My Day at the Princeton Civil War

My Day at the Princeton Civil War

Yesterday I went to the Princeton, IL for the Civil War reenactment known as the Shadows of the Blue and Gray. I had registered to attend as a reenactor months earlier and brought my response post card with me. At registration, the registrant said I was the only one to present that card.

I spoke first person as Belle Reynolds of Peoria, the vivandère and heroin of Shiloh.


While there, I met and discussed the vivandère with another reenactor, Carolyn Richards. I told here that I recalled seeing her on the web at http://www.vivandiere.net/photos2.html. Apparently Princeton would have been a fine intersection point of our historic overlay driving distances.

Although I don’t like to take too many pictures while staying in character, I wish I had seen the picture that one of the guests had taken of us together.

I also had some pleasant discussions with the others there and am always in awe to see the great lengths that these great volunteers make to impart a bit of history. Noteworthy was the assembled full cabin including stove and rope bed, the bath house with real whores, the undertaker’s tent, and the evening cannon fire with fireworks balls replacing the battlefield ammo.

I remembered the “laundress” from Grierson Days in Jacksonville whom we shared the stage during the ladies fashion show. I had to remind her I was there because I wore my more traditional vivandiere outfit then whereas Belle would not have been dressed in such manner. We both shared our roles with each other.

The battle itself was preceeded with a memorial of Civil War taps to Greg Bowman who died in a motorcycle accident and had been chairman of the the Shadows of the Blue in Gary for the last four years. All taps versions are "tear jerkers" and this was no different.