Civil War Days return
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Mike Sciacca
Bodies were strewn like rag dolls across the green, sprawling
lawns of Huntington Beach Central Park last Saturday. Ghost-like
apparitions of smoke floating through the air indicating that a major
battle had just taken place.
It had.
For the seventh consecutive year, the city of Huntington Beach
hosted Civil War Days, an event billed as a “living history and
reenactment” of one of the most defining moments in our nation.
Huntington Beach joins Anaheim as being the only two cities in
Orange County to host Civil War DaysThe public came out en masse to
see the true-to-life reenactment that concluded Sunday. They strolled
through the park to see pup tents erected throughout the grounds,
“Suttler” booths selling period costume, artillery demonstrations and
of, course, the several hundred volunteers dressing the part of
soldiers, generals, women and children of the day.
“I come out to this every year and enjoy it just like I did the
first time I saw it,” said James Bryant, 41, of Huntington Beach.
“They do an awesome job showing us what it was like to live back in
those days.”
The highlight for most, including Bryant, were the battles, of
which there was one on each of the two days. Although the crowd of
several hundred who had gathered Saturday at the east end of the park
were anticipating the weekend’s first skirmish, they were still
startled -- some even jumped -- when that first, powerful cannon shot
reverberated throughout the park.
Central Park certainly was a place where the past met the future.
Confederate soldiers did battle with their Union counterparts. The
women were dressed in restrictive hoop skirts, bonnets and gloves,
and many carried parasols. They watched their “loved ones” fight in
battle, several taking shelter under a shady tree.
Their dress was in sharp contrast to the rest of the onlookers who
were decked out in today’s fashions: baggy shorts, tank tops and
stylish sunglasses, some even filming with video cameras.
Lisa Sandoval became involved with Civil War Days a year ago when
the Corona resident joined the American Civil War Society. She got
involved, she said, because her boyfriend, Mukhtar Bari, 27, had
volunteered his time as a soldier.
The two were part of the 69th New York State Volunteers and the
Irish Brigade.
Bari fought in Saturday’s first battle while Sandoval stood and
observed.
“It’s an amazing experience to be part of this,” said the
22-year-old Sandoval, who has done previous reenactments in San
Diego, Oceanside and Encino. “Doing this has furthered what I already
knew about the Civil War. What we volunteers do is live exactly like
they did in the Civil War period. We came out here in the park and
everything is correct to that period, from food to clothing. My
costume is correct all the way down to my undergarments.”Camps were
set up throughout the park, each segregated by a group’s regiment.
Each camp had its own cook and Dutch ovens were used. Food
consisted of pork salt, eggs, coffee beans and hard tac -- a large,
dense cracker-like food that, Sandoval chuckled and said, “doesn’t
taste that great and lasts a lifetime. But the soldiers lived off of
it.”
They ate off tin plates, drank out of jugs, and “slept on the
floor,” Sandoval said.
A “suttler” was a person who, during the Civil War, sold goods to
soldiers who sought out other amenities than what was rationed.
Suttler booths last weekend offered the public the sale of period
clothing, plastic swords and firearms, hats and photos.
Following the conclusion of the first battle, which drew hearty
applause and was won by the Union, an infantry and artillery
demonstration was given. The history lesson included the use of a 58
caliber Springfield musket that, one solider said, could fire three
rounds per minute.
A few Union soldiers who took part in the first battle passed out
their hats to the crowd, seeking donations to pay for gun powder and
other artillery for future reenactments.
One soldier informed the crowd that it cost “five or six dollars
every time we fire a cannon.”
The crowd responded enthusiastically, including Bryant, who
generously tossed a $20 bill into the hat.
“They put on a great presentation for us, showing us how things
used to be,” Bryant said. “The battles are amazing and something
everyone should see. I hope they come back to Huntington next year.
I’ll be out here again.”
* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at
(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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