Actually, it’s not. In February, when there was a warm snap (thankfully), we ventured out to a battle reenactment. It was a Civil War battle that was fought near where we live. We met some friends there and had a wonderful time. I was expecting some rinky dink reenactment with not much going. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised…in fact, we didn’t get to see everything they had set up. Tents selling Civil War memorabilia and of course, wooden swords and guns (the boys were in heaven). Zoe and I wanted to go to all the tents selling dresses…and we did hit quite a few (to which I kept telling Zoe I could make those same dresses for her if she wanted). The battle was pretty neat and managed to see (and feel quite a bit). We, being our first time and arriving late, chose to sit near the cannons. They were extremely….extremely loud. We knew they’d be loud but we didn’t realize that we couldn’t see, for the most part, when the cannons would go off. So when a round was fired the first shot just made you jump. Each time.
So here’s the pics from our day:
Zoe and Laura learned out to make rag dolls out of strips of fabric. The seamstress had an extremely old machine that she used. It was really neat to see and made me grateful for my new digital sewing machine!
Guess what all the boys liked!?! They were filthy by the time we left but they had a blast.
The Confederate General (I think). He was basically standing around telling people to not plug their ears and close their mouths at the same time when the cannons went off. If you did…it’d hurt…really bad.
In history, a few weeks ago, we were reading about the American Revolution and General Washington trying to train his troups. We read about a volley but I don’t think the kids quite understood what I was talking about. I tried to explain it but nothing beats seeing in front of your eyes. When the infantry marched out, they got to see several volleys! That was pretty cool.
As we were leaving, we were all thirsty (and tired) so we found a place selling…
lemonade and other cool drinks (none with alcohol) in some really fun neat bottles…did you think we were turning our kids into whinos?!
Yep, Ace in front of the Confederate flag downing some nice ice cold lemonade. It was fun. You can pick out your bottle and then get refills.
Start ’em early!
Taking a quick break before guzzling some more.
And this is just a fun picture of Zoe!
I know there was a lot wrong and right about the Civil War. I don’t think History should be ignored or disregarded because it makes us feel bad. There’s a lot about the Civil War that is not discussed much in classes and I am so grateful for a father who taught me a lot about why the Civil War started (slavery was one of the issues…and just one) and the men who fought it. He also taught me to be appreciative and somber because this was a war where families were separated and destroyed. Not a pleasant exciting time. We tried to drive that point home to the kids as we left. We didn’t want this to be just a fun event but a chance for them to understand history in a more real way. If you get a chance to attend a battle reenactment, I hope you do and remember the sacrifices that families from both the North and South made for their beliefs and loyalties.
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