The 1st Nebraska Volunteers fought in the engagement, and the reenactment is a highlight of Arbor Lodge s living history attractions. It is staged in the fall to coincide with the apple harvest that attracts visitors to Nebraska City. Living history events include free tram rides, old-fashioned cider pressing, spinning, weaving and demonstrations of other occupations and crafts of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The battle reenactment, a spectacle of action, noise, smoke and pageantry to be presented this year by a cast of 350 in blue and gray or butternut uniforms, is the main event of the weekend. The Union and Confederate units both employ tactics and formations used in the Civil War.
Artillery pieces belch flame and white smoke from the perimeter of the battlefield.
Prisoners are taken. Officers shout and are obeyed or ignored. Casualties fall, and the wounded are carried to a field hospital for care by surgeons and nurses. The 60-minute reenactment is staged on Saturday and Sunday. Although it is an orchestrated presentation, it is nevertheless inherently chaotic as all battlefields, even reenacted battlefields, must be.