Connecting with the Civil War

[Dusty Merritt]

Yesterday I posted in the "General Civil War History" forum some questions regarding a poetry project I'm working on. Those were more research-related. I am also fascinated by the personal ways present-day people connect with the CW.

I'd like to ask some questions specifically for reenactors:

Describe a moment where you felt a particularly transcendent connection to the CW, where the boundaries of time melted away and you felt immersed to the point of "being there." Why is this immersion important to you? How has it influenced your life outside of reenacting?

How (if at all) is reenacting a form of discourse? Would you consider it an art?

Lastly, respond to the following Oscar Wilde quote: "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to reply.

-Brendan Hamilton

[flattop32355]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

I'd like to ask some questions specifically for reenactors:

Okay, I'll bite...

Describe a moment where you felt a particularly transcendent connection to the CW, where the boundaries of time melted away and you felt immersed to the point of "being there." Why is this immersion important to you? How has it influenced your life outside of reenacting?

Sitting in a trench at Franklin, TN, we were staring out at an empty, open field in front of us, bordered on the far side by a tree line. Nothing in sight except the men in our line. We were near the far right of the line.

I looked down to attend to some minor check of equipment, or to see how my son was doing next to me. When I looked up, the entire Confederate army was just appearing out of the tree line. En masse. Far as the eye could see. It was what I have come to think of as an "Oh, Sh*t Moment".

Such moments are important because they are what one imagines the original soldiers experienced. There is that flash in your mind that overwhelms the knowledge that you cannot die here, or even be seriously harmed. It's the moment when your first instinct is to run away, but you don't because of the same reason they didn't; your friends and comrades are around you, and you cannot think of abandoning them.

Not all such moments are as dramatic: At another event, we had risen at 3 am, fought a running battle all morning long with the Rebs, at one point striking them in the open flank in an opportunity that many reenactors will never see. We returned to camp, and the period moment came when I lay back against the embankment of a sunken road and, without removing knapsack, weapon or anything else, lay back my head and immediately dropped off into an exhausted sleep.

Influence in my outside life? Nothing directly, but it does make me anticipate the next such moment.

How (if at all) is reenacting a form of discourse? Would you consider it an art?

To be sure, I looked up the definitions of "discourse". I'd have to say that reenacting itself is not discourse to the majority of us, but that many of us incorporate discouse into reenacting, both amongst us and with spectators/audiences. Is it art? Yes, for those who interact with others in the form of period persons. Similarly, a well executed scenario, camp or other interaction can be considered "art".

Lastly, respond to the following Oscar Wilde quote: "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

Reenacting can, but doesn't necessarily, allow one to drop shields and abandon defence mechanisms under the greater mask of a period character. It can allow some to express sentiments that cannot be easily expressed in our own time frame, for good or ill. It can also bring out the "actor" in some who are too self concious in real life to allow for such expression as themselves. This cannot be taken as a universal truth, but I've seen it often enough to know it happens.

[Parault]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Describe a moment where you felt a particularly transcendent connection to the CW, where the boundaries of time melted away and you felt immersed to the point of "being there."

I would like to respond to my "in time experience."

While attending Chickamauga several years ago, we were waiting to go into battle just below us in a valley. The sun hasn't quite come up yet. The cannon were positioned on either side of the mountians with a valley in the middle. The way we were to go into battle, was by a road the was off to one side of the valley. The artillery was firing off at each other with an occasional sky burst. This went of for what seemed like forever. We were standing in line and no one was talking, or laughing. As the wait continued, the cavalry came rushing by, Then the horse drawn artillery(several pieces) came rushing by. The rattle of the harness, the heavy breathing of the horses, and the shouting of orders just placed me in that moment, knowing that I was going into the fray down below in the valley.
I haven't had an experience like that since.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Hallo!

The Heresy of the Magic Moment...

When...
One's Period knowledge and skills-set, clothing and gear, recreated physical laboratory, emulation activities, projected and controlled environment, and the unque conjuncture of Suspending Disbelief and Believeable Impressions... in the absence of Modern physical and mental intrusions... all come together for a fleeting second or three... to create the illusion of sights, sounds, smells, and appearances that could be mistaken for a momentary Time Machine/Time Warp experience.
(Before someone, something, or even the Modern Voice in one's own head pushes the pin into the balloon...)

Other's mileage will vary...

Curt
Who, man and boy, has had only 3 or 4 in 30 years but they sure are Wondrously Grand Mess

[Spinster]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

:

Describe a moment where you felt a particularly transcendent connection to the CW, where the boundaries of time melted away and you felt immersed to the point of "being there." Why is this immersion important to you? How has it influenced your life outside of reenacting?.

Amazingly enough, that moment had nothing to do with funny clothes, period settings free of anacronism, or any of the other sort of mechanisms we employ to escape from life in the century and enter into life in another.

It was as simple as an evening around a coal fireplace in a mountain home. One with electricity, running water and a silent TV in the corner. My grandmother lived into my adulthood. She was orphaned at an early age, and raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather served the duration of the war, was captured and exchanged once, and the second time landed him in prison until the end of the war. During that time, her grandmother was making crops, raising children, and dealing with armies moving through her area, taking her means of livelihood and in one instance, taking her child.

