A Confederate Yankee
By Bill Mayers
(Town of Sullivan, NY – April 2014) Perhaps I was a bit harsh. The young’un was at that age where school is, well, SCHOOL. Boring. Uninspiring. Pointless. And the child’s report card reflected that attitude. In that high-pitched whine so familiar to parents everywhere, said youngster demanded to know why kids have to study history.
“Because it tells you who and why you are who and what you are!” I thundered.
And of course, all you parents know how well that went over…
Teaching history can be tough. Our culture treats the subject as irrelevant, acting as if “facts, dates and dead people” have little value for today. History teachers often get less respect than the school custodians.
How do we as parents, grandparents and teachers push back against this debilitating assumption? Well, one way is by making history “hands-on.”
Not so long ago, a young man from DeRuyter and his wife and family got involved in Civil War reenacting, portraying the U.S. Christian Commission, a civilian-funded, volunteer, soldiers aid society. This man reports that his children grew up thinking it was normal to camp out, wear period clothing (and not mere costumes) and participate in an 1860s army encampment.
Their living-out-of-history created in them, he tells me, a greater interest in exploring history, not just for the Civil War, but for all eras. He reports the family would be watching a movie dealing with an historical event and one of the kids would exclaim, “Hey, that’s not authentic!”
I am not at liberty to divulge this family’s identity – they now live in Illinois – but I can relate. Carol and I, as most of you know, are also heavily invested in “doing” the American Civil War. We’re on the board of a local reenacting group, we’re part of the Civil War Heritage Foundation and serve on the board of the Peterboro Civil War Weekend organization.
The second full weekend this coming June, we’ll set up camp on the green in that hamlet and do’er again.
It can get a bit expensive, and it demands planning. It can be a bit much for younger families with children and all the time and expense that demands, so I’ll certainly not push participation on everyone; I mean, having raised six on a modest income, I can relate; reenacting isn’t for everyone.
But just about everyone can afford to bring the family to a reenactment such as the one at Peterboro for a day. We offer so much more than battles and skirmishes. Sure, it’s a thrill to watch grown men – and (ahem) women in men’s clothing – shoot at each other. Everyone loves it when the full-scale cannons let loose with a thunderous roar and great cloud of smoke.
But the Civil War was so very much more. It was everyone’s war; even those folks way out in California were affected. Men, women, children… all were touched in some way. The Civil War was a wake-up call, and it was a heckuva call fer sure. It changed far more than that “peculiar institution” of slavery. It enriched some people and it impoverished many more.
New York state lost more soldiers during the Civil War than any other state, and also contributed more money to the war effort than any other state. There are commemorative monuments in hundreds of communities across the state, many that are barely more than a wide spot in the road. Some are in a sad state of repair, but they’re there. And they matter.
The Civil War matters.
History matters.
We can help families get a better grasp on the what, the when, the who, the where and the why. You don’t have to join us – though we’d certainly welcome anyone sincerely interested.
Come see us this June; Peterboro isn’t that hard to get to; nor is America’s precious history!
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.