Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 1, 1993 TAG: 9308010141
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He gets to see what the battles were like for Union and Confederate soldiers in America's deadliest war.
Cole, a music store owner in Cincinnati, drove 350 miles to participate Saturday in the reenactment of the Battle of South Salem.
Hundreds of Civil War enthusiasts came from nine states to Roanoke County's Green Hill Park to re-create the 1864 battle. Hundreds of spectators lined the battlefield to watch the reenactment, which will he repeated at 1:30 today.
The South Salem battle, which actually took place where Peters Creek empties into the Roanoke River, was an important prelude to the battle of Hanging Rock, near Salem, a Confederate victory.
Saturday, you could smell the smoke from the guns and cannons, see the perspiration drop from the soldiers' brows and hear the pounding of the horses as they ran across the battlefield.
The soldiers used blank ammunition, but the sound and gun smoke were real.
Cole owns one of the cannons used in Saturday's battle. He takes the cannon to four or five reenactments a year and to several historical exhibits in shopping malls.
Cole has long been interested in the Civil War, and his business now permits him to travel on weekends. His 12-year-old son, Justin, was wearing a Union uniform.
Reenacting the battles is a hobby for the participants. Like Cole, they often drive hundreds of miles for such an event.
Authenticity is the guiding feature. Sackcloth, shell jacket and frock coat are required of all participants on the battlefield. Eyeglasses must be of period construction.
Only footwear of the Civil War era is allowed, preferably of mule hide with square toes and wooden pegs. Uniforms must be woolen. Many soldiers carry their own binoculars, pistols and rifles.
Soldiers used sabers in the reenactment of hand-to-hand combat. Many soldiers rode their own horses, which were camped nearby in the park. The camps were open to spectators, many of whom took pictures of the soldiers and battlefield action. Tents lined one side of the park.
This was the battle's second reenactment. Last year's event attracted 500 participants from eight states, along with 6,000 spectators.
Saturday, more than a dozen vendors sold Civil War memorabilia, including books, clothes, paintings, leather goods and other items. There was even a Battle of South Salem T-shirt.
by CNB