![]() ![]() North or south of the Mason-Dixon line, Evans’ is an American story. He had two sisters, two brothers, six children and was 48 years old when he was killed. He mentions Thomas Evans, and a little research finds that Evans died May 2, 1864, in Jacksonport, Ark. Taylor allows he chose the Confederacy because he had kin in Arkansas. “Imagine an evening where people are talking to one another. “No cell phones,” Taylor exclaims Sunday morning. Someone pulled out an accordion and soon there was dancing, hoop skirts swirling. Saturday night, Taylor joined his comrades around a campfire. But for him it’s less about battles than it is about human connections. Taylor, a San Diego area resident and quality control inspector for a dental company, is a long-time Civil War buff and got into reenacting seven years ago. Only fire when ordered don’t fire when close to the enemy fire above heads no hand-to-hand combat nothing in muzzles besides gunpowder, never – ever – get close to cannons. But I’ve never fired a gun shoulder-to-shoulder and pay close attention during safety training. He checks out my kit and gingerly hands over brass firing caps and enough paper tubes of gunpowder to make a serious mess of, say, my arm. ![]() James Taylor (his real name) is quartermaster. I chose gray because in the 21st century the war is over we’re all on the same side.Ĭpl. Some honor ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. Some fight in gray because they are from the South. Some tell me they chose the Confederacy because they believe in the right of secession and speak eloquently of current efforts in Texas. There are a wide range of reasons for why reenactors choose a certain side. I top off my uniform with a Johnny Rebel Kepi Hat, gray with a narrow black visor. But try marching, practicing drills, carrying, loading, reloading and shouldering it more than 50 times during two battles in one day and you have a tiny taste of what it meant to fight in the Civil War. Without bayonet, my musket is close to 5-feet long and weighs nearly 10 pounds. My gunpowder bag is thick leather, as is my belt that holds my ammo pouch and 17-inch steel bayonet. The jacket is wool with seven brass buttons. ![]() ![]() Fortunately, I find thick cloth suspenders. Rough cotton pants include a button-up fly but no belt loops. Steel plates on the heels keep the shoes safe, but do little for my feet. My shoes have leather laces and with no inserts feel like slippers – until I walk. I duck into a crude tent stocked with supplies and grab whatever I can find. Some, particularly officers, are in full regalia. Most wear a mix of well-worn uniform and civilian attire. Soldiers in the Union encampment strut about in full uniform, while soldiers in the Confederate camp are a comparatively motley crew. Women in skirts with hoops big enough to hide a Smart Car stroll past A-frame tents that are little more than canvas tossed over poles. A man with an assortment of tools that look more suited to repairing buggies than repairing bodies demonstrates what it meant to practice old-timey medicine. There are several villages including a civilian one. Walking into Huntington Beach Central Park is like stepping back in time. Yes, with some 400 combat reenactors and thousands of visitors, Civil War Days are about much more than flags or even guns. The Confederate cross should be on the battlefield in Huntington Beach – it wasn’t – if it was historically accurate just as it was historically accurate to see some women (dressed as men) as well as a black man fighting for the Confederacy. Civil War reenactments are about history, and we learn from history. ![]()
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