A colonel and his private of the 69th New York “stack” their rifles after a battle on Monday.
By JOCE DeWITT
For the Keizertimes
The odor of sulphur overcomes any other as hundreds of rifles are fired simultaneously during a battle. However, the smell of hot gun powder, pungent as it may be, is not what absorbs one’s mind while on the battlefield.
If any sense rises above the rest during an attack, it is hearing.
As a soldier marches onto the field surrounded by his company his hearing is overwhelmed by sounds of crackling gun shots, swift cavalry, distant cries from enemy lines and thunderous, brain-rattling cannon fire.
Every battle scenario is deafening.
I know because I was on the battlefield shooting one of those rifles last weekend at Willamette Mission State Park, which hosted the annual Civil War reenactment staged by the Northwest Civil War Council.
I was given the chance to spend a day with both the Confederate and Union armies.
This allowed me first-hand experience in many things, like living in military camps of the 1860s, shooting a cannon for the first time – and of course, dying a glorious, but painless, death on the battlefield in front of countless spectators.
Going into the weekend, one motive that rose above the rest was discovering who these reenactors are. What kind of person makes a hobby out of recreating a war that happened 149 years ago?
“I find myself having to choose my words wisely when I tell my co-workers what I do for the 4th every year. I wonder what they will think of me if I say, ‘Well, I’m a reenactor…’” explains Jarod Re, captain of the 4th Virginia of the Confederate army.
“I get really weird assumptions of who I am when people find out I do this,” said Tim Bobosky.
Many assumptions are rooted in ignorance of what actually happens at one of these events.
What I discovered was a group of people who come from a wide range of backgrounds and walks of life unified by their love of history, their country and camaraderie.
The event is set up to capture the atmosphere of a Civil War camp, down to every uniform button and eating utensil. Anything that falls short of being period specific is negatively referred to as “farb.”
Confederate and Union soldiers wore period-correct uniforms of wool pants, long-sleeved flannel shirts, vests and jackets in 75 degree weather.
The uniform, along with a rifle that is much heavier than it looks, make a battle scenario during mid-day without shade a memorable and sweaty effort to portray what Civil War soldiers experienced.
“It is fun to not just camp, but to relive history. This is something very do-able here in the Northwest in period-correct clothes and gear,” says Rich Wheeler of the 4th Virginia.
“Modern signifiers of class and employment are gone,” says Bobosky.
For instance, one living in the camp wouldn’t know Alan Bown of the 4thVirginia has multiple international arm-wrestling championships, or that Donny Cammeron of the 69th New York Infantry is a member of the Society for Barefoot Living.
“We are so diverse, but we put that away for the reenactment,” says Bobosky.
The reenactors are students of history. Every participant whether civilian or soldier is an expert on the armies they represent.
Most can discuss the outcomes of actual battles for hours, not to mention the names of real commanders and whether their own company survived.
For instance, Mike Cooper of the 4th Virginia did enough research on his company to know it had no survivors at the end of the war. “They were all killed, injured or captured as far as anyone knows. We can go through the records and look at actual soldiers and their personas for the company,” he said.
The ultimate goal of reenacting is to educate the public of the time period. According to Lt. Colonel Scott Eakman of the Union army, “It really helps to know who’s who and who won.”
“We do a lot of interacting with the public because we’re trying to expand,” says Captain Re.
Confederate Sergeant Major Bob Olin, veteran of more than 70 reenactments said, “This club started with 15 people, then it grew. There are over 1,000 in it now.”
With this many history buffs gathered in one place, campfire political discussions are inevitable. A common one, at least in the Confederate camp, is what the rebels were fighting for in the first place.
John Kirkpatrick of the 4th Texas says, “Motivations haven’t changed. People get swept up in a wave of what they call patriotism. Were we really protecting slavery? I don’t think so.”
“To have the war simplified to slavery leaves out a lot,” claims Bobosky.
Though serious history discussions happen frequently, there is still plenty of time left for comedy. In fact, a sense of humor is an unofficial requirement.
This much was made obvious through certain jokes, stories and absurdities shared by every company. The fact that most of the men have been camping and marching together in the blazing summer sun for years only makes the idea truer.
The 69th New York Infantry, for instance, bought a yellow “bonnet of shame” to be worn by the soldier who first mentions a certain old inside joke.
Joe Simple of the 4th Texas Infantry has acquired a reputation he calls “inescapable” as the battalion goofball for his tendency to stand in every company during roll call.
“I like to die three times during every battle. Three is a good number,” says Simple.
Though I was new and inexperienced, I was treated with a friendly welcome and utmost hospitality, in which the only discomfort I felt with both armies was from being overfed.
Such regards gave me a taste of the same companionship and amity that the actual soldiers may have felt many years ago.
Every member portrayed an image of unbreakable familial ties that were very real during the actual war, even if those family ties lay in rival territory.
My dad also joined the reenactment. He was, however, my enemy for the bulk of the event.
As a result, I saw my father out on the battlefield, wearing a different colored uniform, marching with a different company, and pointing a gun straight at me.
Admittedly, there was an ironic comedy to the fact that I shot my own father down in battle and watched him perform a dramatized death 30 feet away from me.
Below the surface, though, I realized our circumstances were authentic to the Civil War. Brother did fight against brother and father did fight against son; or in this case, daughter.
This war, I learned, was extremely personal. As a consequence, thousands of men and women reenact it every year to shed light on our country’s history and honor the people who fought so boldly for what we have now.
Northwest reenactments boast men who have joined the U.S. military and are currently deployed overseas due to a sense of duty instilled in them from reenacting at a young age.
They do an exemplary job. “The safety inspector is shocked that after 20 years of this, nothing bad has happened,” says Colonel Wallace of the Union army. “We have an immaculate safety record.”
“This is one of the best hobbies in the world,” Olin says.
After three days in the camps, eating, sleeping and fighting alongside some of the most genuine and pleasant men and women I’ve ever met, I whole-heartedly agree.
To find out more about the Northwest Civil War Council, visit their website at www.nwcwc.org.
