Civil War Reenactment

Two weeks ago my family and I participated in a Civil War Reenactment in Atlanta, GA.  While our friends explained as much as they could to set the expectations, there was much that we learned and experienced by participating that words couldn’t have prepared us for.

When we first arrived to the campsite, we were simply awed by the number of vehicles that were parked.  They had approximately 2,000 people who participated in the reenactment.  As we began to unload our vehicle and carry our bags to our tent, I quickly got lost in the numerous rows of tents.  We later learned that they were called “streets”.  All the tents looked alike, and they were packed tightly close to one another.  In fact, the next morning, I did not realize that the neighbor right behind our tents were horses for our cavalry.

Although this was a reenactment, we had to live as closely to the times of the Civil War.  We could not show any items that did not belong in the time period.  Our tents were hot, I was in wool clothing, we cooked over  an open fire, and we drank water out of pails.  Luckily, we were able to get away with a few things: gatorade drink in a closed pot, an air mattress covered by an old cloth, and porta pottys.  Other than brushing our teeth and using a wash cloth, there were no shower facility… besides we were already bathing in our own sweat throughout the weekend and in the same clothes.

Despite these hardships, we very much enjoyed the trip.  I have learned quite a bit through the reenactment.  I had a better appreciation for how they lived, how they fought, and more importantly how they cared for each other.  We had a chance to experience the music they played and the dances they come to enjoy.

The best experience is the camaraderie amongst one another.  Everyone was welcomed, taken care of, and had their backs.  Although most were surprised by a Korean participating, they welcomed us equally.  Story on how we were convinced to participate in an upcoming posting. Many knew each other by name, and we shared what we had with each other.  The friendship was felt on the battlefield as well.  At one point, we rested on a small hill with one tree to shade us.  While we rested before the battle, everyone shared with each other the food they brought with them in their haversack.  This was necessary since they called us to arms at lunch time; battle doesn’t stop for meals.  Regardless of how much or how little we had, it was shared.  I slowly understood, because we marched together, we fought together, and unfortunately we died together.  We had to trust each other to survive.

Once it was over we immediately packed our gears into our vehicles to return back to civilization.  As we hit the road back to go home, we stopped by Chili’s restaurant for a nice meal.  I felt bad for our waiter who had to serve us for lunch… yes, we were back to our modern clothes, but we stank of sweat from two days without a shower.  While we were glad to be back to modern day life, we did discover one strong reason why people enjoyed the reenactment: they enjoyed the friendship that was formed.  They did not judge people for how they looked, dressed, or what they had.  They immediately accepted them into the family and enjoyed each others company.