Since Anthony was a VERY young boy, he has had a love/infatuation of history. After his TRAP competition yesterday in Kingsport, we decided to go to a Civil War reenactment - secretly without giving Alex a vote. This required crossing a mountain, stopping at a Sonic in an unknown town, and following some of the brown historic road signs until we arrived in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Only once did we call Tony, who is in Georgia right now at a fishing tourmanent, to ask him where we were. We called him and said, "We're in Bean Station, do you know where that is? Are we going in the right direction?" He wasn't a lot of help from Georgia but we managed to make it there. You know how we knew we were close? We stopped at a rest area and Anthony looked up on the hill and could see Confederate soldiers walking through the woods in the rain! There was a small gap in the trees and you could see them walking on a trail toward the historic town of Cumberland Gap.
Anthony is very interested in being a reenactor. We thought he would lean toward WWII reenactments but the Civil War is what has caught his attention lately. He went to a reenactment with his Papaw last weekend and for a solid week he has been getting prices for everything he needs such as: gun, uniform, tent, eating accessories, etc. He thought he knew which division he would like to join, too, until this weekend. Some of the "Union" soldiers he spoke to last weekend recognized him and talked to him again yesterday, which made him think maybe Union but his heart has ALWAYS been Conferderate. Now he's unsure. So many decisions to make. He can't even start buying supplies until he makes up his mind.
As we drove down the hill into Cumberland Gap, this is the first thing we saw.
These Southern belles were on the porch watching the battle.
There were horses and cannons in this reenactment.
Cumberland Gap is in a "gap" in the mountain between Tennessee and Kentucky. It is a beautiful, historic, small town. 
This lady reminded Anthony of Granny Clampet, of course Granny would never have worn a Union uniform.
At the end of the battle (after resurrecting all of the "dead and injured" soldiers), the Union and Confederate soldiers lined up for a volley. It was sooooo loud!
There is one group, I think the 23rd Division, who wear the worn out clothes, no shoes, and probably look more like the Confederate soldiers did by the end of the war. Anthony has really considered this division but I think their base is a little too far away for us. He has spoken to Captain Sharp from this group a lot. Captain Sharp is on the far right in the picture below. Barefoot.
The reenactors have to provide their own tents and equipment. They camp there, staying the whole weekend, experiencing to a small degree what the soldiers actually experienced. Minus the scurvy, hypothermia, frost bite, and hunger.
This lady who operated the cannon disappointed Anthony. He thought she should have been able to take her lip ring out for the reenactment. I tend to agree.
Of course, doing Civil War reenactments will require purchasing yet another gun. It would be historically incorrect to use just any gun in a Civil War reenactment. It must be historically accurate. Apparently most people can tell the difference in guns - I only know long barrell versus handheld...
This man showed us a Maynard, which meant something to Anthony but didn't mean a thing to me. Apparently it is VERY old and VERY rare.
It says "Edward Maynard patented May 27, 1851 - December 6, 1859."
While you choose sides for reenactment purposes, and there is the usual sparring between the union and the confederate soldiers, this group was very concerned with making sure everyone knew that reenactments are done to promote heritage and history, not hatred.
It's amazing the things you learn because your kids' interests lead you in that direction. For now we must determine whether we want to be a Union or Conferderate family, which division to join, and whether I want to wear crinolines or hoop skirts. 
