Post #4: Civil War Reenactment Societies
The Civil War was America’s bloodiest and most costly war. It was responsible for the deaths of the most American Soldiers in history. So it seems interesting that there is such a large community who make a point of reenacting some of the war’s most exciting and legendary battles. While some members of conventional society view civil war re-enactors are “weird” or dorky, The Civil War re-enactors provide an exciting and personal look at the civil war that often gets lost among the tediousness of history books.
Civil War reenactment societies take themselves very seriously. It is nearly impossible to have them break character during a reenactment. Why is this important? Civil War reenactors view themselves as teachers responsible for educating the public who watch their reenactments more about the civil war. “The NCWA is committed to educating the public about the Civil War” When learning about things, psychology has shown that you will learn things better if you take a personal interest. By reenacting battles, you give the audience characters to relate to, not just facts from a history book. Having witnessed a reenactment in Gettysburg, PA, I can tell you that it has been one of my most valuable tools for understanding and taking interest in the Civil War.
Another great thing about Civil War recreation societies is there wealth of knowledge and accuracy based on years of research. They have researched to make the uniforms, lodgings, and weaponry as accurate as possible. They are truly a serious society. Take for example, The NCWA, or National Civil War Association’s website. They are committed to truly helping people understand the complexities and motivations behind the civil war. Civil war societies are an extremely valuable and often untapped resource in regards to education of the civil war. Now, local schools often take their students to view civil war reenactments, most frequently as a visual learning tool.
The most important factor of civil war recreation societies is their desire to keep the memories of the legendary civil war. The civil war is one of America’s most compelling historical moments, and these societies are important to keep the public reminded of the importance of the civil war in political, social and economic aspects in American history and America today.
March 7th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I thought you had some really good information in your post. You specifically told the importance of the Civil war and why the reenactments are important to us today. It is really cool how the reenactments put some much effort into trying to make it as close to history as possible with having the same weapons, clothes, food, etc. So I liked how you touched on that and how important these events are to the NCWA and people today.
Good points made, but no reenactment sites to look at. I don’t know if you forgot about them or just left them out, but they would of provided you with more information and then you could of wrote on them and described those certain reenactments.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Your topic was interesting and well worded. Your support was there, but not as much as there should have been. It seems you only looked at one website for your post here, and you did not post a link for it.
March 7th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I think you made a lot of good points and had a good thesis. You brought in a personal aspect which helps you relate to what your writing. Also, you supported your thesis well throughout the blog and gave some good resources, like the National Civil War Association’s website.
However, you didn’t directly cite anything or give references at the bottom, which you need for some of the things you claim. Like how do you know they researched the weaponry? If you read it on the NCWA’s website, you should cite it. Other than that, I think you did a good job giving support for your thesis.
March 7th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I appreciated the approach you took in this blog on the positive experience a civil war reenactment can have. I agree that the civil war is a very important part of our history as it harmed us as a union. I also felt that it was very effective that you made clear that the NCWA was a serious group, not just a bunch of old guys playing war in their back yards. My first and only idea of a civil war enactment was in the movie Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon, in the movie they are portrayed as a bunch of old guys playing was for fun.
Although there was really nothing I could find in this blog that I felt was weak or needed more explanation. I understand now that the reenactments are meant to be a historial account, not just a play, but the same types of uniforms and everything.
March 7th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
I agree with you that re-enacting the civil war is an interesting and great way to learn more about it. I have actually never seen a reenactment but would actually like too. I think the people envolved in this are doing a great thing for citizens. It is too bad that most, if not all, reenactments are only done on the east coast in Va. or Pa. Actually seeing something acted out is a great way to remember it and even relate to it. Especially if the people doing it take the time to get every little detail done just right, such as the uniforms and weapons you mentioned. I had no idea there was an actual association, NCWA, that created these reenactments. I think that there should be ways to learn about other wars like this. It makes it interesting and people might actually want to learn.
I have no real arguments with your post. The only thing being that it was more of a first person, opinion essay instead of a researched paper. And the smallest thing is you should have mentioned what the NCWA was/stood for the first time it appeared in your paper (not the second).
March 7th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
As many of the others have already said, I agree that the the civil war re-enactments are a fascinating and exaciting way to relive and learn history. However, I felt that your post was more of a personal opinion essay instead of presenting it as a well researched topic. I did like your thesis, and believe you supported it well, but it could have been better with more cited sources.
March 7th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
You had many points about the civil war reenactments and I have to say I agree with most if not all of them. When people watch civil war reenactments, they get into the moment of it all and its almost a reality to them. It’s really nice that you went to a reenactment yourself because you can talk about it first handedly and explain how you felt instead of most people just generalizing how it would be when people other than themselves go.
