SMEAR JOB: Civil War Reenactors Aren’t Just Play-Acting. They Expect a War.
(Tubby bearded men training with muskets… Horror of horrors! This one should have been in the Babylon Bee or the Onion. Talk about FAKE NEWS! - DD)
On the last day of summer, in central Virginia, a battalion of Confederate soldiers marches in orderly ranks onto the field sloping down to Sailor’s Creek. A smaller force of Federals already holds the high ground. Sweating through the thick wool of their uniforms, the Confederates split to protect their left flank against the threat of cavalry. Once in position, everyone, blue and gray alike, freezes. The Confederate sergeants look to General Shelton. He has drawn up this scenario, and he will decide who takes the first shot.
I have come to Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historic State Park, roughly 60 miles west of Richmond, to learn why so many people spend their weekends in Confederate uniforms reenacting the Civil War. How much, I wanted to know, does this hobby reflect a passion for history, and how much is it a manifestation of the militant turn of American politics? Would I encounter antebellum nostalgia or even outright denial of slavery’s role in the war?
Instead, I found a different—but no less insidious—threat to the health of American democracy.
Early in the morning, when I wandered around the Confederate camp…