When Ted Turner was doing "Gettysburg", I could have been an extra in Pickets charge but was too busy, 1 of the biggest regrets of my life. Most of my Cousins went & they said there wasn't a dry eye among the Confederate extras.
The men in the Georgia part of my family joined Phillips Legion & were actively engaged at the battle.
I am a WBTS reenactor. My unit portrays Confederate infantry and Federal when needed. Hey, somebody has to play the bad guys when there are not enough Yankees to fight. I had the wonderful experience in 1998 of being at the 135th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. That was the largest military reenactment event ever held anywhere on the planet, before or since. In the reenactment world, it was like being at Woodstock. This was the most incredible experience I have participated in since I started in 1997 through the present. I was in Picket's Charge there in 1998 as a Confederate infantryman and we reportedly actually had nearly as many Confederates there in that charge as were in 1863. In preparation for the charge, we were waiting inside the woods at the edge of the field, just like was done in 1863 and as portrayed in the movie "Gettysburg". While we were there, 100 full size reproduction cannons kept up a constant fire toward the Federal lines. The cannons fired one at a time down the line one right after another and back again. The smoke from all of those guns was thick as a great fog around us. This continued constantly for a good 45-50 minutes. In the distance across the rolling landscape we could see the Yanks behind a low stone wall. EVERYONE was thinking this was going to be a bloodbath. But yet we knew that this battle had to be won and we had to break their line. Just as the soldiers of 1863 surely did, we did as well during that long wait, a lot of reflecting. It was a natural thing. Again, just like what was portrayed in the movie. Research had been done as best we could as to about how many casualties each unit had taken at various distances of the assault and so many were assigned to become casualties here and there before hand. As we formed up and took arms from the stacks and unfurled our battle flags, I literally felt shivers as we marched in close formation through the artillery and across that long open field. I,myself, made it to the wall and died on top of it. All around me was simulated hand to hand combat. As was in the real battle, we were repulsed and the survivors limped back in defeat. The Federals, even though victorious, had been so traumatized, they were unable to mount a counter-attack. So ended the 135th Gettysburg Reenactment (3rd day). Upon hearing the command for all to recover, I spoke to several of the Yankees there and they universally told me they were awestruck at seeing us keep coming at them. We all knew what to expect, but it was an incredible experience to actually be immersed in it. Not anywhere near as horrific as in 1863, but as close as anyone will have ever gotten to since then. I thank God none of us actually saw the unimagined horrors that were included in the real thing. When one experiences an event like this, it gives you a much deeper understanding and respect for what those soldiers experienced.