March 7th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
I agree with you completely. Although I am not very interested in Civil War re-enactments, I agree that it sheds a different light on the war. I also agree that the people that do the re-enactments(at least the ones that run the battle re-enactments) are very knowledgable about what happened during a specific battle and the outcome of that battle.
I looked really hard and could not find too many things wrong with your paper. I think you showed a little too much opinion, especially toward the end of your paper, but then again what are blogs for :).
March 8th, 2007 at 5:57 am
I agree completely with your thesis. I too think that the Civil War more than any other war must never be forgotten. I have only been to one Civil War reenactment and it was in school, the only problem I had with it, now looking back is that it concentrated too much on the dress and weaponry of the time and not enough on the lead up and implications of America’s bloodiest war. The reason I say that the lead up and implications of the Civil War are more important is because the whole point of teaching history is so we can learn from it. Like I said this is only based off one experience and even though they may have concentrated more on dress and weaponry of the time they still did a good job of creating a dialogue. And I feel that it is this dialogue that will ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
The blog overall was very informative and well written. The only problem I saw was that you did not post a link. You should have at the very least posted the NCWA website.
March 8th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I also think that re-enactments are very helpful in learning in a different way. A teacher in high school was a re-enactor for the civil war, he took us to many shows to demonstrate to us something different then books. Your post was good but I don’t think that you had enough sources to back it up. Your thesis was well written and backed up but I would have liked to see the links that you got your information from.
March 8th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Your insights into civil war re-enactments are very interesting. Your analysis of the events is very keen and well written. The point of continuing these battlefield stories is to keep history alive and to educate a new generation. The one area I think you could have touched on is how many battles, especially in the south, are portrayed to show a more pro-confederate side. Besides that, I think your post was very good.
March 8th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Reading your post, I do realize and agree with you that some people will think that reenacting the civil war is somewhat weird or tacky. The reason why they probably think like this is because they do not know or care about the civil war. I think the information that you mention was very interesting. What I like about is how you mention that these people want this to be memories so people will always remember. What you didn’t add to your post was the websites where you found your information. Not looking at the website makes it hard to see what your point is trying to prove.
The other websites that I found somewhat supports what this person is trying to say. These reenactments are funded through schools and organization so that the legacy can live long. Everything has to be perfect including uniforms and the attitudes that they act. What I learn from this blog post is that they are committing in educating the public about this important war that happened many years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if these people who reenact the civil war had relatives that lived through that time.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I agree with you completely. I agree that the civil war must never be forgotten. I really haven’t seen a reenactment, but I like how you stated that they were always on the positive. There’s no much you can say positive about the bloodiest wars of all time, but the reenactment was. I also liked how you stated some good examples, which made your thesis even stronger.
The only critique I have is that you don’t have any sources. You have a lot of good examples and facts, but I don’t know where they came from and they could be false. So just cite you sources next time and it will be great.
March 8th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Yes, it is often students find themselves getting lost reading history in a long textbook. The problem is that students are stressed to read for assignments to know for an exam or assignment and forget what they had read soon. This is because they are not taking meaning or much thought into their readings and just concentrate on getting the work done instead of interpreting it. I remember in high school, my history teacher did a great way of reenacting the civil work by doing more hands on activities in class. For example, I remember one day the class had to dress up in civil war uniforms and bring in food from the past.
It is important to get students to do work outside of reading texts. I like that you brought this to our attention. There is nothing really I didn’t like about your post, I completely agree with you.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Your post contained really interesting information. I liked how you told the significance of the War and how the reenactments are of importance to our times. I also agree with other people that the reenactments are an exciting way to revive and understand the past history. You supported your thesis well but it could have been stronger.
March 9th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Civil War Reenactments gives you a real perspective of what the Civil War was actually like, and I like the fact that you emphasized this in your post. The Civil War was such an important War in our nation’s history that reenactments and teachings about this War must never cease, and future generations should respect the impact that this War had. I went to a Civil War reenactment when I was younger and it was amazing how real it was, even the people looked like they were from another time, it was cool. Anyways, good job on your post and supporting your thesis.
Everything was great, although you could have used citations for support. Good Job.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I have to say your post was nicely written. Your thesis was very strong and you backed it up really well. The only concern I had was that you didn’t include the websites you took a look at. It is also nice that you have attended a reenactment before. I have never been to one before. I think after reading all these posts about reenactments, i just might attend one, and see how’s its like. I think reenactments are a great way to learn about our history. It is very detailed from their clothing, to their weapons, and their battle scenes. Also its an entertainment, not only are you learning but your enjoying it. Once in awhile it would be nice to get our heads our of our history books, and go watch history come ot life before us.