Sunday, July 24, 2011

Civil War Days

Yesterday, we went to a Civil War Days event held at a local history center. Those of you  who are at all interested in this sort of thing should try to attend one someday - it was kind of fun (despite the heat).






"President Lincoln" recited the Gettysburg address.




The dining room of a  restored 1860s-era house.




(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)



The "Battle"



It was a lot of fun to see the costumes and all - these people take this VERY seriously and try to be very accurate about everything.



(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

14 comments:

The Civil War Quilter said...

My kind of fun. Wish I could have been there! Thanks for sharing.

Marsha B said...

When my son was in high school he participated in a summer school program about the civil war and at the end he got to be part of the reenactment at The Grove in Glenview. It was really interesting to watch and it was so realistic. I couldn't watch the hospital area very long, it was way too real. It was hot the year we went and I felt sorry for all the guys in those wool uniforms but it was lots of fun!

Betty Lou said...

I have been to two re-enactments, one in Northern California and one in Fremont, Ohio, President Hayes home and museum. They are wonderful and is great to see the whole family join in as partiscapants. Just finishing a bow tie doll quilt. Love making them.

Christine said...

My son has recently gotten me into reenacting. It is a lot of fun researching the correct clothing and accessories.

Merilyn said...

How fabulous!! Thankyou for sharing those wonderful photos, it would have been great to see and be amongst it all!!! I want a dining room exactly like that LOL!!!! The ladies dresses are gorgeous too!!!

Leeanne said...

Thank you so much for sharing.It is very interesting and I don't know a lot about the war as here in New Zealand it is a world away.Imagine living in those tents in winter!

Hen said...

This looks wonderful, thank you for sharing the photos. Those gowns are beautiful and that blue wallpaper...

Anonymous said...

My son is involved in Civil War reenactments so I've gone to events where he was a few times and I loved it. He now makes and sells reproduction uniforms to reenactors. This weekend he went to a large one in Manassas, VA.

Beth said...

Looks so interesting. Love the clothing and how they try to be true to the period. How did you stand the heat??

Kathleen Tracy said...

The heat was awful and we did not stay long. I had already been to another reenactment several years ago so I had seen some of it.

Louise said...

Thanks for sharing. I love the costumes and the home interiors. I really wanted the indigo in the shirt that the man in the 2nd photo was wearing!

JSchlesinger said...

Thank you for posting! I also made it to the reenactment at the Grove this past weekend. I hope to attend the reenactments at the Lake Co. Forest Preserve Lakewood Forest Preserve and the Grove next year.

Do you know who made the civil-war themed quilt that was on display in the Kennicott house?

Would you be willing to provide the link to the website where you found the civil war portraits included in this post?

Thank you for your help! I look forward to following your blog.

Jonathan Schlesinger

Christie said...

Thanks for sharing this with us. I would really like to go to a reenactment some time. I will have to see if there is ever one around SE Nebraska. HUGS... and stitches

Kathleen Tracy said...

Jonathan - you can see more photos like these on The Commons at the Flickr website. They have quite a few royalty-free Civil War photos.

http://www.flickr.com/commons/

Also see the Library of Congress website for Civil War photos -

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/