Civil War history comes alive at annual reenactment

Erin Dostal

Union Army reenactors march to their spot on the battlefield at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park on Sunday morning. The two-day event, titled Civil War Days in the Battle Born State, was put on, in part, by the Southern Nevada Living History Association.

By Erin Dostal (contact)

Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 | 1:50 a.m.

When Lisa Coffey says she’s into history, she means it.

Dressed as a civilian spectator from the American Civil War era in a brown, hoop skirt and off-white blouse, Coffey was one of about 200 reenactors who participated this past weekend in the Southern Nevada Living History Association’s Civil War Days at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

“It’s a unique experience,” said Coffey, who also is the spokeswoman for the association. “I think people participate because they have a great passion for history. They want to do something more than just read a book.”

The weekend’s events – which ran Saturday and Sunday – included four generic Civil War battles, complete with cannons, cavalry and passionate war cries.

Other events included a ladies tea, masquerade ball and a period baseball game.

Hours before the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series, teams of faux Union Army “Yankee” soldiers and Confederates were duking it out.

The purpose was to show more than the bloodshed. It was to show what life during the era was like for regular citizens who fought and lived their daily lives, Coffey said.

The event, in its fourth year, was planned for accuracy, said Jason Coffey, president of the association. Everything – down to the clothes they wore, the way they fought and the layout of the camps – was as it would have been during the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln, played by Don Ancell of California, was on hand to give the Gettysburg Address. He was dressed in his stovepipe hat and signature suit.

Roger Hurley, a chaplain from Fontana, Calif., played the Confederate chaplain on the battlefield. He acted as any Civil War chaplain would have, he said, helping soldiers on both sides pray after they were wounded.

The event catered to about 1,500 spectators throughout the weekend – about half the normal attendance, Lisa Coffey said. The event costs about $10,000 to put on, which is no small fee for the nonprofit organization.

But the Coffeys still consider the weekend a success.

Even though few Civil War battles took part in the American Southwest, Lisa Coffey didn’t think the desert backdrop mattered.

“We’re here to educate,” she said. “History isn’t just for historical sites.”

For some, the event is an escape from daily life; it’s a way to have fun with friends and enjoy interpretive history.

For others, like William Prescott, who returned from a tour in Iraq in 2006, it’s healing.

“I had been doing this for years and years,” he said. “Part of it is therapeutic.”

Prescott, a 41-year-old Las Vegan, said although he felt panicked during his first reenactment after returning to the United States, his love of history keeps him coming back.

“It’s one thing to read history and see it in the movies,” he said. “It’s another to actually feel and touch and smell what history is.”

During the reenactment, participants camp in tents in the park at night, drink out of authentic metal mugs and prepare their food like Civil War-era soldiers.

For a few simpler days, the reenactors ignore modern life.

Evan Gregorio, of Downey, Calif., said he first got involved with reenacting because he had friends who did it. Now, he’s hooked.

“What we do is just listen to our commander and keep the enemy from flanking,” said the 15-year-old Union Army private. “I like laying around here and the battles, too.”

Raquel Ayala, 40, of Las Vegas, describes the experience as “becoming a different person and going back in time.”

“When I go to a Civil War reenactment, I leave everyday worries and cares aside,” she said. “All the drama of my life is gone for the weekend.”