During the hourlong drama, infantry men dressed in gray and navy blue took opposing sides on the field, leveling their rifles at one another. Then artillery men loaded the cannons. Soon, vibrations from cannon blasts, the odor of black powder and sounds of Rebel yells and Union huzzahs flowed from the battle re-enactment. The seventh annual Battle of Aiken, sponsored by Brig. Gen. Barnard E. Bee Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, is expected to draw 10,000 spectators this weekend.
Organizers try to add to the event each year.
And dozens of horses were brought in to recreate cavalry charges. Confederate forces under Gen. Joseph Wheeler repulsed Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's cavalry led by Brig. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. The battle didn't alter the course of the war, but it saved Aiken from being burned down. Wounded soldiers winced as those playing the roles of doctors amputated limbs and treated bleeding wounds.