Yeah, we were there. And if you have never observed a Civil War battle Re-enactment, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? (Sorry for the uppercase hype) but for once, I need to be emphatic. We ended up at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Middletown, Virginia, all thanks to Lois at the Wayside Inn, an incredibly cool 18th century coach station and inn with its own share of stories (and a phantom or two, to be sure).
If you don't believe me, ask the folks that are participating in a seance in the slave kitchen tomorrow night? Whether you believe in the spirit world or not, they Wayside has a knack for dragging you back into the past. With creaky floors and finely carved period beds, a potpourri of antiques lovingly collected by the former proprietor, Wayside is simply oozing with history. In fact a Civil War soldier's letter home is framed right above the check-in counter.
But back to the battle. I am not a Civil War buff so I won't go into the details except to say that the men in blue and the men in gray were in abundance along with wives, tents, campfires, musical accompaniment and even a ball, the night before doing battle. Did I mention cavalry? Of course, there were some proud-stepping horses, totally non-plussed by the canon fire.
The weather complied dishing up a sun-drenched fall day for both Saturday and Sunday's re-enactments. Apparently the annual event occurs regardless of rain or sun.
On Saturday morning, we walked to the battlefields with a mass of boyscouts. From the center of Middletown, it's about a 3/4 mile to 1 mile walk to the Union's campsite. The Confederates were shooting from the opposite side of the valley near the Belle Grove plantation. We arrived about 15 minutes before the first skirmish scheduled for 11 am. Fortunately we crossed the valley along a path before the cannons began to smoke and before the cavalry made its first advance.
If you want to photograph this battle, I would suggest arriving early in the day to take photos of the campsites both on the Union and Confederate sides because once the battle begins, observers are requested to stand behind the 'battle lines'. I started shooting (photos, that is) from the hilltop of the Confederate side. You had a good view of the Union soldiers approach - and quite honestly, I think the Confederates had picked a good site to begin the battle. When you cross over from the Union soldiers' camp, you can't see much of anything over that hill and I would have not liked charging into a surprise attack.
Later in the day, at 3 pm, we observed a re-enactment (which according to the commentators actually began at 5 am with heavy fog) the best place to photograph this battle was from the Unionists encampment - just below the gun emplacements. That's where the front lines of the two camps made contact. (In other words, if you're approaching from Route 11, choose a spot in the designated observation area closest to Middletown and the Union soldiers' camp as opposed to the Confederate campsite.
Several of the re-enactors lodged at the Wayside Inn so we were able to discuss more of the details of the time period. As one of the participants mentioned, many of the people who do this year after year (one couple with whom we spoke had been attending for over ten years!) are truly dedicated to 'living the life - and bringing the event to life)
