Back To The Civil War
Our first day in the national park and we decided to drive an hour in the other direction because we had seen a sign when driving in, advertising a Civil War battle reenactment. We headed out at 10:30am and managed to find the place ok. It wasn’t too expensive to get in since we got the family rate and once we’d found a spot big enough for our truck, we were all set to go. We found out that the battle itself didn’t start until 1:00pm, so we had some time to wander around, check out the food booths and walk through both the Union and Confederate camps. It’s really too bad that they didn’t have any possible way to dye canvas during that period because the white of the tents made it really impossible for anyone to plan a sneak attack and stay hidden near the opposing camp. We walked through the Confederate camp first and talked
to some of the actors. They really try to sell it to you. They tried pretty hard to recruit Dad to their “cause” and then spent a lot of time explaining that the Civil War wasn’t actually about fighting between a good side and a bad side. No, no, it was just about differing opinions and no one was really right or wrong. Hmm, kinda seems to me like fighting to keep people enslaved is pretty wrong. Just saying. After a quick look around the Union camp, which was very similar to the Confederate camp, we headed back up to the viewing area to wait for the beginning of the battle. Dad and I went off to buy some pulled pork and fries for lunch and we found ourselves a rock in the shade to sit on. Unfortunately, our rock wasn’t in an ideal position and we couldn’t
see the battle ground very well, so we had to move once the reenactment began. Mostly, the two opposing sides stood right straight up and exchanged shots, both from their rifles and their canons. Apparently, they had to fight like gentlemen and face each other upright. In my opinion, that’s really stupid because it just increases your chance of getting shot, especially since they all stood really close together. Even in the Revolutionary War they didn’t fight like that, at least not all the time. About halfway through the battle, I was regretting not buying any earplugs be3cause those canons are really loud. Eventually, the Union soldiers started “dying” and the Confederates circled around to surround them. This was one battle the North didn’t win. Shocking
that the actors chose this battle, especially with all their South justification they had happening. Hmm. It was cool to see though, as it’s not exactly something that happens everywhere. The battle finished at around 1:45pm and we headed back to the car as soon as it finished to start our hour long drive home. Back at the campground, we hung around and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Peace out m8s.