Experiencing History: Pictures from Appomattox: Part 1 Reenactors

I love attending living history events, but the hardest thing about these events are the civilians. Lol I know, I know, I’m one of them, but hear me out. It takes a great deal of patience to wait for the perfect moment, the perfect angle, to shoot the perfect picture withOUT any civilians in the background. I was pretty fortunate to have walked away from an event this large and actually have some really terrific shots without civilians and/or modern junk in the background. So as you scroll through these pictures, please excuse anything that slipped in that doesn’t belong, and when you find those pics that are without modern influence, be amazed. 😉 I know I was!

This whole post will be dedicated to the those beautiful shots with the reenactors. They really do a wonderful job bringing history to life!! Please, continue following the blog all week as I bring a new collection of pictures every morning.

We’ll kick this post off with a pic of Grant and Lee posing for a picture.

This is one of my favorite shots. Through various journals, I read about how both armies mixed and mingled after the surrender and this picture captured that idea beautifully.

Ok, man on a horse may not seem like much, but look! No civilians…or yellow rope around the house in the background. Lol

I love the simple shots like this. It puts such a refreshing idea on life. It wasn’t just drill and march for the soldier; they had chores to do too!

Another amazing shot! Can’t we just imagine Frank, George, and Eddie palling around by the fence?!

I love this pic!! This is a good example of a soldier during the down time.

This was another example of a beautiful shot ruined by a busy, modern background. 🙂 I think I took six pictures before getting this one. Does this scene remind you of anything? Think back to Frank’s opening camp scene in Where Can I Flee, where he’s sitting under a tree beside Eddie and George with a group of men sitting off the side? Ok, so they’re totally in the wrong uniform, but it’s still a neat resemblance.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the weekend! So simple. So beautiful. The story behind this picture is kinda funny. I was standing in line at the bookstore (notice the armed guards in the picture above 😉 ) when I noticed that only reenactors were visible in the doorway. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity! So, paying no attention to the long line of strangers behind me, I dropped to my knees and took a few pictures. I’m so glad that I did!

I hope you enjoyed the first of five blogs featuring my pictures from Appomattox. I ran a blog series featuring the major events surrounding Lee’s surrender to Grant earlier this month. Click on the “#ExperHist” tag to your right to read the series. It’s too late to enter the giveaway that accompanied the series, but it’s never too late to enjoy history! 😉