Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Civil War Reenactment - Soldiers


clicking on photos will enlarge for detail

The 7th Volunteers - Union Army came to Bradenton for the 2nd time in our cities History. They camped in our Manatee Historical Park. The Union army did not come this far into Florida during the war, but in 1865, after the war, one unit came to Bradenton, for the 1st and last time.


Pat (a lady I met in the parking lot) and I walked up just as the troops were finishing there breakfast at 7:30 am Saturday morning. We were the only visitors that came that early.


I was of course fascinated with the fire..



I said to the men around the fire, "Might a Rebel to the bone approach your fire?"  The gentleman in white welcomed us with
"of course, southern ladies are always welcome"

Doc Holiday and a Frontiersman

and introduced himself as The Surgeon for the company and the other man said 'I am just a frontiersman" .

I pointed to the whip on his shoulder and said " and you are also known as a Cracker here." He said "I am!'

Pat is from NJ and she sucked in her breath, thinking Cracker was a bad word... The Surgeon explained, Cracker was a word to be proud of in Florida during that time." and I said "because the name comes from cracking that whip to herd the cattle.

The frontiersman said " no ropes allowed, whips only, and mine is the length for a man walking, the whip would be longer for a cracker on a horse."

We were told the army is here to compel all men of the former Confederacy to sign and swear allegiance to the United States of America.....  and to find and arrest Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State for the Confederacy."....... to be continued


Drums and the cot in the tent with a wool blanket.. and OOPS! Charging the walkie talkies...




20 comments:

Unknown said...

Good morning, what an interesting post, it must feel great when the come to your city to make up their camp. I like the surrounding trees with the spanish moss hanging down.
Have a great Tuesday!

Eva

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your photos very much. I would like to have visited early like you and Pat did. Not so hot and an opportunity to get some questions in. Too funny about the walkie talkies!

Gail said...

A simple pair of walkie-talkies could have changed the outcome of this war.

I love reenactments.

eileeninmd said...

Good Morning Sandra, what a great visit to the reenactment camp. I like the shot of the troops together after their breakfast. Doc Holiday and the Frontiersman is awesome too. Love these images. Have a happy day!

TexWisGirl said...

you busted 'em with the technology. :)

My Mind's Eye said...

What a wonderful series of photos...Love Doc Holiday
MOL MOL charging walkie talkies
Hugs madi and mom

Cheryl @ TFD said...

What a fun morning outing! Great photos of the men and the camp. LOL at the walkie talkies!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Sounds like you had a nice time. Have to laugh at the Walkie Talkies!

What Karen Sees said...

What a very interesting post! Loved it, and loved your photos. You are such a great 'snapper'and story teller. A great combination!!

Anonymous said...

Good Afternoon Sandra.

Just got in . Thank you kindly for your nice comment on my blog today.

I so enjoyed your pictures and the privileged you had to meet the men
and the camping.

Love it.


I so enjoyed your blog.

DawnTreader said...

I'm not sure if memory serves me right but hasn't the camp grown with a few tents since ... whenever it was, some other time in the past that you posted about a reenactment. (Or maybe that wasn't your post that I'm thinking of.) Anyway, these guys seem to be enjoying themselves :)

Anajá Schmitz said...

Que lindo acampamento, aqui todos os anos acampamos por uma semana para reavivar nossos costumes gaúcho.
Tenha um ótimo dia.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

I was amused to read that Pat was from NJ because as they say...there's always a NJ connection. There are many re-enactments in parts of NJ, our home state.

Ann Thompson said...

I honestly felt like I had gone back in time until I saw the walkie talkies :)

Marie said...

you're such a social butterfly! I remember learning what cracker meant from you in another post. :) fantastic pics! glad you enjoyed yourself!

DeniseinVA said...

How cool is that? Great photos Sandra. The anniversary for the 154th anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas is coming up.

Montanagirl said...

Really neat photos, Sandra!

Rose said...

Nice pics Sandra...I love some of the ones you take. I am a bit shy of shooting people.

also, wonder where they had their cell phones?

EG CameraGirl said...

Ah, those walkie=talkies would have been a big help during the War Between the States. And imagine life without cell phones!

Kathy said...

Sounds like you had a great time that day.