Gettysburg 2008

Watching the defeated Rebs

Watching the defeated Rebs

Gettysburg 2008 was quite an event!

This was the biggest reenactment that this author has attended in years.  It seems like there has been a general downturn in reenactor participation at events over the last couple of years and I’m not sure that gas prices are the only reason. At any rate, you wouldn’t have known it at this event. The numbers seemed as large as any of the biggies during the nineties. Additionally, the promoters did a very good job of providing amenities and making them accessible to the reenactors.

In many ways, this was the most reenactor-friendly large event that I have attended. Parking was not two miles away, shuttles ran regularly to the sutler area, and ice was available in camp every day if you had the two bucks a bag. The vendor even wore a WVU cap. Of course, this was a mainstream event. The Gettysburg event the previous week was oriented more toward progressive reenactors and I hope to have comments from one of our writers who attended it soon.

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Jim Barnes

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Comments

4 responses to “Gettysburg 2008”

  1. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    FYI – There are more photos posted from this event on the WVRA website. Go to: http://www.wvra.org/getty.html

  2. Chuck Critchfield Avatar
    Chuck Critchfield

    do you really think there were 13,000 reenactors there? I thought it was about half that amount?

  3. Jim Barnes Avatar
    Jim Barnes

    Hard to say. I didn’t see any actual numbers in “Civil War News.” I know we had so many Yankees that the big brass didn’t seem to know where to put all of us. Also, there was no shortage of Confederates when the ANV decided to come out and play.

    I don’t know if there is a way to eyeball a crowd like that and come up an accurate figure. I just went on impressions from previous big events and the numbers that were supposedly at those. Obviously that leaves a lot of room for error.

    If anyone has heard actual figures released by the promoters, please post them. I’m curious.

  4. Chuck Critchfield Avatar
    Chuck Critchfield

    I agree we had too many Yanks for the ground we were assigned to defend — in each of the scenarios. The Rebs were able to spread out.

    Anyway, I heard somewhere that over 10,000 reenactors attended. I suppose if that includes infantry, artillery, cavalry and civillians, maybe my estimated of 7,500 was low.

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