When you think of corsets, knee-high leather boots, and bad dialects you probably think, as I would, Bauhaus concert. But throw in a few bayonets and a hoop skirt or two and you’ve got yourself a full fledged Civil War reenactment.

If the concept conjures images of the Renaissance Faire you’re not too far off the mark. There’s a massive encampment where I’m fairly certain the residents get crazy 1860’s style once the spectators have cleared out for the night. The southern dialects are sometimes inconsistent, sometimes nonexistent, and sometimes simply bad. There’s a notable absence of roasted turkey legs, but the over-abundance of in-husk corn on the cob makes up for it. But where the locals at the Ren Faire tend to be annoying at best and borderline sex-offenders at worst, the inhabitants of the Civil War encampment do their best to uphold the standards of gentility and decorum of the antebellum period. Passing gentlemen will tip their hats
to ladies, even if they happen to be wearing jeans, a wife beater, and a Union army kepi hat like I was. In fact, the only rudeness we encountered from any of the participants was as a result of said hat when a Confederate soldier, in response to my smile of greeting, simply spat “Yankee” at me and continued walking. Awesome.

Walking around the encampment area is fun, and there are all kinds of amusing anachronistic juxtapositions at every turn. I stood for a while watching some Union soldiers doing bayonet drills beside a row of bright blue porta-potties. A girl in full hoop skirted regalia walked by carrying a white three-ring binder and a laptop bag. You can also learn a thing or two from the folks at the Anti-Slavery Movement tent or watch a guy developing daguerreotype photos.

The real reason to attend one of these events, however, is to watch the battles. These people are not fucking around when it comes to the battle reenactments. Reproduction canons fire blank rounds with enough power to shake the ground and charges in the field (marked by pumpkins, so the soldiers don’t accidentally “die” on top of them) send smoke billowing out through the ranks of advancing soldiers (and occasionally dirt and debris out into the ranks of unsuspecting spectators). I’m a pacifist, but when it comes to fake violence I get the girl equivalent of a raging hard-on. On several occasions, following a particularly impressive canon blast I found myself shouting “YEAH!” like a guy in a porno right after the money shot. During the battle of Seven Pines it seemed as though the North was marching towards a decided victory when Southern reinforcements arrived unexpectedly and drove the North back. Now, my moral compass tells me that I should side with the Union army, and I do, but I have to admit that it was undeniably badass when that mob of Confederate soldiers marched out onto the field shouting and waving their bayonets and sent the North retreating. Later, during the battle of Oak Grove the Northern army redeemed themselves by marching directly through the Confederate line, sending them scrambling for cover. At this point, a six-year-old boy decided to voice his opinion of the South’s hasty retreat by yelling, “You cowards! Get back out there!” Who says kids don’t care about history?

All joking aside, though, it is impossible to watch these battles and not be struck by just how truly terrifying it must have been. With warfare having advanced to the point now where you don’t even need to be on the same continent as your enemy to effectively obliterate them it’s easy to forget the days when battles were fought with single round muskets standing in parallel lines with no cover. Add to that the fact that the guy directly opposite you might well have been your brother or your best friend. The American Civil War was one of the most divisive and bloody conflicts our country has ever seen. The casualty numbers of these battles are staggering, often breaking the tens of thousands in single battles. Of course, the solemnity of the moment can be ruined when the playing of Taps is interrupted by the Cingular tune and a woman yelling “I’m over by the hay bales” into her cell phone.

- Shannon Roberts, 11-11-08