Re-enactors revisited a moment in the Civil War, restaging the famous photograph of dead Confederate soldiers in a trench beside the Fredericksburg battlefield's Sunken Road.Why?
Park Service historians said their goal was to engage the community and allow people to learn about how individuals fit into history's big picture.They seem to fit in as unburied corpses. And the public is engaged by appealing to a subculture that celebrates death. Ask any re-enactor you happen to see:
"It [the photo] was like seeing war, like being there," he said. "That's really going to bring this war home to those who aren't fighting."Again, to what end? These characters are acting out personal emotions in costumes under the supervision of park rangers who have a vague idea that they are supposed to enable history of some sort.
Good grief.
