types of reenacting

Types of Civil War reenactments Living histories Living histories are meant entirely for education of the public. Such events do not necessarily have a mock battle but instead are aimed at portraying the life, and more importantly the lifestyle, of the average Civil War soldier. This does include civilian reenacting, a growing trend. Occasionally, a spy trial is recreated, too. More common are weapons and cooking demonstrations, song and leisure activities, and lectures. These should not, however, be confused with living history museums. These outlets for living history utilize museum professionals and trained interpreters in order to convey the most accurate information available to historians. Public demonstrations

Public demonstrations are smaller mock battles put on by reenacting organizations and/or private parties primarily to show the public how people in the 1860s lived, and to show the public civil war battles. The battles are often only loosely based on actual battles. Tactical battles Tactical battles are battles that are generally not open to the public. Tactical battles are fought like real battles with both sides coming up with strategies and tactics to beat their opponents. Since there is no script, the battle tends to follow the same course an original battle might. Scripted battles Scripted battles are larger battles, and are usually fought either at the original battle ground, or at a place very similar to the original. In scripted battles, the battles are planned out beforehand so that the companies and regiments make the same actions that the were taken in the original battles.