Nope, it's not the traffic for a Saturday football game or the fair!
The Harper House, which was used as a field hospital by the Union troops, as well as 65 wounded Confederates. When the Union troops headed to meet Sherman at Goldsboro, they left the wounded Confederates behind. It was weeks before they were well enough to leave themselves.
What little boys do while waiting for the battle to begin
I've read about servants going into battle with soldiers to cook and wash for them, and I've read about slaves following the Union army and camping behind them in search of protection and freedom, but I've not read about whole families going to war together (but that doesn't mean they didn't).
I like the Coleman pack inside the tent...nice touch, don't you think?
Bobby watching the advancing troops. Is he merely observing, or secretly daydreaming?
The Union soldiers before battle. The historian shared that the troops discredited the cooks who complained of being unable to forage for food due to all the Rebels in the area. Despite the warnings, the Union forces were caught unprepared. Had it not been for their sheer numbers (they outnumbered the Rebs 4 to 1 in this battle), the outcome might have been different. Re-enactments in the South always have a problem of having enough Union soldiers. Confederate re-enactors must be part of an invited group. Union re-enactors just need a uniform and can join up with a group from anywhere.
Not sure about the flag on the left (other than it's colors are opposite of the AL state flag), but the center flag is the first flag of the Confederacy. Not sure what the rectangular red spot on white is, but the battle flag (used by most troops at the end of the war because none of the three official Confederate flags were conducive to good battle strategy) is at the bottom right corner.
And the Feds use their cannons to shoot back.
An artillery supply truck? Or maybe the wounded wagon.
And the battle stops temporarily for the real ambulance. Heat stroke perhaps?We heard they were putting bags of ice on the horses to keep them cool.
The heat of the battle(according to the newspaper, the Union re-enactors had to get up again after playing dead because there were too few of them)
This Union regiment from New York were either using their historical unit's actual battle flag or else had a battle-worn replica made. Either way, it drew the eye of almost everyone on our side of the field.With the warm temps and the large publicity for this year's events, the crowd was three times as large as I remember it being five years ago. I expect the next re-enactment in 2015 will be even bigger as it will be the 150 anniversary. And one of the vendor's tents we visited supposedly had period era jewelry, including earrings. I guess because of Louisa Mae Alcott's book Rose in Bloom I assumed very few girls had pierced ears back then. I did browse at some of the dresses, hats, parasols and hoop skirts. It would be cool to dress up like that, but realistically, that's way too much money for an event that only happens every five years. Besides, which side would I support? Some of my Dad's ancestors served as independent scouts for the Union in SC, and while most of my Mom's ancestors fought for the South, one of the women did marry a Union soldier. Bobby would shoot me if he went in gray and me in navy. :) Regardless, while the past is behind us and it's cool to dress up, a part of me can't help but wonder what the South would be like if we had handled things differently or if Lincoln had survived. I guess we'll never know.
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