Participation in historic battle reenactment?

Question

Has anyone participate in that before. Where? How does it like? And how to participate. Pls share experience with me, thx

Answer 1

I haven't, but my brother is an American Civil War re-enactor, and he LOVES it.  He talks about when he has to "take a hit" and "die" or when he actually gets to finish a "battle."  He was in the 145th anniversary of the Gettysburg battle that they held this year, and he was in Pickett's Charge - since he's a Confederate soldier, he had to take a hit and die, but he said when it was over, the people in charge always yell, "Resurrect!" and all the "dead" get up!  I thought that was funny.

Answer 2

I did a lot of that when I was young.  It was a lot of fun.  I belonged to an english re-enactment society, and I was a soldier, which was great fun.  I always felt very excited before a battle, and it was a lot of fun during as well, though it could be chaotic.  I made a lot of friends through the society, a couple of whom I'm still in touch, with, and I also met my husband there.  Altogether, I would say it is a very enjoyable way to spend your time.

Answer 3

I have been a Civil War re-enactor and in the last few years a longhunter (think Appalachian mountain man circa 1763) re-enactor.  There is nothing like it.  Of course, some people see it as grown men and women playing dress-up.  But I am re-creating the persona of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers who lived in Virginia and North Carolina...trying to find out how they lived and what they believed in.

Answer 4

I have been reenacting the American War for Independence for 8 years now and have enjoyed almost every moment of it.  I enjoy the camaraderie and friendship with the members of my group.  It is easy to learn about history when you enjoy what you are doing.  My family is a major part of reenacting as well and my son has learned important things about history that he never would have learned in school.   He has slept in the yard of 3 Presidents and on 2 major battlefields.  

To become a reenactor is easy.   First you have to find a group near you.  Then you have to figure what you want out of it  and find a group to fit your desire.  There are many time periods to try, but most of the reenactor groups have a basic military structure.  Some groups are progressive and have strict rules about uniforms, women in the ranks, and what you can have in camp.  Others are more tolerant of the 21st century world and are pretty open to things that are not period.   Again find one that fits into what you want to get from the experience.    Look at the units first before you invest time or money into it though.  A good place to start is the Continental Line Association.  It has lists of all the members and links to their websites

Answer 5

Well, I've been to a mock Civil War battle reenactment as a spectator. By mock battle I mean to say that I think of a battle reenactment as one that actually occurred on or near the actual battlefield. I'm living in New England and aside from the raid on St. Albans, Vermont and some naval action at Portland, Maine I know of know battles or skirmishes that took place here.

But the reenactors got together several units including infantry and cavalry from both sides and artillery from the Union side (I don't remember a Confederate artillery unit but I think one might have been there) and they put on one heck of a show.

You ever seen Band of Brother? If so, do you remember the war games scene from the first episode, the one before they arrive in England and Sobel does something stupid resulting in the umpire saying to pick so many men (I think it was three) to survive and the rest of Easy Company was dead? That's pretty much how they did the infantry part of this reenactment. The two sides marched towards each other and released several volleys of blanks with some men falling to the ground pretending to be dead or wounded. The funny thing was to watch men who fell to the ground "dead" (which you could figure out cause they didn't move for a minute or so while the "wounded" would either be aided quickly or would move about on the ground looking for help as soon as they fell) get up on their elbows, or roll over onto their stomach and elbows if on their back, and watch their fellow reenactors continue to "fight." One guy got so bored with beign "dead" that he started playing with a blade of grass.

For the artillery, again they fired blanks when doing their shelling. But this time they used those things special effects guys use, scribs or something like that, to simulate the effects of artillery shells along with some firework mortars fireing off smoke shells for artillery shells bursting in air. Now this was something to watch as the artillery battery would get going and youd see bursts of smoke in mid-air, the ground and water erupting upwards as "shells" impacted, and even a small wooden something or other especially set up for the display. Now that was best part of the shelling cause they literally blew that thing up so bits and pieces came raining down in the middle of the field (they had planned everything so the explosion wasn't strong enough to throw things very far and thus hurt spectators).

The cavalry reenactors once again were using planks in their pistols. But there was nothing plank about those sabers. Now I don't know what the actual speed of cavalry troops engaging in swordfights on horseback was during the Civil War, but these guys slowed the horses down to a walk so they could fight. Despite the slower speed than might be expected (though they did bring the horses to a standstill for prolonged saber clashes which I would have expected during the war) you could definately here steel striking steel quite energetically.

Participation in a reenactment probably depends on both the type of reenactment and whose hosting it. I've actually gone to more camp reenactments then battle reenactments and these are a bit more relaxed, at least the one's I've been to. There's usually a drill demonstration, a demonstration of firing the weapons, and of course camp life which includes cooking and telling stories. Visitors are encouraged to ask question when the drill or firing demonstrations are not occuring, so visitors can participate through that. The battle reenactment also included camps (Union and Confederate) that could be visited when they weren't putting on their demonstrations. But there was one element to really get spectators to participate. Enlist in the army. They had a guy there who acted as a Union Army recruiter. He'd call you over and if he could get you to stop by he'd take you through enlisting. Asking you questions like your age, current health, your height, could you read, where you were from, things like that. Then he'd have you sign your name in the enlistment book. Actually, now that I think of it it was probably one of those guest books like you might find at a small town museum, a nursing home, etc. He was probably really just trying to get an idea of who was attending and where all they were coming from. But he did it as if he was recruiting you.

In all cases I've seen it seems theres always a bit of recruitment going on. That is the units hosting the reenactment are willing to recruit new members into the unit. So they've got info on who they are and sign-up material you can take home with you if you think you might be intrested.

Answer 6

I haven't but it sounds fun!

It depends on where you live. There is a list of the historical reenactment groups here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_...

Good luck :)