asked an important question,
"In the midst of the battle, how do you know if you were hit?" He was
remembering being a kid, playing cowboys and Indians: "Bang! You're
dead!"...and the retort, "No, I'm not,...you missed me!" We were told
that in some battles, they used cheerios or oatmeal that would actually
mark the uniform, so it was definitely harder to argue.
In
addition to the scheduled battle, there were displays and
demonstrations, like one about the use of herbs and other native plants
for medicine, and another showing how the hoop skirt could be adapted
for smuggling small items like medicines and notes. My favorite extra
was presentations by "Mrs. Lincoln" and "Mrs. Davis", talking about
their lives --- with the emphasis on similarities between the two First
Ladies. Miss Debbie also pulled Marvin from the audience to demonstrate
how the artful southern belle might use her southern charm to wheedle
information out of an unsuspecting Union soldier. (Marvin could see
through her game, and he wasn't giving anything away!)
The battle was for possession of a hilltop meadow edged with woods. There was no specific script
to
follow, and the officers decided that the battle would be over when one
side ran out of ammunition---(which wasn't going to happen with our
Rebs, who had 300-400 charges each). The action was free-form, with
troops from both sides moving into and out of the woods. There was
cannon fire from the Wright's Repeating Cannon (very impressive!) and
answering fire from the Yankee mortar (even louder). The exchange of
rifle and pistol volleys led to a charge on the repeating cannon and our
Rebs beat them back. About a half hour into the battle, the officers
spread the word that some of the soldiers should start "dying". Soon
there were "bodies" littering the grass. Some of them clearly played the
same way as Marvin and his friends, because there were quite a few
merely wounded, not really dead. The battle was over when the Yankee
flag was captured. The standard bearer was then summarily executed by a
Rebel firing squad (for me, that was an unexpected twist); then the
action was really over.
Later
that evening, the Rebs "won" again, and this time the enemy was a small
band of youngsters. When the Rebs again captured the flag, instead of
facing a firing squad, the boys were "given a chance". They were forced
to "run for their lives", but none escaped (which was a little
depressing; they were just boys).
All in all, I'd conclude that it was an experience I would repeat if the opportunity presented itself.
I was mightily impressed with the Wright's Repeating Cannon. This
replica was a repeater, but not mechanically complete. The speed of
firing was slightly limited by the physical requirement of dropping the
charges into the breech by hand. What is missing is the carousel of
charges sitting atop the breech (resembles a slide carousel on a
projector), which drops the charge as fast as the crew could clear the
touch hole and swab the barrel. It was a formidable weapon.
The
other side was meant to have a mountain howitzer, but the delivery
vehicle had a breakdown and this mortar was the best they could
substitute on short notice.
Plenty of smoke and noise. Notice the youngster with his fingers in his ears!
Some of the actors were specific characters, like General John Hunt
Morgan, of Morgan's Raiders. He entertained the crowd with tales from
his history, including how his preoccupation with the ladies led to his
being caught and killed.
Some of them played the same as Marvin's younger friends. There were more "wounded" than "dead", at least at first!
Most
of the skirmishes seemed pretty random, but one Captain commanded his
troops to "fire by twos", having every other man fire, while the other
half re-loaded. The result was an almost continuous volley.
The
capture of the flag marked the end of the battle---that, coupled with
the fact that most of the men were sprawled "dead" on the grass. "Don't
let the flag touch the ground!" was the cry. And, if one standard bearer
was shot, someone else snatched up the flag---and immediately became a
primary target. It was a dangerous business! But I was really surprised
when the Yankee flag bearer was put up before the firing squad. And, I
don't know if that was "authentic" or not...
Jackie, playing the outlaw Josie Wales, relaxed after cleaning an
impressive arsenal of weapons. The other men were busy making their
twisted "ammunition" and filling their bags with hundreds of charges.
Numerous
small objects, like medicines and papers, could be smuggled by those
brave enough to trust that under their skirts would never be searched.
Miss
Debbie demonstrated how Southern women used their southern charm to try
to elicit detailed information from Yankee troopers far from home. Fans
and eyelashes fluttered for the Cause.
