Reliving History

Troy Fallin has lead a double life for nearly 20 years. Sometimes he's a modern-day man with a cell phone and all the comforts of the 21st century. But for days at a time, Fallin disappears into the mid 19th century and becomes a colonel in the 3rd Regimental Army of Northern Virginia.
Fallin is one of thousands of Americans who portray, reenact and live American history. It's Fallin's love of history, an interest in genealogy and close ties to the Central Virginia area that lead to his "enlistment" as a Civil War reenactor.
Col. Fallin was in Orange County last weekend while he and other Civil War reenactors camped at Montpelier. Reenactors performed a number of drills and participated in activities like those of the 4,500 Confederate forces housed on the Montpelier grounds during the encampments of 1863-64.
"I've been interested in the Civil War since I was a little boy." Falllin said. "I grew up where armies maneuvered and battles actually took place. I had ancestors who fought in the war."
Fallin is as proud of his promotion through the ranks of the Confederate Army as he was during his career in the modern U.S. Army.
"This is my 19th year of reenactment. I started as a private, and just through years of experience, I rose through the ranks," he explained.
Fallin's commitment to living history isn't so rare. His unit is 300-men strong, and at a major event, thousands of infantry, artillery and cavalry swarm the fields, re-creating pivotal scenes from the American Civil War.
At Remembrance Day, an event honoring those who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, as many as 5,000 reenactors and living historians participate.
"In two months we're doing the battle of Cedar Creek, and we'll have about 7,000 reenactors come out for that," Fallin said.
According to the history of the battle of Cedar Creek, Lt. Gen. Jubal Early led the Confederate Army of the Valley in a surprise attack on the Federals at dawn on Feb. 19, 1864. But after Maj. Gen. Sheridan arrived at the battle sight near the Shenandoah Valley town of Middletown, Federals launched a counterattack, ultimately leading to a Union victory.
The 21st century reenactment of fighting at Cedar Creek is somewhat different than what took place in 1864. Nowadays, reenactment organizers will focus on just one element of the actual battle, rather than the days-long fight which took place.
"They'll take a small portion of the action. They'll choreograph it and they'll do troop movements the way it actually was."
Troops may know where to start and where to finish, but in the heat of a battle reenactment, how do the participants know when to "die?"
"That's a bit of a problem," Fallin said. "A lot of it doesn't go exactly the way you planned." Reenacted "casualties" during a reenacted battle are frequently caused not by a wound, but by fatigue.
"A lot of guys drive five or six hours to an event, so they don't want to go there and take hits," Fallin explained. "Guys will usually take hits when they get tired or run out of ammunition."
Organizing and choreographing a battle and replicating a historical event in which hundreds or thousands are charging the enemy, while firing rifles and cannon is a difficult task. It doesn't always go by the book, Fallin admitted.
"A lot of times at these larger events, something will happen that throws the scenario off," he said. When that happens, reenactors have to regroup and reorganize.
In the modern-day version of the Battle of Cedar Creek, for example, sometimes the Confederates claim victory at the end of the day, and sometimes, the Federals come out ahead.
"We have to do something different to get it to run smoothly and get everyone to participate. We can't do the actual battle the way it happened," Fallin said.
For some who participate, running across the same battlefields in the same uniform as their ancestors and historic heroes is a transcendental experience.
"It can take you back, the bullets flying, the yelling," Fallin said. "To a lot of guys there's a 'feeling.' I've heard guys talk about they're having a 'Civil War Moment.' I get that feeling at Cedar Creek because my ancestor was there."
But these Civil War Moments aren't just for infantry and officers.
For reenactors who don't wish to engage in combat, there are support staff positions to be filled.
At reenactments and living history events, there are blacksmiths who forge steel into cavalry chargers' shoes and pound red-hot iron into tools. Provost guards maintain camp while the battle rages close by, and aides de camps are at hand as confidential assistants to officers.
"Some gentlemen might work on staff. They have a purpose, they're useful," Fallin said.
But as authentic as they try to be at an event, Fallin said there's no getting around some of the elements of modern-day America. "Power lines and cars-of course-those type of things interrupt the experience," he said.
While living historians carry out the day-to-day routine of the mid 19th century, Fallin said reenacted camps and battles draw a broad range of intrigued spectators from the 21st century.
"We've got a diverse group of spectators; all ages, different nationalities. You'd be surprised at the kind of people we get at reenactments," he said.
Fallin fields questions from spectators sometimes as his 21st century self and other times, as his Civil War-era persona. It all depends on who's asking the question, he explained.
"When you answer a modern-day question with a period answer, they look at you like, 'Are you crazy?' or 'You've been in the woods too long.' "
With children and teens, he said, it works best to communicate in the type of dialogue they're used to.
"You get them more interested if you approach them in today's language." Otherwise, he said. "It really could be a culture shock."
The question he gets the most? "Are you hot in those uniforms. That's the number one question," Fallin laughs.
The answer is yes. Those uniforms--just like the ones Civil War soldiers wore--are made of wool.
And other than 'Are you hot in that uniform?' Fallin said the majority of questions posed by spectators demonstrate a good knowledge of American history.
"People have done their research before they come out." But at times, he admitted, those educated questions come as a surprise. "It catches us off guard because we're expecting 'Are you hot in those uniforms?' "
Fallin said he's met people of all walks of life who, several times a year, trade in their persona for that of a Civil War era individual. Among living historians and reenactors, Fallin said, is a strong concentration of history teachers.
