In West Virginia last week I got to see the re-enactment of a small Civil War skirmish. It must not have seemed small to the people who were in it back in 1861-- the cannons' roar was deafening, the smoke blinding, and they scared a lot of the spectators, even though they knew they were safe.
One of my cousins is a re-enactor-- one of those people whose passion it is to dress up in clothes of the era and re-enact battles (Johnny Reb above reminds me of him). Before a re-enactment of the battle of Gettysburg, my brother once asked him whether he really hated Yankees the way he went on.
"No, but no one better say anything disrespectful about Robert E. Lee," said my cousin. He added, "That's why I lift weights."
Re-enacting, though you might think so, is not peculiar to Americans. In 2005, in the Czech Republic, thousands of uniformed soldiers re-enacted the Napoleonic battle of Austerlitz in front of tens of thousands of spectators. When I went to the 60th anniversary memorial of D-Day at Omaha Beach, June 6, 2004, I saw an entire area near the ceremony where the re-enactors had created authentic-looking World War II camps, with genuine old tents, jeeps, tanks, trucks, uniforms and field hospitals. Surprisingly, a lot of the people in the vehicles, wearing British and American uniforms, were genial Frenchmen who were really, really into it. (Did you know that D-Day is called "le Jour J" in French?-- the J is pronounced zhee.) When I reflected a moment, it wasn't so strange. The war had been fought right where we stood, and much of the matériel never made it home again.
When we were children, my brother loved to enlist me in playing "cops 'n robbers", and also in setting up battles in the garden between tiny green plastic soldiers. Of course, he then enjoyed setting them on fire, and watching the green gi's melt into puddles. As an adult, however, he researches brain functioning at Johns Hopkins. But I suppose other people never lose their taste for war!
Posted by: Jadie | 15 November 2007 at 18:44