In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Since the first April of the Civil War sesquicentennial belonged to the Battle of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, I can’t let the second April pass without a mention of the Battle of Fort Pulaski outside Savannah, Georgia.
Guarding the mouth of the Savannah River just east of the city by the same name, Pulaski sits alone on desolate Cockspur Island. Most Americans have never heard of Pulaski, but the Civil War reenactors who reoccupied the fort earlier this month hope to change that. I had the good fortune to join them for a couple hours and the even better fortune to have a loving and patient wife willing to join me for the adventure.
When Confederate troops occupied the fort at the outset of the Civil War, Pulaski represented military engineering at its finest. No less of an engineer than General Robert E. Lee believed the fort could withstand a bombardment. While not in charge of the fort’s defenses, Lee had a personal stake in their success. He had helped build the installation years earlier as a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
But Lee and the other Confederates had not counted on the devastating accuracy of the Union’s newest weapon – rifled cannons. When Union guns opened fire from nearby Tybee Island in April 1862, they opened a hole in Pulaski’s brick walls that exposed the fort’s combustible magazine. Pulaski’s defenders could hold out no longer. Thirty hours after firing began, the cannons fell silent. Just as suddenly, an entire generation of state-of-the-art coastal defenses became hopelessly out of date.
One hundred fifty years later, men dressed in gray graciously lowered the drawbridge for my wife and me, so we could share a few hours in their company. With the sound of rifled cannons booming in the distance, the fort’s defenders made preparations for their final night inside the brick walls. What little time they had left, they were eager to share by answering questions left out of books and lectures. Where else could one learn how to recognize the rank of an officer in a defunct army or fire a 150-year-old cannon?
As my wife and I prepared to take our leave – we had dinner plans in Savannah – one soldier asked why we were departing so soon. The battle was not over, he reminded us. We knew otherwise, of course. He was just playing his part. The ends of the past are no longer in doubt, but let’s be thankful for reenactors who remind us they once were.
- Comment (12)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments:
Jul '11
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
I'm glad you enjoyed being part "The War of Northern Aggression"
May '10
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Yee boy...
May '10
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Yes, be sure you don't leave anything "farbee" behind. (anything of present day)
Glad you enjoyed your time and learned a lot.
Keith Preston
1st Missouri Light Artillery, Turner Brigade, Company M, Retd.
Dec '10
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
I visited Ft Pulaski last week! Was out in Savannah doing training for a client.
A quote from another client in Jackson, MS a few years ago:
"We didn't lose that war. We just ran out of bullets before we ran out of Yankees."
Jonathon and Keith - please tell me you've read Tony Horowitz' "Confederates In The Attic". Fantastic book about reenactors.
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
The Great Adventure, you just missed the 150th by one weekend. I am sorry I missed you there. Savannah is a great city.
The Great Adventure!: I visited Ft Pulaski last week! Was out in Savannah doing training for a client.
A quote from another client in Jackson, MS a few years ago:
"We didn't lose that war. We just ran out of bullets before we ran out of Yankees."
Jonathon and Keith - please tell me you've read Tony Horowitz' "Confederates In The Attic". Fantastic book about reenactors. · 13 minutes ago
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Keith Preston, thanks for your post. Keep us posted if we can expect to see you on the field soon.
Keith Preston: Yes, be sure you don't leave anything "farbee" behind. (anything of present day)
Glad you enjoyed your time and learned a lot.
Keith Preston
1st Missouri Light Artillery, Turner Brigade, Company M, Retd. · 1 hour ago
May '11
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Mr. Show spoof of Civil War Reenactments, Ken Burns style
"The reenactment of the Battle of Turner Springs would prove to be one of the fake bloodiest in history"
Edited on April 27, 2012 at 1:13amApr '12
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
This is a very confusing post. You keep conflating two very different wars. The Civil War happened in England in the 17th century. Some of the commanders were Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, and Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
As DocJay said above, the war with Robert Edward Lee et al. in the locations you mention was The War of Northern Aggression. Now, it is sometimes referred to as the War for Southern Independence or the War Between the States, but any other terms for it are plum improper.
Aug '11
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Enjoyed the post. It is generally this time of year when we would haul out and dust off our re-eneacting gear. We gave up the life when our son graduated from high school. It was great fun, interesting people, and a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by all those touched by this war.
Collins Battery B, Missouri
Jun '10
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Reenactors return the juices of life to history that is usually sucked flat and dry by the subtraction of everything but the barest fact. I can't think of a more delightful way of learning than by watching people doing all those ordinary things that never seem to get much historical mention.
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Thanks for all these posts. We have reenactors from Missouri from both armies here. Now I am wondering if the two units ever shared/share a field.
HeartofAmerica: Enjoyed the post. It is generally this time of year when we would haul out and dust off our re-eneacting gear. We gave up the life when our son graduated from high school. It was great fun, interesting people, and a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by all those touched by this war.
Collins Battery B, Missouri · 19 hours ago
Aug '11
Re: In Praise of Civil War Reenactors
Jonathan Horn: Thanks for all these posts. We have reenactors from Missouri from both armies here. Now I am wondering if the two units ever shared/share a field.
HeartofAmerica: Enjoyed the post. It is generally this time of year when we would haul out and dust off our re-eneacting gear. We gave up the life when our son graduated from high school. It was great fun, interesting people, and a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by all those touched by this war.
Collins Battery B, Missouri · 19 hours ago
Apr 28 at 8:18am
Probably so. The beauty of Civil War Re-Enacting is the ability to "play" both sides. Although our battery was officially a Confederate group, we occasionally changed uniforms and led the attack from the Union side or as Missouri State Guard. I remember a particularly "hilly" battleground in Arkansas that required a lot of work to move the cannons. When asked on the second battle day if we would like to move to the high ground, our Captain looked up the hill, carefully considered the amount of work, and respectively declined. "Nope, he said, "we'll just change uniforms."