Last Saturday, R and I met up with one of his friends who was taking part in a civil war reenactment. It was held at an actual battleground during the war and, to me, was fascinating! I had never been to one and was envious of all the other girls in their gowns. His friend, C, is a wonderful medley of interests and talents. He’s almost like his own TV Guide. ESPN (former collegiate football player), BRAVO (he has launched his own line of ties — www.christianmicheal.com), STYLE (puts on fashion shows throughout KC), and HISTORY (is moving up the ranks within his infantry). I’m sure there’s more, but I didn’t have enough time to pick his brain.
Upon seeing the tents, I, of course, squealed with delight. For some reason, I didn’t realize that they actually camped there. I imagined the guys shooting off canons, riding some horses, falling dead, and then picking themselves up to walk straight to their car for home. So seeing these plain canvas & wood tents made my eyes light up, which in turn made R roll his.
The attention to detail was superb. In front of another tent, there was a teapot left sitting above a smoldering woodpile as if only moments ago soldiers were gathered ’round.
We arrived at the site right before the war was to “kick off” (as they say in army-speak). We started walking down a crowded hill at a deadly pace. The hill suddenly took a steep turn and by the end, we were practically running, dodging around people sitting calmly among the leaves….The whole time I never cracked a smile, hoping that people would connect my athleticism to the battle taking place and instead of being mad that I kicked leaves in their face as I went by, would nod after me with appreciation.
We watched about 20 minutes of the battle and then R got hungry. I tried to convince him that the soldiers were hungry too, and couldn’t we at least experience that? 30 seconds later we were scrambling back up the same steep hill towards the Meeting Hall.
Along the way, I saw some women cooking stew over an open flame and be-bopped my way over to them. The women camp separately from the men. But according to C, they run around in their little packs hosting tea parties and basically not fighting wars. I could do that. One woman showed me the inside of her tent and made sure to announce, while pointing to a heater, that no matter how much she loves the era, she is not going to die during a freezing night camping.
We chowed down some great chili and cornbread. In the meeting hall were two ladies standing around a piano. The third was hanging ornaments onto a tree. Note to self: Always string popcorn on a tree. Instant coziness. While R finished up my bowl of chili, I wandered over to one of the women. She had an assortment of items from way back when and I was particularly intrigued by the Lady’s Toolbelt. It came complete with a key, a thimble, a pin holder, and various other necessities. From someone who needs a Garmin just to find her keys in the morning…. I’m digging this idea.
Later, we went back to watch the rest of the battle and find C. I managed to catch a shot of a soldier falling off his horse unintentionally. Everyone whooped and hollered, but I don’t think he was thrilled watching his horse run off the field. At that point, I would have pretended to have been shot to save face. (Spoken like a true stage-mom.)
And then we spotted him! There he is!! Leading his team up the hill. I teased him on his quickness to be the first up and was rewarded with a grave description of his duties instead of laughter.
My first photo with a civil war officer. We later took him out for a few drinks to celebrate surviving the battle and that’s when he mentioned the dances. Every Saturday night, everyone meets at the hall to do period dances. Don’t you guys remember the dress I bought on eBay? Uh hello, it found a home. Civil war reenactments. R and I decided we’re going to try one out next summer and C offered to help us in our transition across centuries. Is it April yet?
cuethebanjo.com 
Reactments are cool, Sue and I have been to several and had a guy work for me that did it (he’s a reb). Love your posts! Unc
So, what does the C stand for? Oh wait! Nevermind. I’m gonna go buy a tie.
[…] his friend Christian (from ChristianMicaheal) who incidentally also does historical reeanctments, one of which we visited several years ago. At some point Ryan offered up our home for them to stay at that weekend since we’d be […]