(Shiloh, TN) Civil War reenactors from all across the country converge on Shiloh, Tennessee this weekend.
This is the 150th anniversary of what’s considered the “bloodiest” battle of the Civil War.
more than 24 thousand soldiers were killed over two days.
By the thousands, they are signing up to play a part in history, the 150th anniversary of the battle of Shiloh.
Charlie Martin will be a Union soldier from Vermont, “I’ll be carrying a rifle and I’ll be doing what the company commander tells me to do.”
At least on this day, Union soldiers stand side by side with Confederate soldiers as they get directions to the battlefield.
Doug Taylor is a Confederate soldier from Pennsylvania, “I had ancestors that fought on both sides of the war and so I do this in honor of them and history. I love history.”
Mason and Tiffany Lumpkins, from Missouri, are authentically dressed for the their roles and already in character.
“I’m an assistant surgeon, so I’m working in the hospital, assisting wounded soldiers,” said Tiffany
After a quick stop at the t-shirt stand, the reenactors say goodbye to modern conveniences.
For the next few days they will step back in time, all the way back to April 1862.
That is the most impressive and most challenging part of any re-enactment.
It means sleeping in hot tents and cooking authentic food like what Glenda Wolf will be making, “Beans, potatoes if you got em’ and cornbread. And if we can scrounge up some meat we’ll throw it on the grill too.”
For Maria and Frankie Scinto, it’s important to be immersed from head to toe in their characters.
Maria Scinto is playing a “Confederate” soldier from Virginia, “Last night, my son and I slept outside. We don’t use a tent; we just had a gun blanket and a wool blanket over the top of us.”
Frankie, who is 8-year-old, is taking part in his second battle reenactment and loves it, “I and I get to see a lot of cool things that I’ve never seen.”