Four reenactment groups camped at Carnegie Park from a frosty 38-degree Friday night, April 29, through a misty, drizzly Sunday morning, May 1. Both Union and Confederate reenactors participated, pitching their tents among the trees and turning the familiar park into a convincing scene from 150 years ago, only the occasional anachronism like a car or the mowed grass or tennis shoes jarring your attention back to the future.
Their realistic setups showed us how Civil War camps were organized and what they actually carried around with them before the days of easy communications and even carbon copies. In addition to setting up and hanging around in period clothing, reenactors also participated in Artillery Demonstrations and a reenactment of skirmishes at Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.
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The drummer boy in the Confederate camp practices his cadences.
Confederate reenactors in "butternut" and salvaged uniforms.
Washing the dishes in enamel pans with water heated on the wood stove.
The camp's "office" with the "kitchen" in the background.
Firing the cannon was a complicated and dangerous process.
The team preparing the cannon for the artillery demonstration.
At another camp, stirring the chicken and dumplings cooking over the fire.
The camp looks authentic, even on a day when more than a hundred visitors were around.
This drummer was getting serious lessons the entire weekend.
Three ladies in day dresses visit the park.
Tents under the spreading trees.
Having a little fun.
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