Well isn't this new.

I have begun many blogs in my life. None of them have gone anywhere but then again I really never had a reason to have a blog. I have decided that I will try again as that I now have something to write about. in 1998 my brother and I went to Gettysburg National Park. I was 29 years old and my brother was 38. There on the battlefield was an artillery reenactment group. They were a New York unit of a number I do not remember. I do remember them being from New York because that is the state I am from. They went through the methods of firing a cannon and what the advantages were over the cannon from Napoleons age. I was absolutely enthralled with the idea of recreating this time period. I am an eighth grade history teacher now though at the time I was a movie theater manager. Now back in 1998 I had no idea how to get involved with something like reenacting and so this yearning to become a rebel or yank was placed on the back burner of my life as I attended to other things. About four years ago I was talking to a friend of mine who is also a teacher. During that conversation I told him the story of that artillery demonstration. He smiled and said that he belonged to a Union artillery reenactment unit. I was very excited about this and told him that I would love to be apart of this. He stated he would call when his unit was going to be in the area. I waited. Last year I was in a meeting and a member of my department told me that he was a member of the 21st Georgia Infantry Unit. I explained that becoming a reenactor was something I always wanted to try. He let me know that he would call when an event nearby was going to take place. I waited and then the phone rang. So last year in September of 2010 I was uniformed in borrowed cloths, out fitted with borrowed leathers, fired a borrowed 1853 3 band Enfield rifle, and slept in a borrowed tent. This was a great weekend and two weeks later I submitted an application to join this unit. The reason I am starting this blog is to discuss events I go to record the way in which I become a full fledge reenactor. This is my first post. I will add pictures of that event and others as I go to them. I also want to talk about the experience of joining this hobby. Being a teacher this is truly a challenge in time and money, more on that later. Until then, I am your servant, Pvt. Smith 21st GA Inf. Be Well