It takes about a thousand dollars to get a basic setup, clothing and a gun, and that s just bare bones, Jean says. For the researcher, there are hundreds of Civil War books, including reprints of original army drill manuals and Bibles printed in 1862 by the Confederate States Bible Society. Reenacting is not just for men. Many women act as laundresses or soldier s wives. A few even dress up as public women, complete with bills of health from the army.
Children can participate as drummer boys or family members of the troops.
Jean believes that the grimmer aspects of the Civil War, the death and the slavery, shouldn t be glossed over. These people aren t doing it just for themselves. They re in it to educate. This article first appeared in the June-July 00 issue.