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The soldier to my right must have loaded his rifle poorly. I don't remember seeing smoke. I do remember my ears ringing and head spinning.
A musket ball tore through my leg. I heard the bone crack and felt its jagged edge tear through my shin. My vision darkened.
I awoke to see the doctor dropping his bone saw in the mud. He retrieved it, wiped it on his stained coat and rinsed it in a basin of red water.
I felt the saw's teeth drag against my leg bone, and I screamed.
This was the scene running through Chris Prator's mind as he fell on the battlefield.
Historical re-enactors, such as Prator, will gather this weekend to remember the defining moment in U.S. history: the Civil War.
He will travel five hours from Chico to Mariposa to attend the Las Mariposas Civil War Day, which is touted as California's "most authentic Civil War event" on its Web site.
Prator, the university learning disability specialist, began re-enacting about 18 years ago and while there are strict safety regulations at events, accidents do happen, he said.
Re-enactors load a Civil War era rifle by jamming a long metal rod down the barrel to pack the powder, Prator said. They leave out the bullet, but "muzzle flashes" can still injure and in some cases kill - not everyone remembers to remove the ramrod.
Prator has seen them fly across the field and cause serious injury.
But despite the risk, Prator likes to authentically recreate the life of a Civil War soldier. He has camped entire weekends with little more than a couple potatoes and a slab of un-refrigerated bacon, he said.
Re-enactors make history real and tangible, said Prator, who has done hundreds of field demonstrations for students. Rather than read a dry text, the students do what the soldiers did to learn about Civil War life.
"The ultimate thing you teach is how hellaciously awful everything was," he said.
Prator has donned the gray Confederate uniform in the past and has enjoyed playing the "bad guy," he said. But, as someone who doesn't subscribe to the Confederate ideology, playing the part of a Southern soldier can be challenging.
"You have to be able to stand up straight-faced and defend slavery," he said.
Just up the freeway, Red Bluff Civil War Days will host a more local event, which features role playing, vendors and battles.
The Defense at Dog Island event takes place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with the first day's battles sounding off at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday's battles begin at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Re-enactment is more widespread in the South and East Coast, where the war was geographically centered. Yet, participants in these events can be found throughout the U.S. and even on the Chico State campus.
Bill Allen is the interim director of Institutional Research on campus and a Union brigade bugler. Allen got his start in re-enacting when his daughter came home with a uniform for him. He grabbed his bugle and joined the brass band, a staple in Civil War battalions.
He has been involved in re-enactment since 1997 and, like Prator, will be participating in the Las Mariposas Civil War Day.
A typical event day starts with a bugle revelry at 6 a.m., he said. And while Allen is primarily a musician, has fought battles as well.
The reasons individual re-enactors participate in these events vary, Allen said. Most people are simply enthusiastic about Civil War history and want to share it with their communities.
There are minority pro-Confederate groups who want to re-fight the war, Allen said. But the primary focus of living history events is education.
"Re-enacting as a Southern soldier does not mean you support that side," Allen said.
The bigger lesson re-enactors want to teach is that the Civil War was the defining moment in U.S. history. More Americans died in the Civil War than every other American war - from the Revolutionary War to the Korean War combined.
About 2 percent of the U.S. population died in the war between the North and South, said Robert Tinkler, history professor.
The Civil War was a monumental event that changed the way Americans think, today, he said. Before the war, people would say, "The United States 'are,'" but after the Confederate army fell, the noun shifted to a collective, becoming, "The United States 'is.'"
Randy Davenport can be reached at rdavenport@theorion.com
The article incorrectly stated that the Union fell. It also incorrectly stated that the Union's uniform was gray. The Confederate's uniform is the gray one, while the Union's is blue. The Orion's reporters strive for accuracy. We recognize that mistakes will occur, but we treat every error very seriously. If you feel a correction needs to be made, e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@theorion.com
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