|
 On
the second weekend in October, 2026, SHADOWS OF THE BLUE AND GRAY
LIVING HISTORY event was presented for their 30th year. It’s
displayed at the City/County Park in Princeton, Illinois. Over the
decades we have taken our sons and then our grandsons to this
occurrence. We have never been disappointed. This year, I once again
attended and was amazed at all the authenticity, work, dedication,
and effort people put in to this great exposition.
I love that all generations are involved. Little ones to seniors
participate by dressing and acting in period garb as well as
visiting and enjoying this spectacular event. It’s wonderful to
watch the interactions among the generations. It is only in knowing
history that it can’t repeat itself.
During the actual Civil War and during the re-enactment in
Princeton… women would dress as men to be sure the battle goes
forward. Think about that. It wasn’t only today’s women that fought
for their country. They always have.
Let’s remind ourselves of some of the facts of the Civil War.
Wikipedia, “Wilmer McLean (5/3/1814 to 6/5/1882) was an American
wholesale grocer from Virginia. His house, near Manassas, Virginia
was involved in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. After the
battle, he moved to Appomattox, Virginia, to escape the war,
thinking that it would be safe. Instead in 1865, General Robert E.
Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in McLean’s house in Appomattox.
His houses were, therefore, involved in one of the first and one of
the last encounters of the American Civil War”.
It reminds of the quote from A. A. Milne, “Don’t underestimate the
value of doing nothing.”
HistoryColored, “The oldest soldier to enlist during the American
Civil War was Curtis King, who was 80 when he joined the Union Army
on November 9, 1862.”
Al Overview, “Edward Black is widely believed to be the youngest
person to enlist in the American Civil War, joining at just 8 years
and 2 months old. He enlisted on 7/24/1861 as a drummer boy in
Company L. of the 1st Regiment, 21st Indiana Volunteer Infantry.”
We had seven presidents there were veterans of the war: Johnson,
Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, and McKinley. Impressive.
One of the favorite tents to visit for my boys was the medical
presentation. There is always a big bushel basket of faux leg and
arm bones for them to gasp at in delight. Tales of amputation
enthralled them. It sickened me. I can’t even watch “Dances with
Wolves” without fast forwarding through the Civil War part. Here is
a more “delicate?” story.
National Museum of Civil War Medicine: “Capt. Roland E. Hackett,
Kentucky Infantry, was on horseback, cheering his men, and had his
mouth wide open. A pistol bullet struck him in the mouth, injuring
his tongue and knocking out three of his teeth. When brought into
the hospital, a surgeon removed one of the teeth that had lodged at
the base of his tongue. He was not suffering much pain, but his
voice had a very muffled peculiar sound, as if something was lodged
in his throat. Thirty-six hours after being wounded, the bullet was
found in his bowel movement. It apparently had passed into his
esophagus and down into his stomach. After 20 days of recuperation,
he was returned to his regiment.”
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Another delight for the boys was to listen and watch the blacksmith
re-enactor at the Civil War expo. They loved the site of the men
pounding out horseshoes, stakes, spoons, and such.
Al Overview, “Blacksmiths frequently suffered severe skin burn from
hot iron and glowing coal. Civil War medical practice and home
remedies often treated these with a mixture of white-lead paint
mixed with linseed oil applied like heavy cream, or soothing layers
of lard, soot, and laudanum, (an opium and alcohol blend) wrapped in
cotton wool.”
I could go on forever, but you get the idea and it was not ideal.
I loved the horses at the show. They stood gallantly tied to a rope,
drinking from wooden buckets, and neighing softly as they grazed on
the park grass. Their beautiful eyes and eyelashes always tug at my
heart and I want to hug them. These same majestic beasts were ridden
in the dramatization of the battle. There were six cannons and all
kinds of muzzleloaders, rifles, and pistols being shot. Blanks, for
sure……but still a lot of noise. Plus, rebel yells and cheers and
jeers from the crowd. I was so fascinated by the way these horses
followed their rider’s commands and didn’t react to all the
stimulation going on around them. I asked one of the actors how long
it took him to train his horse to counter all the stimulus and he
told me “five years”. Wow! That’s dedication to bring this history
to light.
I do crave my caffeine addiction and evidently so did our Civil War
heroes. AlMode, “Around 1864-1865 Lt. Colonel Walter King
experimented adding a hand-cranked grinding mill into the buttstock
of a standard .52-caliber Sharps New Model 1863 breech-loading
carbine. Army records show the mill was designed to grind wheat,
corn, or oats into feed for cavalry horses on the move ….it was
clunky, heavy and was not widely adopted but was used for coffee
beans also.”
Did you know that General Robert E Lee had a pet hen named Nellie?
He saved her from a flock and she journeyed with him through his war
adventures for two years, traveling in the baggage wagons. Lee would
keep his tent flap open for her. She lay at least one egg for him
daily. He lost her temporarily during the battle of Gettysburg. Lee
instructed a search for her during the retreat. The account is that
she was found sitting in an ambulance. Her sad fate was at the
Battle of the Wilderness where the cook cooked poor Nellie. It is
reported Lee was deeply disappointed and scolded the cook. What a
cruel thing is war.
L. Maxine McQueen
may be contacted at
maxmac.1@juno.com
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