A Review of the 150th First Bull Run/Manassas Reenactment Part 2

First off, let me just say that cleaning my room today was an AWESOME success. I not only cleared my floor space, but under the bed, one closet, and rediscovered a chair. Whoo-hoo! Best of all, my one cup coffee maker is within arm's reach of my bed. Mornings just got brighter!

Moving on from yesterday, Manassas was hot. One fellow who came by to chat told us one of his pard's was a recently returned Iraq War Veteran...he said Fallujah had better weather. I rest my case.

We woke up at four thirty in the morning in order to get to the reenactment on time. While I was in charge of food, nobody had much of an appetite in such heat. However, the main road to the reenactment was being shut down at 5:30 in the morning. We literally threw on our basic layers of clothing. Undergarments were skipped...Faith and I sported tank tops and boxers (only $2.98 at the Manassas Target!) under our corsets and dresses. Scandalous, I know!

We made it to the reenactment with time to spare, but then faced the half mile to mile hike to our camp. Yes, we had to park pretty far off site, which I didn't really care about. In fact, that's pretty common at events. At an event this large, however, one expects shuttles for the reenactors to and from the parking. None were provided. There were no shuttles to and from the sutlers either, which was also pretty shocking. They did have them for the visitors to go from parking to the event, so I am told. Personally, while I would have been grateful for a shuttle to save me that hike, I was ok without it. As I mentioned in Part 1, I hold up pretty well in heat and I'm a strapping, healthy young lady with two good legs. However, not all reenactors are as fortunate as me. Shuttles really ought to have been provided.

Breakfast was an easy set up. As long as there was cold, cut fruit we were relatively happy campers. Happy in the stomach at least. Battle started at 8:00 am. Faith and I tried to watch part of it, but the event managers had placed grand stand seating all along the "front" of the battlefield. Along the sides were "shade" tents, filled mainly with elderly and families with small children. It was next to impossible to see anything. Sitting under the grand stands was out of the question as, in if you risked the people dropping food and drinks on you, the security offers would not allow it. Faith and I had a very pleasant chat with a woman whose son and husband were participating. By nice chat, I mean we kvetched about how poorly the reenactors were being treated.

Here was the clincher of annoyance for me. At events, event staff and volunteers (usually college/high school age students and local emt members) drive gas powered golf carts or "gators" around selling ice for a few bucks. In the over 100 degree weather, this even was charging $4.00 for a small back of ice. The ones you can get for a buck fifty at wawa. When I was at Spotslyvania, they were giving the ice for free. We weren't allowed to leave the property during the day, so we had no choice but to buy the ridiculously priced ice. Of course, we were lucky that the ice truck made it to our camp. Some areas of the Federal camp didn't receive ice from Friday night until after 2:00 on Saturday afternoon because the trucks were selling out before they reached the farther corners. We were fortunate that one of our ladies had the clever idea to fill her cooler with ice at her hotel and bring it to camp in one of the vehicles reserved for emergency purposes and allowed in camp. It's good to camp with Safety and Provost.

Here is some information a lot of people don't understand or flat out know about reenacting. It's not cheap. I'm not talking about the equipment end. I am talking about the average event. First of all, you have to pay a registration fee. For Manassas (which, my, Teddy, and Faith's registration were all botched up, despite my having called and/or emailed multiple times and spoke to multiple people...I was more than a little annoyed) registration cost $20.00 a person. Then add on the cost of food for the event: our camp came to $10.00 a person. Now add in gas prices: we averaged about $150 for the all trip. Plus, we have to count in the ammunition the reenactors are using, time off work in some cases, supplies picked up (for instance, we did a Target run for more Gatorade and additional shorts for the weekend)...and it's a "volunteer" hobby. To charge an exorbitant rate for a necessity like ice was just insulting.

To be fair, the event had "cooling tents" set up that had fans, misters, and air conditioners set up. Faith and I stopped in one early Saturday and found it packed with spectators in tank tops and shorts. Next time, maybe reserve ones for the people in wool and corsets who made this event a possibility for you. There was also an Emergency Tent which I had the displeasure of visitng with Teddy when he got a nose bleed from the heat. It was wonderful in there. Completely dark with fans,air conditioning, free water, no windows or openings for doors (just flaps). Half of the tent was designated for people who were feeling kinda icky from the heat. The other half was made up like a hospital. I kid you not, at least 15 beds (about ten of which were occupied) with IV hookup. This was in the evening after the spectators had left for the day.

By day's end, I was happy to be leaving a day early. Rumor has it some people were badmouthing reenactors who left early. Well, I did! So, feel free to direct it at me. Here's what I think. First of all, the event was repeating exactly the next day. I didn't miss anything. Two, for the love of Pete, women would not have been outside in that sort of weather. Three, there was a serious health issue and risk. I received multiple phone calls/texts/ etc from friends and family making sure Teddy, Faith, and I were all okay. There comes a time in everything when you have to stop and put health first. Reportedly 248 people were treated (not just from heat, although I imagine that was dominate), 13 were transported, and three horses were also treated. You may think these numbers are high, but in reality, it's not too, too bad.

Many reenactors, myself included, know their limits and know it's always, always, always better to be safe than sorry. As I mentioned, I went without period undergarments and surely drank my weight in water and Gatorade. A lot of reenactors are also foolish. I don't mean to offend the rougher sex, but sometimes guys just aren't as young as they think they are and push themselves too far. If I've heard it once, I've heard a thousand times: a seasoned veteran of the hobby assuring a new, young recruit that there is absolutely no shame in saying, "I cannot take the heat."

I'm starting to get sidetracked with a safety lesson, so I apologize. I just can't stress enough how important it is to put yourself first. There will always be some fool who wants to make a crack about that Gatorade not being authentic. You are very clever, people actually died during the battles too, shall we make that a reality?

Anyway, the time we spent among friends was lovely. I was thrilled to have been a part of the first event of the sesquicentennial. There were definitely some kinks, but all things considered, the event went as well as could be expected. I, for one, don't think that heat could have been expected, so I am forgiving of some of my crossness. Not the $4.00 ice, though. That was just slimy and lowdown. I did very much like that the historic sutlers were on one street and the modern vendors were on another. That was a very, very nice touch that I wish all reenactments followed.

We originally had another event planned in August, but it was cancelled by the event people. One of our pards has invited the unit up to their home in New England for that weekend instead, so although our time was cut short, we will be able to see some of our friends there soon. Tomorrow I will conclude my review of First Bull Run with a Photo Blog! I know you're excited!