Only in the Deep South, Civil War Re-enactment

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American Civil War was over for more than 150 years, but the spirit behind the history and what it stands for the people here in the south are still alive in Confederate states. Even though Atlanta is considered as a melting pot modern city, it still located in the Deep South; lots of Yankees have moved into the South, Confederates are still lurking around and live by what they believe.

Last week, my co-worker Nathan mentioned about the annual civil war re-enactment event in Conyers, GA, where he lives. The event is, of course, a Deep South customed, with no where else in the world this would be done (except maybe in Gettysburg, PA). People are coming from all over the nation, most of them are to become re-enactments, an opportunity to live in history. The three-day weekend withdraws more than 800+ re-enactors and thousands of spectators, occupying the whole complex with staged buildings, railroad tracks, and trenches.

Remember the movie "Sweet Home Alabama"? It is something like that.

The City of Conyers is about an hour driving from Buckhead, and the place is famous for its equistrian field used during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. For three days starting Friday, the door opens at 8-5, allowing spectators to browse around the 'war site' looking at history insignias, people/soldiers, and the battle field itself.

We arrived there around two pm on Saturday, where the 'Battle of Atlanta' action was scheduled. There was a parking lot where people parked their cars and shuttles would take them to the battle field, which happened to be across the street from the parking field. After paying our 10 bucks fee, we were going directly to the spectators side surrounding a battle field when we saw many Union soldiers with their boots and blue wool jackets riding their horses, talking about war strategies, or just waiting for next command. It was interesting to see how the war was re-enacted, they were shooting the grey crowd of the Confederate soldiers in a distance with altilleries and raffles. Soldiers were falling and dead, and horses were running around with trumpets and drums were played in nearby location. It felt so real, with the bang of the weapons, white smoke, and colorful uniforms of the soldiers.

After the war was over, we had an opportunity to see the battle field up close, where dying soldiers were rescued by doctors and nurses; nuns were walking around giving out blessing to dead soldiers, and tents where the soldiers were staying during the war. Going back to the car, I overheard a conversation between a husband and a wife with two kids:

wife: Aren't ya'll glad Yankees won the war?

husband: Why?

wife: Because now I can be an American.

me: Hmm ... ?

Ha ha ha. I guess I have to agree with her. Go get 'em Yankees!

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Photos

Union artillery
A Union soldier's perspective.

War strategizing
Union soldiers are discussing a war strategy on the field. Confederate soldiers are in the background, waving their flag.

Union soldiers
They have to wear their blue wool jackets.

Union artillery
A man is ready to receive orders from his commander on his artillery.

Union soldiers
Union soldiers on the move.

Confederate soldiers
Go get 'em Yankees.

Injured soldiers
Some injured Confederate soldiers, being comforted by a lady.

Dead soldiers
Dead soldiers on the battle field.

A body wagon
A wagon picking up dead and injured soldiers away from the battle field.

Confederate flag
Me standing in front of a Confederate flag and the Georgian flag.

Comments

[bonnie]

Only in the U.S.A.
My husband and I attended the same re-enactment event in Conyers last November and really enjoyed it. You described it very accurately. So many of the participants we met had ancestors who fought in the Civil War, and were very willing to stop and talk to us about their ancestor's story. We had also attended a civil war re-enactment in northern Florida (Feb.) two years ago, where they had explosives pre-set in the ground. They shot cannons, and it would "appear" that the cannonball landed and exploded on the ground. VERY loud and realistic! I couldn't believe how thick the air was with all of the smoke from the cannons. It had been a very cold and drizzly day, which added to the entire effect. I liked the location up on the hillside of this Georgia re-enactment, as you could see everything occurring or developing right in front of you. As Canadians who travel quite a bit, we would definitely like to encourage other visitors to the U.S. to try and find a Civil War re-enactment to attend during their trip. It really helps to bring this very important part of American history alive. Apparently, some Americans think that war re-enactments are politically incorrect, but we saw them as honouring their ancestors and simply trying to bring an important time in American history alive to everyone. I certainly didn't see it as glorifying war in any way. To be honest, we are both REALLY glad that we visited the "South", as we had such a wonderful time. We definitely want to return for a longer stay.

[anonymous]

Photos
We\'re using some old and new photos in a series of newspaper articles on the Civil War and would like to consider using some that you took at a 2005 re-enactment. Is this possible? We don\'t have much to offer because we\'ve never done this before, but we\'ll send you some copies of the paper when it\'s published in September. Also, we\'ll need the large file size JPG, not the smaller ones as found on your website. Thanks, Bill Fishburne

[Ellie]

not just in the south
I'm not sure why you think this only happens in the South. Civil War reenactments take place all over the United States. Even in California, there are month reenactments. Now, if there is something special about this reenactment, I guess I missed your point, but I'm confused as to why your title is "Only in the Deep South".