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Civil War re-enactor finds notoriety with his reel face
Daily Record ^ | July 17, 2003 | CARYL CLARKE

Posted on 07/17/2003 6:31:14 AM PDT by stainlessbanner

Earl Salisbury, a 44-year-old Civil War re-enactor from Goldsboro, picked up one of the first copies of "Gods and Generals" released on DVD Tuesday and found himself on the cover.

"Right, smack, dab in the center," Salisbury said. "I almost fell over dead. I'm the tall, skinny guy with stripes on his arm."

He said he had obtained the schedule for the filming of "Gods and Generals." He and a fellow re-enactor, his 21-year-old son, William, started going to the film shoots calling for Confederate soldiers. From summer to December 2001, they camped or stayed in hotels in Staunton, Va.; Hagerstown, Md.; and Charles Town, W.Va.

Warner Brothers Studio workers would wake them at 4:30 a.m. and drive them to the next shooting's location. They were told to stand here or there, never knowing whether the scene would survive the cuts.

He and William have invested eight years as re-enactors with the 8th Virginia Infantry, a unit of Longstreet's Corps. Earl Salisbury works at Corr-

Flex Display and Packaging in York. His son is a history major at Shippensburg University.

"He wants to be a writer like Michael Shaara," Salisbury said of his son. Shaara, who died in 1988, wrote "The Killer Angels," a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. Jeff Shaara completed his father's trilogy with "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure."

The family was excited to see William Salisbury in the trailer promoting "Gods and Generals." When they attended the opening show in February at a Mechanicsburg theater they were more surprised to see Earl Salisbury in seven or eight scenes.

"You never know if you are in or out," Earl Salisbury said.

They received no money, because they are not "card-carrying" actors, he said. However, Ted Turner donated money on behalf of the re-enactors to a trust fund for battlefield preservation, William Salisbury said from his college dorm.

He said an earlier Ted Turner movie, "Gettysburg," sparked his interest as a child.

"When I found out 'Gods and Generals' was coming out, I made the time to get to a few weekend shootings," William Salisbury said. "It was definitely worthwhile. It was a motion picture."

The experience makes him notice the many minor players who appear in films as civilians or dead people.

"It was every Civil War re-enactor's dream to be in a movie rather than a PBS program," William Salisbury said.

The coincidences continued.

William Salisbury picked up a book, "Faith in Gods and Generals," which includes scenes from the movie. Two or three of the pictures showed the two Salisbury family re-enactors.

"The other day, somebody handed me paper and asked for my autograph," Earl Salisbury said. "When I asked why, he said because I was in his son's video game. This is totally wild!"


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Maryland; US: North Carolina; US: Virginia; US: West Virginia
KEYWORDS: dixie; generals; gods; godsandgenerals; reenactor; soldier; wbts
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Civil War re-enactor Earl Salisbury of Goldsboro holds the DVD cover that features him charging in a scene from ‘Gods and Generals.’ Both he and his son, William, appeared in the book-inspired movie that filmed from summer to December 2001.

1 posted on 07/17/2003 6:31:15 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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A detail from the ‘Gods and Generals’ DVD cover shows Earl Salisbury charging during a battle scene. ‘Right, smack, dab in the center,’ he says. ‘I’m the tall, skinny guy with stripes on his arm.’

2 posted on 07/17/2003 6:32:25 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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3 posted on 07/17/2003 6:33:20 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: stainlessbanner
"It was every Civil War re-enactor's dream to be in a movie rather than a PBS program," William Salisbury said.

I know that feeling William! My unit is in the PBS program, "The Battle of Great Bridge"...(see my profile)

4 posted on 07/17/2003 6:45:21 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: stainlessbanner
I was an extra in "Andersonville", which I understand will be offered as a freebie on the G&G DVD set. I was in several scenes that I thought would be surely in the final cut, including a group of us right behind the primary actors. That scene was in the movie, but your humble narrator was cropped out. One of the re-enactors in our little group had the complete Union army uniform with a checked shirt and everything and full set of whiskers. Alack and alas, he tended to a corpulence that didn't exactly suggest a half starved POW and was asked to step aside.

Walt

5 posted on 07/17/2003 6:45:52 AM PDT by WhiskeyPapa (Virtue is the uncontested prize.)
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To: stainlessbanner; stand watie; kristinn
I didnt see it in the movies, just heard a great deal about it.

So, I bought it when it came out.

I was disappointed in it. The atitudes of these men being so Christian, it seemed so phoney to me, not genuine, and way over acted. Not overacted to be boisterous, but overacted to be overly kind, gentlemanly, discreet...so much that it looked so phoney to me.

Also, the 'Christian' attitude of the southern generals, and the only time spent developing the Northern General, was that he quoted Shakespeare, not the Bible; both sides had a deep Christian Faith to rule their lives. Not just one. A little too one sided in that view.

They didnt act like men in combat at all

Not the super movie I was told to expect.

It was sad to see the re-enactments of the battles, the slaughter, the waste of life due to those days battle tactics.

