No
black powder will get burned; no cannon or horses will be
involved. How can this be a Civil War event? Easy. Just take
an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people wearing
wool uniforms, blue or gray, or elaborate hoopskirts, who
will take spectators on a stimulating journey back to the
19th century, in their sights and in their minds. Stir them
up with a Constitutional issue or two, or a spectator’s
question critical of battle tactics from 147 years ago, and
you have “A Civil War Gathering of Eagles.”
This
event, in its fourth edition at the
Old
Court House Museum
in Winchester, Virginia, is unique among the plethora of War
Between the States events being offered. It is billed as a
“seminar” because it does not include the pseudo-battles
that most “reenactments” offer as their main form of
entertainment. Yet, rather than a dry lecture, the
experience at “Gathering” is first-person and interactive –
if you have a question for General Lee, or Abraham Lincoln,
just ask them - they are there, in front of you, ready for
any discussion you might desire.
Hosted
by the combined forces of “Lee’s
Lieutenants”
and the “Federal
Generals Corps”,
totaling to nearly 50 well-honed portrayals of real Civil
War personas, “Gathering” is a phenomenon far beyond any
other Civil War educational opportunity available. Debates
on the Constitution and states’ rights, eerily similar to
those same debates going on in our statehouses today, are
carried on with certain knowledge of the Founders’ thoughts
and positions about the reach of the Federal government. The
thoughts, emotions, and experiences of battle-hardened
Generals, and those who felt the brunt of the War, will be
brought to the fore.
Historian
Shelby Foote once said that before one can truly understand
the
United States
in the 21st century, one must understand the American Civil
War. It is through events such as “Gathering” that such
understanding can be readily gained. It is, year after year,
stimulating, thought-provoking, and even inspiring, when one
contemplates the courage and sacrifice of our forebears in
thrashing out this gigantic controversy in a trial of fire
and blood.
