As I got older I still was interested in the war and later discovered there were groups who actually reenacted Civil War battles. I thought I'd like to check it out and saw an ad for an event at the Chicago Historical Society. My wife and I went down but the event had been moved inside because of the weather. I met members of the group, a Union group from Joliet, IL, who basically said because I lived in Chicago that I was too far away and they didn't want me. I'm thinking that's no way to grow a group and by the way, kindly go fuck yourself.
Shortly after that I took a job that required me to move to North Carolina. I went to work for Dynamic Graphics from Peoria, IL and took their southeast territory, six states, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. I chose that territory because of the number of Civil War battlefields. The other territory I could have taken was Washington and Oregon. No thanks.
After moving to Gastonia, NC I began again to think about Civil War reenacting when my aunt sent me a newspaper clipping about an event which was happening locally. I decided to go to the event and met members of the 49th North Carolina who were very cordial and interested in having me join their group even though I was a Yankee. So here I am about to join a Confederate reenacting group but I was so eager to become involved that I didn't care which side, just let me at it.
One of the first events I went to was the re-dedication of the North Carolina monument in Gettysburg, Pa. The monument had been removed from the battlefield and sent to Cincinnati, OH to be refurbished. For the re-dedication the Park Service wanted some reenactors from North Carolina to be part of the ceremony. I don't remember how many went but they were from several groups in North Carolina. I remember there were men from the 26th NC, 49th NC, 31st NC, and 6th NC. So here I am in borrowed uniform, accouterments, hat, shoes and gun. Nervous as hell because I barely knew any of the drill or manual of arms.
Dealing with the Park Service was one giant pain in the ass in those days. First, all our weapons had to be inspected by their "black powder" expert, who was a lady ranger that had just completed her certification. She was a smug asshole who thought she was an expert on everything black powder. She managed to piss off everyone, even the veterans in the hobby. My weapon failed inspection because of a tiny crack in the wood stock which meant I wouldn't be able to fire for the weekend. The park service also wouldn't allow the reenactors to bring any powder or caps and they handed out what our firing squad would need for the ceremonial volleys.
The statue depicts four Confederate soldiers leaning forward in a charging position. One solider kneels down and points toward the enemy in the front. It was designed by Gutzon Borglum, who is most famous for sculpting Mount Rushmore.
When we arrived for the weekend we camped behind Seminary Ridge where the Confederate troops staged for the 3rd day battle of Gettysburg. One of the reasons the wanted North Carolina reenactors was to have them stand guard at the statue until the unveiling ceremony. We all got to choose what watch we wanted to stand and I got the 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. watch with another member of the 49th, Brad Bush. I have to admit it was kind of spooky being on Seminary Ridge in the middle of the night. There was a slight breeze making a little noise as it passed over the tarp covered statue and rustled the leaves. When our watch ended there were several who decided to walk the route of Pickett's Charge. I just wanted to sit there for a while and soak it all in, then decided I'd like to do that too. I started into the wheat field and had gone a hundred yards or so when my eyes started to itch so I decided to turn back and go to the camp. As I was walking down Seminary Ridge I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was... dead quiet. Then, suddenly from above my head, a very loud WHO, WHO! A damn owl hooted and damn near gave me a heart attack. Scared the crap out of me.
The next morning we did the ceremony, which went off without a hitch and so ended my first Civil War event. I was hooked and eager to go to the next event.
I will say that over the course of some thirty years in the hobby I was able to learn a helluva lot about the war and participate in some events that armchair historians will never experience, ever. I was eager to learn more about the daily life of the Civil War soldiers, how they lived, what they ate, how they drilled and prepared for battle. Over the years I did get a taste, a very small taste of their lives. The only element we didn't have to worry about as reenactors was death. When we died in a battle we were resurrected when it was over so we could go to work on Monday.
I don't know how many parts this will take for me to tell this story but if it interests you check back occasionally and I'll also put a link on Facebook. I plan on detailing some of the experiences which I felt were unique and will generalize on others. I hope you will enjoy my looking back on over thirty years in the hobby.
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