82-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, August 15, 1992
Families Relieve Stress By Living In The Past
Sharon B. Schuster
Maryland Correspondent
GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.)
It was a hot day in July... July
4th to be exact. Eleven thousand
troops representing the Confed
erate (south) and Federal (north)
armies went to battle at one of the
most important sites of the Civil
War Gettysburg.
Among the muskets and cannon
fire were thousands of men
engaged in combat, confused by
the noise, unable to hear the sig
nals shouted out by their com
manding officers, or by the bugle
and drum corps. Bodies of young
and old men in both blue and gray
uniforms littered the battlefield.
“After the battle, men were
filthy were powder, sweat, and
grime. There was complete
silence. The only sound was that
of flags flapping in the breeze.”
When the dust settled, the “fat
alities” rose to their feet. There
was no blood, no dead.
This was an account of the
12Sth anniversary of the battle at
Gettysburg in 1988, given by
(rwood with derringer strapped to her leg.
An esi .jated 26,000 Civil War re-enactors participate In living
presentations.
Charles Underwood and Rick Bar
ber, just two of the estimated
26,000 Civil War re-enactors in
the United States.
Charles Underwood of Union
Bridge, Maryland, and Rick Bar
ber of New Windsor, Maryland,
are members of the 19th Georgia
Regiment of the Infantry of the
Confederate States of America
(C.S.A.), re-enactment group.
They participate in approximately
18 re-enactment events every year
and give 3 to 4 living history
presentations.
“We live history,” said Rick
Barber. “When you put your
clothes on, 128 years later, the line
still divides,” he said of the sepa
ration of north and south. “It
doesn’t take much for your eyes to
well up.”
Civil War re-enacting is a popu
lar hobby, particularly in the areas
near former battlefields. Re
enactors, like Charles and Rick
and their families, spend much
time and money in an effort to
make all aspects of their pastime
authentic.
.ilia and larles Underwood, Brenda and Rick Barber with son K,
when they dress in Civil War uniforms, history becomes so real that the separation
between north and south still divides.
All of their equipment, right
down to the food they eat, is either
original or an authentic-looking
replica. “I have a 3 bander,” said
Rick, describing his S 8 caliber
musket with a long barrel. The
guns that are used are functional.
“It shoots one ounce of lead, and
weighs 9 1/2 pounds” he added.
The musket will “kill a man at 300
yards or further and knock a man
off a horse at 500 yards,"
explained Charles Underwood,
who is captain of the 19th
Regiment
Safety is an important factor in
re-enactments. All participants are
required to take a black powder
safety course which Mr. Under
wood teaches at Fort Frederick.
He noted that with “one million
rounds fired at the 12Sth anniver
sary of the Battle of Gettysburg,
there was not one accident.”
Guns are filled with powder and
discharged during battles, but not
loaded with ammunition. “There
is a 4-foot flame that can be seen
at night coming out of the end of
the barrel when the gun is dis
charged, according to their
accounts. Re-enactors are sup
posed to aim up when someone is
within 100 feet of the gun. “With a
yardage distance, you can aim,”
said Mr. Underwood.
When it’s time to pack up the
tent to go to an event, many items
are assembled and packed The
Barbers • Rick, his wife Brenda,
and sons, Justin, Matthew, and
Rick Barber wears his Confederate uniform which repre
sents the mid to late war era. The clothes are tattered and
patched due to battles and harsh conditions. He eats hard
tack that Brenda makes from an original recipe. His plate is
half of a broken water canteen.
Kyle, take two tents, coolers dis
guised in wooden boxes, quilts,
homemade camp chairs, rifles,
leather gear, homemade checker
boards grates for cooking, cast
iron pots and pans, water, bacon,
hot cakes, eggs, dried foods, and
more. “We take anything to make
the camp look as authentic as pos
sible," explained Rick.
Brenda Barber is seamstress for
many, and makes period clothes
Vhmesiead
;tory
for her whole family from original
patterns. “I can sew a plain dress
in a day,” she said. Brenda made a
replica of the Confederate battle
flag. “It took about half an hour to
stitch around each of the thirteen
stars,” she reported. The Stars and
Bars battle flag has an odor of
black powder from waving over
the battlefields. “I’ll shoot the first
man who puls a hole in it,” she
(Torn to P«fl* B 4)