Humble Contributions to the Peoples' History

Posts tagged ‘Willmington & Western Railroad’

Civil War Skirmish at Red Clay Creek

Wilmington RR2

On a warm morning in September, I returned to Red Clay Creek in Delaware to photograph the woodland scenes and Wilmington & Western steam train that provided the backdrop for the skirmish. Photographer for Philadelphia Weekly, J. R. Blackwell, and I met up with General John Houck and the other reenactors portraying both the Union and Confederate forces. J. R.’s photographs feature stunning portraits of the soldiers and camp folk.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. This link has an interesting history of the song. On a comment board, someone wrote this insightful post:

My great-great grandfather fought for the Union (wounded 3 times) as he was an abolitionist, and yet this song moves me so much, it almost makes me feel sorry for Southerners. And I mean no irony in that last sentence. As my Uncle Bill, a combat infantryman in WWII said, “Rich old men start wars and send poor young men off to die in them.” Pretty much the case for almost every war.

This next video came out of an experiment where I interviewed reenactors to set up a storyline for the video, as I wanted to try a different approach by expanding on the music videos I had made last year at Red Clay Creek and Rising Sun. When asking folks why they became involved with reenacting, many Confederate and Union soldiers felt strong connections to their ancestors who fought in the Civil War. I understand that relationship as I have an affinity with those who came before me and have written about their lives on this blog. The end of the Civil War meant that those who had lost their connections to family and culture through slavery could now begin to establish their heritage.

Historical Reenactors

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Nostalgic Memorabilia, Photography

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