1
Reliving History
Memories of a Civil War Reenactor
By Michael Sheets
My first experience with Civil War reenacting was in June 1961.
I was at the impressionable age of 10, and the Civil War
centennial was just beginning. My family drove up to Philippi to
visit my aunt and see the reenactment of the first land battle
of the Civil War. My best friend, also a fourth grader, went
with us. Decked out in our grey trousers and jackets,
Confederate caps, and toting our toy muskets and pistols, we
looked around the event and tried to talk with as many
reenactors as possible. We asked them about their gear and what
it was like to be a reenactor. I was hooked!
Back home in Huntersville, Pocahontas County, there was a
lot of Civil War history to explore. Huntersville had been a
Confederate camp during the summer of 1861, and roughly 20
soldiers from that army were buried about 200 yards from our
house. That, too, inspired me.
I was never one to simply read a book, hear a story, or
watch a history-based film and then forget it. I had to relive
the experiences of those I was learning about. As far as the
Civil War was concerned, there was no shortage during the
2
centennial years of costume uniforms, toy muskets and pistols,
or other gear. I think I privately refought nearly every battle
of the Civil War I heard of during those years, in the fields and
woods around our house.
I finally joined up with a reenacting group in 1975. By
then I was teaching school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Like most
young teachers, I needed a summer job. I was lucky to be hired
by the National Park Service to work at Point Park on Lookout
Mountain, near Chattanooga. For two summers I served as a
historical interpreter, wearing the uniforms of both sides and
portraying Civil War soldiers by doing historical talks and
demonstrations for visitors at the park. During that experience
I came into contact with many reenactors who once again
introduced me to that aspect of reliving history.
I moved back to Huntersville in 1977 to take over a small
business my father owned. Over the next year-and-a-half I began
purchasing my uniform, musket, and the rest of the gear I would
need to reenact. It was my intention to form a local group and
portray a real unit from that area. Before I could get the group
organized, however, I moved to Huntington to get my master’s
degree in education from Marshall University. Within a few
months I made contacts with some reenactors in the Huntington
area and attended my first reenactments as a participant.
3
In June of 1982 I joined up with a newly formed reenactment
unit in Putnam County. They were formed as Company A, 36th
Virginia Volunteer Infantry, portraying an actual unit that was
formed in Buffalo, Putnam County, in 1861. I reenacted with this
organization for the next 30 years. I started out as a private
and rose through the ranks, becoming captain and commander of
the group in 1987.
The 36th set as one of its goals to correctly portray a
typical company of common Confederate soldiers. Little did we
know at that time just how elusive a goal that would become.