As it is Memorial Day Weekend there were special events being held in Yorktown this weekend. We walked up to the Battlefield Site and found it transformed into Civil War Troop encampments. It was very interesting to walk through the camps and talk to the men and women who do this re-enactment as a hobby. They are all very knowledgeable about life in the camps and we learned a lot.



At the Medics' tent we heard how the Civil War Surgeons had realized that the best way to treat serious limb injuries was to amputate as expeditiously as possible. This in comparison to the Revolutionary War when the Docs would do everything they could NOT to amputate because survival was so abysmal.


This is Tom modeling a type of mitten that was used in the cold months. The extra finger meant that the soldier could still fire his rifle.



The troops did a demonstration of infantry fire



Of a bayonet charge



And a Cavalry charge

It would seem that the common tactic was that of intimidation of the enemy and watching these men doing the manoevres we could totally see how this worked.