On the Confederate side, a group of soldiers from the 27th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Co. G sat in a circle and talked about why they think it’s important to keep Civil War history alive.
Dave Shields, 35, of Pittsburgh and a member of the 27th Virginia Infantry, said reenactors do not relive the war because they want to remember the negative aspects of it. They do it to have a better understanding of history, he said.
“We see history for what is was,” Shields said. “We’re not here to deny it or glorify the hate aspect of it. We’re here because everyone in that war fought for what they believed in.”
Reenacting the war helps give people a better understanding of why things happened the way they did and what the climate of the country was like at the time, said Chuck Gerhart, 31, of Bridgeport, W.Va., and a member of the 27th Virginia Infantry.
“To really truly understand what was going on, you have to put yourself in that time,” Gerhart said. “What was the world like? How did they live? [Understanding] it takes a lot of effort.”
