A Confederate Yankee
By William D. Mayers
(Feb. 2013) 
“Why do you do this?” It’s a phrase we hear every time we do our Civil War reenactment thing. And on those occasions when we do a “school day,” you can bet there’ll be a few young folks who find history about as thrilling as watching turtles attempt the Macarena.
“Who freakin’ cares? That don’t mean nothin’ to me!”
There’re adults who think the same way but who are too polite to admit it. Well, it’s unfortunate, but some observers just aren’t going to be swayed. The last bored kid I spoke to admitted that he’d rather be outside wandering around looking at stuff than be cooped up in a stuffy ol’ classroom.
I suppose that’s a win for us – although that victory made mighty thin soup.
New York state, I think, misses out, as do the individual counties, by failing to publicize and support what we reenacting hobbyists do. We attended the annual meeting of our umbrella organization down near Harrisburg this past January, representing First Regiment (brigade has three regiments). While there, we were read a formal letter from the little town of Sharpsburg, down in Maryland. It was a thank-you to all re-enactors. Seems we brought in considerable tourist dollars to Sharpsburg and the county.
You won’t believe the figure: it was in excess of $42 million. Several of us demanded to see the letter, and, yes, it was for real.
Wow. For one weekend reenactment.
Now, there were no Civil War battles in New York, but still, there is interest in what we do around here. We can’t match the Battle of Sharpsburg – otherwise known as Antietam – but we can and do provide entertainment and knowledge.
If one of our local events brings in a few thousand dollars, we’re ecstatic.
You’d think the counties, and in particular the state, would perk up their ears at the sound of them pennies hitting those coffers: hotel fees, meals, gasoline, souvenirs – it adds up fast. And that means tax revenue. How come they don’t provide far more publicity than they do?
New York is a magnificent place to vacation (fer gosh sakes don’t let my relatives out west hear me admit that), but we could do somewhat better. No Civil War battles, but there was the French and Indian War. And the Revolutionary War. And the War of 1812 … oh, yeah: last year was the 200th anniversary of that war. There was a nice reenactment of that one up at Sackett’s Harbor, but it sure could have used a few more spectators.
Everyone admits the state still has not recovered from the late economic downturn. Some at the state level acknowledge that tourism can be a great boost, but, well, if that opportunity isn’t advertised well beyond the state’s borders …
Now, don’t you suppose a few more of those doubters might become interested in our history after hearing that? Again, we’re not going to do a $42 million reenactment involving thousands of avid hobbyists – Antietam was in Maryland, after all – but multiple smaller ones? It adds up.
It’s even appealing to the distaff crowd when they realize we do far more than run around some farmer’s field shooting off replica weapons and making noise. How did your average school child cope with the war? It certainly affected him. And his family – it was everybody’s war.
What did the Southern housewife do when all of a sudden she couldn’t obtain cloth from northern mills? She dug out that ratty old spinning wheel and rehabbed granny’s old loom is what she did. Today’s re-enactors portray history as it was for everyone, not just the warrior crowd.
Yes, I’m a fanatic on the American Civil War. This old grandpa can’t pick up an Enfield rifled musket and trot out onto the field to blast away at them Rebs, but I can tell and show you quite a bit, nonetheless.
And I’d like to encourage y’all to come watch, as well as to suggest to Albany that they might ought to pitch these events a bit more urgently.
William D. “Bill” Mayers RT, RN, of Sullivan is a retired senior U.S. Army Corpsman. A certified healthcare professional since 1964, he holds two professional licenses, including that of Registered Professional Nurse licensed in New York, Alaska, Virginia and Louisiana. He has four children, two stepchildren, two grandchildren and is an avid analyst of current events.