I never really thought these re-enactments were a good idea. Not sure why...I think museums dedicated to the war are the way to go...at the same time honoring those who died...ON BOTH SIDES.
I was involved in the re-enacting community for 4 years in the ‘90’s. It was an absolute blast, and the amount of historical knowledge these individuals possess is amazing. Attend one and talk to a re-enactor about it.
Reenactment is a wonderful tool. The guys who do it are also full of information they love to share. Would you oppose an airshow where WWII fighters have a mock dogfight?
“I never really thought these re-enactments were a good idea. Not sure why...I think museums dedicated to the war are the way to go...” [Sacajaweau, post 3]
You may want to re-think that notion.
I’ve been to arms museums over a fair share of the United States, including the original Remington museum, the Museum of the National Armory at Springfield MA, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and the West Point Museum. I’ve also visited numerous military historical sites and related museums.
I’ve also been participating in historical reenacting since 1984 - mostly American War of Independence, but with occasional mix-in of other periods and venues. And I worked in the gun trade for 13 years, repairing many antiques and historically significant pieces. Much research required, poring over old books and digging in rarely seen file folders.
Museums are good for display of one-of-a-kind items with unique provenance, association with a famous personage, or of unusual devices of artistic, scientific, or manufacturing significance. And they have no equal, in being right out there in public, for all to see, easily found and visited.
But their interpretation and their presentation of historical context is often superficial; it’s astonishing how often they get details wrong. Staffers, gate guards, and custodians who operate the places on a daily basis aren’t necessarily trained or versed in particulars.
In contrast, bunches of reenactors are meticulously self-educated, often making their own uniforms and period accouterments, making their weapons from kits at least. They tend to take care to present artifacts and activities in a more complete historical context. If they don’t have answers at their fingertips, they are more likely to admit it and direct the questioner to a more authoritative source.
Some organizations (The Brigade of the American Revolution is one) enforce the most detailed and exacting standards, for authenticity and source reliability, before they will admit a candidate member. Attention to detail is key - right down to cloth type, thread count, dye chemicals, and stitch technique.
And “living history” is not an entirely wrong term.
Reenactors tend to take personal pride in what they are doing, especially in the whys and hows of presenting themselves and their time period to the general public. Mostly, they aren’t paid nor filling a square. They give children - intensely curious, but often shy to approach - a chance to meet a “real person” from 150 or 250 years ago, to hear the (suitably sanitized) language and songs, smell the campfires, sometimes to touch and hold the muskets. Somewhat better than a bored shop girl serving out her time at the entry desk of a dusty, stuffy museum.
This law in New York State is indeed ugly and dismaying, but the attitude and intent behind it isn’t as new as we might think. For thirty years or longer, gun control advocates, anti-military activists, radical environmentalists, and related interest groups have been attempting to get all gatherings involving reenactors (military, fur trade, pioneer etc) banned from public land.
I’ve attended some. All were very well done.
Couldn’t experience the sound, the smell, the terrain in a museum.
I had an even greater respect for our ancestors after those.
That’s the reason to do them.