West Virginia, August 2007 - Civil War Reenactment, Yeee-haaah!
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Lisa, Mary Wade and I attended a Civil War reenactment in Greenbrier State Forest on a humid August Sunday.

The Battle of Dry Creek begins as the Confederates wheel out the heavy artillery on a hot and humid Sunday in the Greenbrier State Forest.

Although the actual battle took place over two days beginning August 26, 1863, the reenactment took only an hour.  "They'll go until they run out of bullets," one of the reenactor's wives said.

 

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Hold the mouse over each of the photos on this page. It's magic. You'll like it.
The battle was a costly one for both sides, particularly the Union, with 218 men including 26 killed, 125 wounded, and 67 captured, according to the Battle of Dry Creek website.
The deafening roar of a cannon unleashing its deadly balls.  This photo even looks loud.

 
The Confederates about to unleash a hail of deadly gunfire against the encroaching Union soldiers.
 

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Fun History Fact

Mary Wade Burnside is a relative of Ambrose Everett Burnside, a famous Union General. His distinctive style of facial hair is now known as sideburns, derived from his last name.
The Union receives reinforcements, and mounts charge after charge, trying to break through the Confederates' barricade.
The Union tries to soften up Confederate General Edgar's Battalion with repeated rifle fire.
Confederate soldiers on horseback during the Battle of Dry Creek.
A Civil War reenactment is gonna be noisy.  Lisa stuffed her fingers in her ears for most of the battle, as absurdly loud cannons, rifles, and the rat-tat-tat of marching drums let anyone within a 400-mile radius know that a reenactment was on!
Some of the battle-weary Confederates, ready to shrug off the August heat and wage war against the Union.
Barking out commands to the troops.
For those about to rock, we salute you.
After two days of battle, Union General Averell, realizing he could not succeed, ordered his soldiers to retreat.

Thinking ahead, Averell had sent his engineers ahead to notch the trees so only a couple of strokes of the axe would topple the trees and block the road behind to slow the Confederate army.

Learn more about the history of the battle at the Battle of Dry Creek website.
After the din had subsided, Mary Wade talked to this man holding the hat, who had reenacted the the part of a Confederate surgeon.  He seemed to draw in his breath when she told him that her last name was Burnside, a name she shares with Ambrose Everett Burnside, a famous Union General.  But over a hundred years later, the pride of being the son of a Confederate veteran still runs strong.

Mary Wade, a journalist for the Times West Virginian, wrote about this Civil War reenactment and this encounter in an article that appeared in the Times West Virginian.

 

West Virginia 2007
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