CIVIL WAR REENACTMENTS
A town like Gettysburg that's so rich in history begs to be understood. Just the fact that the battlefield is still intact and the surrounding town has survived over the decades is a testimony of the appreciation and the strong interest in keeping it alive for the future generation of visitors who will come here. Reenactments are an integral part of Gettysburg because the history comes alive for everyone to see and feel.
What is Reenacting - An American Civil War reenactment is people in modern times re-creating a battle or an event associated with the Civil War. This is carried out by hobbyists, who here in the United States are called reenactors.
History Behind Reenacting - These battle portrayals started in the early 1960's with the Civil War Centenial Commemorations. These battles and events found an audience for a short time but faded later in the late 1960's. Living History reenactments grew in popularity in the early 1980's and 1990's because of the 125th Anniversary Battle Series and the 130th Anniversary Battle Series 1991-1995.
There seemed to be more people interested in these battles across the United States at various battlefields and so it blossomed again in early 2000 and has been enjoying new popularity and attracting new people interested in reenacting. Currently the 2006-2010, 145th Anniversary Battle Series is set to include more realistic reenactments of major battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg and will draw upwards of 10,000 or more reenactors and visitors.
Participation - American Civil War reenactments have consisted of reenactors between the ages of 8 and 70, who brave the elements (some years it rains during the entire event), spend an impressive amount of money and resources just to join a unit and duplicate a soldiers life down to the smallest detail. You can learn what it takes to become a reenactor whether you are a man , woman or even a child. Some event sponsors occasionally offer these classes.
A great way is to attend a reenactment like Gettysburg or Antietam where there are thousands of soldiers, sutlers and units all in one place and then just walk up to them and ask questions. At any reenactment or living history event, the participants look forward to visitors coming up and talking to them. That's what they live for! They love to talk history, so don't be shy, go on up and start talking!
The Four Types of Reenactments
- Living History: Strictly for educating the public about lifestyles, medical procedures and camp life. There may not be a mock battle but instead, the equipment or instruments of the war that a soldier might use or be involved in is shown.
- Public Demonstration: Smaller mock battles put on to show the art of war at the time; also how the people lived in 1860's. These smaller mock battles may not be historically accurate but they show the rules of war.
- Tactical Battles: Generally not open to the public. These are fought like real battles with both sides in a contest to beat his opponent. (Our modern armies still do this, sometimes it's war waged on a computer screen).
- Scripted Battles: Large battles fought either on original battleground or at a place very similar to the original. These battles are planned out ahead of time and follow the actions of the real battles. This is basically what the reenactment events accomplish, however, they are not held on the original battlefield but in the case of Gettysburg, it's held on a farm nearby.
- How To Become A Reenactor: If you've been thinking about signing up with a unit and "going off to war" , there are quite a few ways to do that. First and foremost if you can get to an event, by all means go and see what it's all about, but if that's not possible, check out my recommended books section as I've listed some good books for you to read. Check out the internet on Civil War sites and read about different units both Union and Confederate. I hope this has been inspiring for you. I have been a reenactor for many years and I have found it to be a very rewarding experience.