On Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9 and 10, enthusiasts from all over the country gathered in Chickamauga to make plans for the upcoming Civil War sesquicentennial and discuss the future of the Civil War reenactment community.

Fifteen states were represented, from Vermont to Texas, and for two days scores of reenactors enjoyed the hospitality of Gordon Lee Mansion and Lee and Gordon’s Mills.

John Culpepper, city manager of Chickamauga and himself an active member of the reenactment community, received an award on behalf of the mayor and city council of Chickamauga presented by the 150th National Leadership Conference and the Western Blue/Grey Alliance.

The meeting was hailed by its participants as an unprecedented event in the history of the hobby. Said Reese Sexton, editor of Civil War Times magazine, “This is a great step in the reenacting community. This has never been done before, a meeting like this.”

In anticipation of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, beginning next year, reenactors have formed a new and “unusual” alliance so as to better facilitate events on a national scale. Dubbed the Western Blue-Grey Alliance, this effort spans state lines to see residents on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line working together to orchestrate and attend the same events, which they hope will be bigger and better than ever.

Reenactors clothed in all shades of blue and grey sat together in the wedding chapel of the Gordon Lee Mansion. “We will support each other,” the voiced commitment to the Western Blue-Grey Alliance, resounded around the room. However, when these friends meet again in their mid-19th-century uniforms, they will not be placidly sitting next to each other, but will instead be fighting each other with real muskets and real gunpowder. There are no bullets involved, of course, as the activity is all in good fun.

To learn more about Civil War reenactment events or to get involved, visit atlantacampaign.com or cleburnes-division.com.

There are as many reasons to get involved in the Civil War reenactment community as there were reenactors present. Reese recalls his induction over 25 years ago, when he found out that his grandfather fought in the Civil War on the very field on which his home stood. He “took down the original musket off the wall and started marching,” and from that moment, he was hooked.

Barbara Bridgers, on the other hand, only began participating in reenactments “about a year ago.” Bridgers, like so many others in the hobby, has a different name when she is on the field, especially as she portrays both female and male roles during the weekend-long battles. Private Clayton Bridgers, as she is known, admits that her favorite part about the whole affair is “just being out there on the field.” She also confesses that “it’s kinda funny to see the guys’ expressions after seeing me all dirty in a soldier’s uniform all day, to come out dressed as a girl.”

Bridgers’s father got her into the hobby. Now 41, has been participating in these events since he was 12.

Her father may be one of the rare ones. One of the main concerns expressed during the conference was a lack of participation among the younger generation. Everyone agreed that trying to recruit teenagers and young adults into the reenacting community should be a top priority.

One speaker enthused the crowd by saying “let’s go forth as leaders and lead the youth into our hobby….if we put our minds to it, we are going to find a way to make it happen.”

Others laughed and admitted that it shouldn’t be that difficult to entice teenage boys to play war with real guns.

However, recruiting the young is not the only goal expressed in the conference.

General Way, as he is known, is a foremost leader among the reenactor community and commander of Cleburne’s Division. He has been participating in this hobby for the past 20 years, and has high hopes for its future. General Way wants to see better, more accurate uniforms amongst the participants and a higher level of authenticity and higher standards for the hobby in general.

In addition, he hopes that the events will continue to become more reenactor-friendly and that there will be high level of respect for all participants on all sides.

This issue was touched on later in the conference when, during tactical discussions, some leaders explained that due to logistical problems, it may be at times necessary for one commander to take over for another. The leaders at this conference, who represent up to 12,000 troops across the country, assured each other that their soldiers would follow in another’s command for the sake of the community and the Western Blue-Grey Alliance. “It can work,” one speaker insisted, to which an audience member echoed, “it will work.”

General Way also wants to get the public involved more in the hobby. He is quite pleased that so many reenactor events take place in small towns across the country, many of which already have significance as historical sites in the Civil War. By getting the word out about reenactor events, he hopes to acclimate the many small towns to the reenactor community and hopefully encourage the townspeople to become more involved in history themselves.

The public is invited to every reenactor event, and watching the proceedings is a great way to learn about history and to get involved in the hobby. “Spectators are an important part,” said Culpepper.

Culpepper stressed that the reenactment of the Battle of Chickamauga is going to be the biggest ever this time around. As the reenactors try to keep the dates and locations of their reenactments as accurate as possible, the recreation of the Sept. 19-20, 1863, battle will not be held until September 2013. The event will most likely be on the 20–24 of that month, as that is the closest weekend to the actual battle dates. It will be held in the field at McLemore’s Cove, and as the event has received a full nationwide commitment from all corners of the Western Blue-Grey Alliance, thousands of reenactors are expected to attend.

“This is the future of the city of Chickamauga,” Culpepper beamed. “Civil War history is our future.”

Overall, Culpepper was incredibly pleased at the success of the conference. “This has left a good impression of northwest Georgia.”