THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040246
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
The way the Disney people mauled history in the Pocahontas story surely proves how smart Virginians were when they said no to a Disney Civil War theme park.
A Disney version might well have had the war end with Generals Lee and Grant joining hands to sing ``Getting To Know You.'' But it won't happen here. Final score of the recent fight: historical integrity 1, Mousketeer Cutesy 0.
That's why the third annual Civil War Days at the Chesapeake Central Library are especially meaningful. On Sept. 9 and 10, you'll get an honest and a come-to-life look at what it was like on the home front and the battlefront between 1861 and 1865.
There'll be lots of images for the eye and ear. Like re-enactors with authentically reproduced uniforms and weapons. Think about it, fellow softies in cool synthetic fabrics. As did their military ancestors, these guys will be wearing uncompromising wool in the heat of a Virginia summer.
There will be civilian fashions, too. And I am relieved to report that Civil War era hoop skirts are cooler than they look. My friend Paula Alston vouches for this. She wore one at last year's Civil War Days. Paula says a reservoir of reasonably comfortable air flows under the billowing skirt. After all, you wouldn't want Scarlett O'Hara sweating, would you?
It is Paula who has mother-henned Civil War Days right from the start. She is adult program supervisor at the Central Library and was looking in 1993 for good program possibilities. She ran across some re-enactors and the notion clicked. That September, there was a one-day event that drew about 6,000 people to the Central Library.
The day ended with a rousing mock battle in the parking lot, and I love what library manager Chuck Anderson said. ``Very appropriate site,'' he commented. ``People have been fighting over parking space for years.''
Last year, the program was expanded to two days, and the crowd expanded to about 10,000. Paula is hoping to bust that number this year what with a schedule so inviting it would make Newt Gingrich stop bashing Democrats. What has caught my eye most is the listing of two absolutely superb Civil War movies. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, ``Glory'' will be shown. It's the story of a black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. At 5 p.m. the next day, the movie will be ``Gettysburg.''
Both grab your mind with realism and grab your heart with emotion. ``Gettysburg'' is a four-hour telling of the famous battle, but it's a startlingly fast four hours. I am a Civil War buff. My wife is not. Nevertheless, when she reluctantly agreed to see ``Gettysburg'' with me, she was engrossed for the full four hours.
All through that September weekend, the war era will come alive with soldiers and art and poetry and crafts and music and talks. I'll be lecturing on Civil War humor, but I'll particularly be listening to the music of Greg Starbuck and Gary Vaughan.
They sing 19th century songs, including the ones that Civil War soldiers sang around the campfires and on the march. Starbuck, who lives in Norfolk, says the two men met in 1988 when both were re-enactors at the 125th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. Jerry, a Floridian, plays guitar and banjo and does most of the singing. Greg plays banjo and mandolin. The sound they create, Greg says, is ``like it was at camp - tired men sitting around a fire, singing for pleasure.''
Their Confederate song list includes pulse-raisers like ``Bonnie Blue Flag'' and ``Dixie.'' Union-wise, they might render ``Tramp, Tramp, Tramp'' and ``Battle Cry of Freedom.'' And they'll likely sing that ballad that was No. 1 on the Civil War sentimental hit parade, ``Lorena.''
Both men are veterans of working behind the cameras of historical movies. However, Greg performed on-camera in the TNT film ``Ironclads,'' and Jerry sings in the upcoming film ``Andersonville.''
``Dixie,'' by the way, was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln's. The South picked it up from the Northern minstrel shows for which it was written, and Lincoln took it back one night as the war was ending. He said it was the legitimate property of the Union again.
Actually, you can ask Mr. Lincoln himself about it at the Civil War Days. He'll be there in the person of Jim Getty, a Lincoln impersonator from Gettysburg, Pa. He'll be appearing throughout the weekend.
Of course, you may want to check with him before he comes. You could write him at - where else? - his Gettysburg address. by CNB