“Dying Every Weekend”

(1,247 Words)

(Interview published in the Door County Advocate, a Gannett publication, in October 2004)

 

 “You hear cannons firing in the distance.  ‘Form Company!’ the First Sergeant yells …    You feel fear but put on a brave face for yourself.  Your company—almost a sea of blue--marches to the battlefield …  The clomping of shoes, the jingling of equipment are all reassuring sounds …  You feel proud to be a part of something so large and meaningful.  Shortly, the enemy appears.  You’re all struck by the tide of gray uniforms leaning toward you…”  Craig Seizer

 

The scene depicted above simulates only one of the hundreds of annual Civil War reenactments, throughout the United States and abroad.  Why are these reproductions so popular?  

 

For Craig Seizer, a local re-enactor, his sense of identity with Civil War soldiers deepens his desire to keep performing.  “Now, you become excited because you realize this is it—the real deal.” Seizer beams as he displays his uniform and Civil War publications.

 

Seizer, 39, lives in Sturgeon Bay with his wife, Peggy, and their young daughter, Rachel.  A six-year Army veteran, he now works at Amerifab Corporation and enjoys recreating Civil War battles.  Both Peggy and Rachel accompany Craig to various reenactments.  Peggy helps demonstrate cooking and other household chores that typified period lifestyles.  

 

After witnessing a Civil War reenactment at Heritage Hill in Green Bay a decade ago, Seizer joined E Company, 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (part of the Iron Brigade), one of the groups that performed there.  Seizer’s love of history and the knowledge that certain ancestors fought in the Civil War prompted him to become a re-enactor.  For nine years, Seizer performed as a Union infantryman private, but he was promoted to the rank of corporal, this year. 

 

Seizer recalled his most memorable reenactment; it took place at Antietam, Maryland, in 1997.  Unable to see past the cornstalks, he marched with E Company in a straight line.  Imagined scenes of “the real deal” floated into his mind:

 

            On Sept. 17, 1862, “The Cornfield Battle” raged in Maryland.  More appropriately called The Battle at Antietam, historians consider this the bloodiest day of the Civil War.  In the pre-dawn of a spectacular, fall day, Confederate troops, led by General Jackson, advanced through the cornstalks at Miller Farm.  Suddenly, cannons mowed cornstalks and men to the ground, slashing deep gashes in the underbelly of both the North and the South.

 

 As E Company left the cornfield, Seizer’s musings flashed forward to the reenactment, in 1997:  “All around you, muskets fire at once.  Your weapon feels cold at first, but as you keep firing, it gets so hot you can hardly hang onto it.  The noise is deafening; the smoke is so thick, you can barely see anything.  The enemy returns your fire and soon, some of your comrades fall.  Your emotions are forgotten for now, as skill takes over, and you get on with the job.  I felt humbled and awed by what these soldiers must have gone through,” Seizer said. 

 

“Every weekend, I died,” Seizer continued, laughing at the memory.  “The camaraderie of it all keeps me coming back.  Nowadays, families participate, too, which makes it a lot of fun.”  “Basically, we try to educate people about what life was like back then and how horrible the war was.  We’re not out there to glorify it; we’re out there to teach people how bad it was and how it changed the nation,” he said.  Seizer tries not only to entertain, but also to leave the spectator with a taste for this era of history that “really made America what it is today.” 

 

Seizer now participates in demonstrations for school children.  Corpus Christi and St. Joseph Schools invited E Company to do reenactments there.  During a typical school performance, students may wear Civil War uniforms and examine weapons and other signature artifacts from that period. 

 

Like Seizer, James Steele, another local resident, also participates in Civil War reenactments.  Steele and his wife, Bernie, moved to Door County from southwestern Wisconsin in March 2003.  A former truck driver for fifteen years, he now works as a welder at Bay Shipbuilding, Inc. 

 

Three of Steele’s ancestors fought in the Civil War:  Charles and Chauncy Steele, paternal uncles, and Nathaniel Johnson, a maternal grandfather.  Although his family’s link to the war fuels an interest in the hobby, he decided to become a re-enactor after attending his first reenactment.  “I knew that was my kind of thing.  I’m a history buff, anyway, so that went along with what I was interested in.” 

 

He joined the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry unit as a private and first appeared with them in Boscobel, Wisconsin.  After performing for nine years, he moved up their ranks to sergeant, engaging in major battles, from Gettysburg to Chickamauga.  Bernie sometimes accompanied her husband to these events and re-enacted scenes from civilian life.

 

“Our sister unit was the 9th Virginia, a Confederate unit,” Steele said.  If either unit lacked representation, re-enactors (mostly from Wisconsin, Illinois, or Iowa) dressed in opposing uniforms, to balance out the battles.

 

For Steele, the anticipation of performing comes from the realism of the events.  His words became almost reverent when he talked about re-creating the Battle of Gettysburg.  “We portrayed the 8th Illinois Cavalry that started the fight at Gettysburg.  Just to see a sea of gray as far as you could see—it was incredible.“  He paused, possibly imagining that fateful day:

 

Between July1-3, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg blistered the Pennsylvania terrain.  172,000 soldiers fought and died there—more than at any other battle waged on North American soil.  Under General Lee, the Confederates mounted a surprise attack against the Union army and fought valiantly, until General Meade’s army overpowered them.  By July 4th, this community of 2400 swelled with 51,000 casualties, on both sides, and 5,000 dead horses. The Confederates staggered back, exhausted, their morale and endurance depleted.

 

Steele’s face animated as he continued his account:  “I was just amazed at all the people there from the different units, and at the enormity of the whole thing …  As the battle progressed, it was getting so intense …  There are horses riding around in the cavalry, guys shouting …  You can taste the sulfur in the air from the guns.  The biggest thing is that while all this was going on, I was shooting as fast as I could.  As they moved toward our position, we were falling back.  We had fought all day long, and when I got back to camp, I realized I hadn’t seen any of those 120,000 spectators--it was that realistic,” Steele said.  “In the back of your mind, you know it’s not real, but you almost get a sense of being overrun.  From that aspect, you get an understanding of what the soldiers of that day must have felt.” 

 

Civil War reenactments appeal to both re-enactors and spectators, and will likely continue to do so.  They bring history to life in an exciting and entertaining way, especially for children.  They reunite us with our ancestral roots and demonstrate Civil War lifestyles.  Most importantly, re-enactors’ willingness to “die every weekend” educates us about the realities of war with an intimacy no other media can muster. 

 

For information about Steele’s group, contact Jerry Whitfield at (608) 271-2350.  Due to relocating and a more demanding work schedule, Steele now performs with a World War II re-enactors’ group.

 

For information about Craig Seizer’s group, call (920) 743-5214.  He plans to travel to Gettysburg for his next reenactment—Remembrance Day, November 11th.