When student Ryan Vieira went to school Friday, instead of
learning from a book or in the classroom, he saw firsthand how
Civil War soldiers used muskets and cannons. Like other students
invited to the annual demonstrations, he also heard about the daily
routines of 19th Century soldiers and how doctors treated the
injured.
HOLLISTER
When student Ryan Vieira went to school Friday, instead of learning from a book or in the classroom, he saw firsthand how Civil War soldiers used muskets and cannons. Like other students invited to the annual demonstrations, he also heard about the daily routines of 19th Century soldiers and how doctors treated the injured.
“The musket was the most interesting part,” said Vieira, whose class at Tres Pinos School was among the groups taking part in the San Benito County Historical Park event. “Seeing how a old gun works and watching it get fired was cool.”
Tres Pinos Elementary and Southside Elementary schools took advantage of an offer from the historical society and the National Civil War Association to learn about the period – not from a History book, but from what the organizers call “living history.” It was a the annual precursor to battle reenactments at the park through the weekend.
The school-based event Friday was highlighted by the Hunley, a historical replica of an 1863 confederate submarine used in the Civil War.
About 400 students moved between stations where volunteers dressed in faithfully-created period costumes and continually stayed in characters of 19th Century soldiers or civilians who shared what life was like in 1863.
“It’s so much better for the kids to see history firsthand,” said Southside parent volunteer Michael Ramos. “This is interesting historical stuff that will really stick with them.”
The stations included military men who explained the daily lives of soldiers and demonstrated exactly what you would find in the backpack of someone fighting in the Civil War.
“Our station is ‘Infantry on the March,'” volunteer Tony Fuzie told the Free Lance. “We demonstrate for the students that soldiers carried everything they needed on the field – their house, kitchen, food, weapons, everything.”
To the delighted interest of the students, infantry station ended with a demonstration on the loading and firing of an authentic musket.
There was a cannon and civilian home-life stations, as well as roaming historical figures, tents and a medical center.
Kaelie Castaneda, also a student at Tres Pinos, said she liked the cannon station most.
“I didn’t know old cannons could fire not just cannonballs, but canisters also,” she said, referring to the bullet-like exploding canisters that had been exhibited. “It was fun to see real old cannons.”
But the station the students seemed most interested in was the Hunley Submarine station.
“Our main attraction is the Hunley exhibit, which is a replica of the first submarine to ever successfully sink a ship,” said Theresa Thompson, who co-coordinates Civil War Days with husband Jim Thompson.
According to the historical society event flier, the replica is of a “Confederate submersible that demonstrated both the advantage and danger of undersea warfare.”
The Hunley sunk for unknown reasons in the same battle during a battle in which it sank an enemy ship. It recently was excavated, with many interesting and important artifacts removed from its remains.
Thompson also stressed that everything at the event was 100 percent authentic.
“All of the research we do for costumes, speech, everything we do with the NCWA is from firsthand accounts found in letters, journals and so on,” she said, noting that even the material and stitching in the clothes and uniforms was faithful to the Civil War era.
Those details aren’t lost on the students, said Suzanne Howard, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher at Southside Elementary School.
“Living history, where students are immersed and exposed to how everything really was, is such a great idea. They are physically engaged in history.”
Event coordinator Jim Thompson stressed that every area school is invited each year, but that only two took them up on the offer this year.
“It’s free, it’s fun and the students are really learning,” said Thompson. “We hope to get more schools involved next year.”