Good movie to rent, clean language, battle scenes not overly gruesome, no sex, accurate historically

But, I expected it to be more of a Civil War movie, not a bio on Stonewall Jackson. Decent Flick, 2 1/2 stars
6 posted on 07/17/2003 6:47:22 AM PDT by RaceBannon
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To: WhiskeyPapa
I just bought G&D, no Andersonville DVD in that one for me...saw no special DVD set on sale yet in WalMart
7 posted on 07/17/2003 6:48:28 AM PDT by RaceBannon
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To: RaceBannon
The monolouge by Jeff Daniels before Chamberlin went into battle was really hokey and forced. What should have been the highlight of Chamberlin's character was silly.
8 posted on 07/17/2003 6:51:01 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: stainlessbanner
I went out and bought Gods and Generals yesterday. If you are a Civil War history buff like me I think it's a must buy.
The cinematography is wonderful.. I've been to Fredricksburg many times and the depictions of the battle are very realistic...Jackson's flank march and attack at Chancellorsville was an epic endeavor not only by Stonewall but also by the director of this movie who used Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries to emphasize the drama involved.
9 posted on 07/17/2003 6:52:29 AM PDT by Old Phone Man
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To: RaceBannon
I just bought G&D, no Andersonville DVD in that one for me...saw no special DVD set on sale yet in WalMart

Just as well. "Andersonville" is a dreadfully bad movie.

Some of the re-enactors I spoke to had been in "Gettysburg" and a few had been in "Glory" also.

Funny thing about being a extra on that movie. They asked us to show up in dark blue trousers and black shirt and boots, which I duly did. Some people showed up in blue jeans (which they specifically asked that you not do) and those people got the full costumes. All I got was a broad brimmed hat one day. Another day I got a calvary jacket and kepi. They would announce before almost every shot: "please remove modern looking glasses and any wristwatches."

Walt

10 posted on 07/17/2003 6:55:35 AM PDT by WhiskeyPapa (Virtue is the uncontested prize.)
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To: WhiskeyPapa
"please remove modern looking glasses and any wristwatches."

We call these Farb material...

In our unit some hard up reinactor would approach anyone with either modern or inaccurate items and would say "far be it for me to say those do not look accurate for the period", since then, we call modern and inaccurate items "farbee" items.

The act of calling on Farbee items is Farbitized...

11 posted on 07/17/2003 7:01:40 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
One thing we had to do also was sign a release that gave the film company the use of our image: "in any medium that exists or which may be invented anywhere in the universe forever."

Walt

12 posted on 07/17/2003 7:04:16 AM PDT by WhiskeyPapa (Virtue is the uncontested prize.)
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To: WhiskeyPapa
We had to do the same...regardless, we had fun anyway...Man I love the smell of blackpowder!...flying ramrods do pose a hazzard though :)
13 posted on 07/17/2003 7:07:47 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
In our unit some hard up reinactor would approach anyone with either modern or inaccurate items and would say "far be it for me to say those do not look accurate for the period", since then, we call modern and inaccurate items "farbee" items.

This is the most clear, complete explanation I have seen thus far of the origin of the term "farb." I have seen that term several times but could never work out the etymology. Thank you.

(one who knows that the blue speckled enamel cookware seen in Army-Navy stores is also farb city, although used by some re-enactors I know)

14 posted on 07/17/2003 7:14:59 AM PDT by strela ("Each of us can find a maggot in our past which will happily devour our futures." Horatio Hornblower)
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To: WhiskeyPapa
I was an extra in "Andersonville",

Cool. That was filmed about 3 miles from the farm where I grew up. Used to shoot some trap across the field the prison was built. That whole area is being carved up for subdivisions now.

15 posted on 07/17/2003 7:15:11 AM PDT by SquirrelKing ("A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel." - Robert Frost)
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To: RaceBannon
I was disappointed in it. The atitudes of these men being so Christian. . .

I heard in an interview that the script writer stayed EXTREMELY close to the dialogs in the in the book--which were direct quotes from various sources. It really is true that certain Southern generals (especially Stonewall Jackson) spouted scripture all the time. As for the Northern Generals? Well, I can't exactly picture the likes of Hooker or Grant quoting scripture much, and probably not Chamberlain either...sophisticated college professor that he was.

I think sometimes truth is stranger than fiction...and thereby that harder to make believable in a story or especially a movie.

16 posted on 07/17/2003 7:17:01 AM PDT by AnalogReigns
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To: RaceBannon
But, I expected it to be more of a Civil War movie, not a bio on Stonewall Jackson.

How sad for you. Read Lee's Liutenants by Douglas Southall Freeman and you will understand that this part of the War Between the States was primarily a biography of Thomas Jonathan (Stonwall) Jackson. If you read deeply enough you will come to learn that these people were Christians, who actually spoke as they were portrayed, who believed as they spoke and who comported themselves as they believed.

It is a great pity that you cannot ingest a historically accurate re-enactment because it was not Hollywoodized.

17 posted on 07/17/2003 7:17:54 AM PDT by nathanbedford
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To: Zavien Doombringer
"please remove modern looking glasses and any wristwatches." We call these Farb material...

One big reason that I'm not an active re-enactor today. I'd love to do it, but I can't see my hand in front of my face without my specs. (Contact lenses, LASIX, and period frames aren't effective for me for various reasons).

18 posted on 07/17/2003 7:18:00 AM PDT by strela ("Each of us can find a maggot in our past which will happily devour our futures." Horatio Hornblower)
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To: strela
(one who knows that the blue speckled enamel cookware seen in Army-Navy stores is also farb city, although used by some re-enactors I know)

Here are some url's for some suttlers, mostly dealing with 18th century and early 19th century accuterments

http://www.gggodwin.com/catalog.htm

http://www.jastown.com/newhome.htm

For anyone interested.

19 posted on 07/17/2003 7:19:15 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: AnalogReigns
You are correct!

All citizens were considered "Christian" and were to uphold a moral standard. Even in battle! No matter how hypocritical it may have seemed. If you were not a Christian, you were scrutinized publically.

20 posted on 07/17/2003 7:22:50 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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