In my family, there were certain things that were simply not told before children. And there were certain rites of passage that somehow earned one the priveledge of being considered a woman and not a child. Not long after I had reached that point in life, my grandmother told certain stories, in a low quiet voice, in that dimly lit room--stories that her grandmother and grandfather told her.

I touch the war in one generation--and from that short distance, the bitterness and resentment of cracker women is deep and strong--as is their resiliance and self sufficency.

In my life, this means that I cannot abide helplessness. Certainly there are those who need a hand up, who need a way out of a mess, whether of their own making or not. But for those who intentionally choose to be weak, foolish, ignorant, well, I simply have no use for them.

How (if at all) is reenacting a form of discourse? Would you consider it an art?

Yes, to both art and discourse. I prefer though, to think of it as a dance--a rather large one with many partners. Sometimes a stomping contra, sometimes a stately waltz, but always requiring the play of one person with another, in a pattern that is already set. The art is in learning the steps.

Lastly, respond to the following Oscar Wilde quote: "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

Well, of course. Please don't make me talk to people unless I'm wearing funny clothes. Or hiding behind my knitting. I'm an accountant by trade--there are some folks whose best talents require that we be sequestered in order to do our best work. These sorts of folks are often naturally shy, and require some sort of crutch to interface with the world. Funny clothes are my crutch.

[yeoman]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Sir, first time I felt like it was the real thing our unit split up sides with each making tactical plans. Pard and myself were in woods on left with a deep hollow between us and top of other side of hollow, we had good sight all around (we thought). We watched a man about 100yds away come over the top and creep on down and start coming on up our side. We had waited to give him a good surprise but he had someone moving off his side and before we could let go we took fire on our flank and pard took a hit with me falling way back to safty. Then and there I knew we should have taken the shot right when we saw him, it would have stopped his pard from coming on up and we would have been better off. It felt real enough to me not to make that mistake again. Well, I like the quote,thanks.

[lambrew]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Sir, an interesting topic.

Time blurred for me at Antietam. We were posted in reserve just inside the wood line watching the Pennsylvania boys get pushed back. Just at that moment with the smoke, and the noise at their zenith, the sergent major shouted "Get ready boys, I think we are going to be invited to the dance!" Just for a second or three, I was there. Fear, butterflys in the stomach, and an adrenaline surge hit me all at once. It made all the work worth it. As far as that moment influencing my daily life, not much at all.

Getting an impression right I would say is an art form. Coming from a long line of actors, nailing your role is 30% work, 70% art.

Respectfully....
Sean Collicott

[Dusty Merritt]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Thank you to everyone who posted a reply here. I had initially posed these questions with a current, long-running project in mind. Your thoughtful responses have got me thinking in so many directions, however, that I think this might be the start of an entirely new writing project.

Though I've never been involved in living history events, I'm fascinated by some of the parallels between my efforts as a writer and those of reenactors. We both seek to "recreate" a historical experience both for the public and ourselves. We both emphasize immersion as key--the reenactor through direct, visceral encounters (literal experiences), the writer through words and sounds that play on the imagination and emotions of his/her readers.

The varied motivations of writers/artists and reenactors also seem to intersect at points: enjoyment, obsession, escapism, alienation from the present time, the desire to convey a specific impression, or simply the inability to imagine not doing what we do. We similarly put tremendous time and money into our passions, often without the aim of any great monetary profit.

For those interested, Craig Warren has posted some fascinating discussion of Stephen Crane and Reenactment on his Civil War Literature blog.

Now, I wouldn't dare claim reenactors and artists are identical. But the parallels are something I never considered until I stumbled over this website.

Thanks again,

Brendan Hamilton

[flattop32355]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

The varied motivations of writers/artists and reenactors also seem to intersect at points: enjoyment, obsession, escapism, alienation from the present time, the desire to convey a specific impression, or simply the inability to imagine not doing what we do. We similarly put tremendous time and money into our passions, often without the aim of any great monetary profit.
Now, I wouldn't dare claim reenactors and artists are identical. But the parallels are something I never considered until I stumbled over this website.

The parallels can be seen in the name we go by: re-enact-or. Depending upon how one wishes to visualize it: We are each a brushstroke on the canvas, a part of the total painting, as we move across a battle scenario or camp vignette. We are individually modifiers and collectively verbs in sentences written about the greater scene unfolding before the reader's eyes and senses. We are individual notes and collective harmonies and melodies in songs of the times.

We can't make it real. But we can make the photographs and paintings and songs and letters a bit less unreal.

[cap tassel]

Re: Connecting with the Civil War

Brendan,

I'd like to say I mean no offense to you. But from what you've said I get the feel that you're implying it takes a conscious effort to connect with the Civil War. You may have only worded it that way but this topic is my biggest peeve.

Americans are connected to the Civil War whether they know anything about the Civil War or not. We and everything around us are a product of our history whether we're aware of that history or not. Living historians might know about and appreciate a connection more but they are in no way more connected than any one else.

There's no subscription to history.

If you only meant for connecting to mean a moment of "being there" for a split second then I understand that of course and never mind my rant. But if you meant it like I thought you did then watch this film about connecting with history from the best historian of modern times (IMO :D):

Connections 1
Connections 2
Connections 3
Connections 4
Connections 5