Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 4, 1995 TAG: 9509050091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They came from as far north as Detroit and New York and as far south as Florida and Louisiana.
And although they came for a family reunion, what broke out looked like a real Civil War - not between family members, but between a group of cavalrymen re-enactors.
The Company C Second Virginia Cavalry re-enacted a Civil War battle for the Alexander, Mitchell and Clark family reunion with cannons, horses and troops donning ``Union Blue'' and ``Confederate Gray.''
Lacy Alexander arranged for the cavalry to entertain his family behind his home on Bradshaw Road in Roanoke County.
The simulated battle took place in a pasture, an ideal setting for a battle with a trench, wooded areas and plenty of hills.
And although the unit is essentially a Confederate cavalry, the ``bluecoats'' that some of them portrayed had plenty of fans cheering them on.
When the battle started, some Northern family members booed as Union soldiers were shot, rolling into a trench in Academy Award-like fashion.
But the Feds made a comeback and stormed a Confederate cannon.
``Them damn Yankees won,'' said ``Nannie'' Alexander of Lebanon, smirking facetiously at her sister, Grace Dunkly of New York.
Dunkly laughed at the idea that a Civil War re-enactment took place at their reunion where she and her sister would have been on opposite sides.
North and South jokes floated around all afternoon, but the boys in battle gear took the experience a bit more seriously.
The cavalry's 22 members come from all walks of life, but the one thing they have in common is their interest in the Civil War.
``This is a hobby,'' said David Hauser, second-in-command of the cavalry. He has been re-enacting battles for 10 years and said it's entertaining, but also educating.
Hauser and several other cavalrymen sat around after the battle, spouting facts and details about the war that most history books couldn't capture.
The cavalry has re-enacted battles from Gettysburg and Appomattox to the Battle at Hanging Rock in Roanoke County.
They even fought in the movie ``Gettysburg,'' one of five cavalry units invited to perform in the film.
``It was a real honor for us to do that,'' Hauser said.
Though Sunday's re-enactment was not of a particular battle of the Civil War, the land on which they pretended to fight may have had significance to the war.
``There's more history in these little hollows than anyone will ever know,'' Hauser said. The mountains there were an excellent place for Confederate troops to hide, he said, because the troops had such good maps of the area.
Brenda Hodges, who lives just up the road from Alexander, said she found a cannonball in her yard. An expert told her it was a relic of the war.
``I imagine people here don't realize [Confederate troops] were up this far,'' she said.
by CNB