"It helps them bring history to their students," Fallin said, by allowing a first-person experience of the very history they will go bring back to their classroom.
To look the part, reenactors can expect to shell out a minimum of $1,500, Fallin said. That's for the basics: shoes, uniform, rifle and tent. Cavalry officers, who must have a horse along with all its tack and equipment, can expect an even greater investment.
For the rookie reenactor, companies usually offer loaner equipment from a supply of extra uniforms and gear.
"This can be expensive. We want to make sure this is what they want to do," Fallin said.
The uniforms, crafted by specialty clothiers, are reproductions. Authentic items dating back to the 1860s would be far too fragile and valuable to use in a reenacted battle.
"If you have something authentic, you'd very rarely have it out in the field," Fallin said.
In the field, Fallin said, he is with his second family-other history enthusiasts who have dedicated thousands of dollars and countless hours towards research for their roles as historical figures.
"We take it to heart, and we help each other become better living historians and give an accurate display of what the soldiers did and how they lived back then," Fallin said.
On Monday morning, they'll all show up to work at their regular jobs wearing modern-day clothing, just like everyone else in 2008. But for the weekend, they are the 3rd Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia.
It's not all about a battle plan for some reenactors. Civilians have a part to play in living history, too.
Laura Vandenberg travels several times a year from her home in Chesapeake to Orange County. When she's here, she binds herself in a corset, struggles into a hoop skirt and curls her hair just so, in order to portray one of her Civil War-era personas, a young lady awaiting the return of her soldier sweetheart.
Vandenberg studied Civil War history extensively but it was a trip to Gordonsville several years ago that spurred her interest in living history.
"I became involved with the reenactment through the wonderful people at the Exchange Hotel Civil War Museum," Vandenberg said. "I attended enough functions there as an observer and thought, 'Gee, it would be fun to dress up.' "
When she's a Civil War-era civilian, Vandenberg depicts 19th century life off the battlefield.
"While the men and women are playing soldiers on the battlefield, in the camp I'm cooking, learning to sew, cleaning, or answering questions that people may have. There is always work to be done at reenactments," she said.
Vandenberg's period clothing was custom-made by a specialist in Culpeper. For a lady of that era, a simple frock wouldn't do. Vandenberg's outfit starts with a chemise, pantaloons, corset and petticoat-and those are just the undergarments! The antebellum Southern Belle look is completed by a light cotton camp dress for tending to soldiers, a walking dress made of heavier material and worn over a hoop skirt, or a heavy silk, glamorous ballroom gown.
"Then there are also accessories that need to adorn these dresses as well," she said.
To complete her ensemble, Vandenberg said she trawled E-Bay for accessories of the day like a snood, apron, parasol, shoes, earrings, and fans.
Gordonsville resident Mike Murphy got hooked on Civil War reenactment and interpretation back in his home state of New Jersey in 1986. Although he'd always had an interest in American history, he said he'd never considered "enlisting" in the 1st New Jersey Cavalry reenactment unit until a friend suggested joining.
"I'd never even heard about this hobby until somebody asked me if I would be interested in doing it," Murphy said. "You do it once and it gets in your blood."
Murphy moved to Virginia in 1989, and bought a farm only a few miles from the site of the Battle of Trevillians. From below the Mason-Dixon line, he continued to reenact as a member of the Union Cavalry until his horse died a few years ago.
Murphy frequently portrayed Union General George Custer at reenactments and living history events, and rode into battle on horseback, with a pistol, saber and rifle. Murphy portrayed a Union Cavalry corporal in the 1993 epic film "Gettysburg."
"I've got uniforms to do every rank," he said. "If you go to (a reenactment) and Custer wasn't there, you could be a private one day and a general the next. It's the love of the hobby. Who you are on the field doesn't really matter."
When dressed in his uniform-brass shining, saber glinting in the sun, atop a deep brown horse quivering with anticipation of a charge--Murphy's curly white-blond locks and mustache make him a dead ringer for Custer himself.
Aside from the strong resemblance, Murphy said it was his willingness to acquire the laundry list of accoutrements and equipment a cavalry officer requires that landed him the role of Custer.
In Murphy's twenty-something years as a reenactor, he's been to almost every organized reenacted battle, he said, including Cedar Mountain, Stanardsville, Trevillians, Appomattox and Gettysburg. He rode on a reenactment of Grierson's Raid, the 1863 Union Army attempt to take Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi.
Murphy said he and 80 members of the modern-day 1st New Jersey Cavalry and other cavalry units rode from LeGrange, TN, through Mississippi to Baton Rouge, LA, following the path of the 19th century Union Army. That trek, he said, was a pivotal moment for him, in which he felt especially empathetic to what Civil War soldiers experienced.
And whether he's General Custer or just a private out there in the battle, Murphy said once he rides onto the battlefield, he might as well be riding right into the war itself.
"It's as real as you can get without killing somebody," Murphy said.
In the heat of battle, just inches away from the enemy, Murphy said it sometimes became difficult for him to distinguish between interpretation and reality.
"It gets emotional, and you almost start to feel like…I get goose bumps when I talk about this…I sometimes feel like I've done this before," he said.