Back in the Saddle (just a figure of speech)
(To see the earlier Blogs, Page Down)
I’m sad to see this happen. The Living History demonstrations, the parades, the battle reenactments, the “soldiers” who talk to spectators and share their knowledge on everything from artillery, to training horses, battlefield surgery, making candles, sewing buttons, and cooking over a wood fire, are edifying and educational. It can spark an interest in learning more. I have learned so much from so many reenactors, and have enjoyed the company of “soldiers” and camp followers all over the Southeast and seen battlefields, fortifications, and remnants of other lives I would not have known about, from CT to FL. I know that is true for so many kids I’ve met along the way and introduced to my books.
Fort Branch, where I was Saturday and Sunday, is only an hour from my new home in Edenton. This Fort wasn’t the site of an actual battle. It was built to overlook the waterway and protect it from attacking boats. This place has a display of more artillery that actually belongs here than any other Civil War Site in the country. Most of the battlefields, even Manassas, that have an impressive display, have cannon and guns brought from other sites that weren’t going to be restored. But here at Fort Branch, all the cannon, and everything else is original to the place. Because? When the Union arrived, the Confederacy dumped it all in the Roanoke River! It stayed there until 1977 when they hauled the last of it out. It’s amazing in size and the size of the wood carriages and wheels. There are reconstructed little houses that are the winter quarters for soldiers, as well as an enormous steam engine with the original propeller that powered “The Ranger” as it patrolled the Roanoke River in the late 1800s. It’s impressive!
Without events like reenactments historical sites like this one will not have the attraction and the patronage will dwindle. In the next few years I fear some will probably close because they won’t be supported. Seeing people in period clothing, getting to taste different food and drink, see the horses up close and watch demonstrations like black smiths and the staged battle bring the crowds to these wonderful historic sites. I feel really fortunate to have been a part of those Sesquicentennial years with Avery and Gunner. (My books, Avery’s Battlefield, Avery’s Crossroad, and The Mysterious Life of Jim Limber are the reason for my participation in reenactments since 2011.)