Baby Boomers Keep Civil War History Alive

Living history, tracing footsteps of ancestors important.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
 
By Chloé Morrison
Staff Writer

Baby boomer John Culpepper, 61, said one of his favorite television shows as a child was a military adventure program called “Gray Ghost.”

“Every night when that came on, get out of my way,” he said.

With an interest in history at a young age, Mr. Culpepper said moving to Chickamauga near the site of a Civil War battlefield only spurred his fascination with the War Between the States. Now Mr. Culpepper acts out his favorite time period with a Civil War re-enactment group.

“We consider ourselves living historians,” he said.

From living history presentations to battle re-enactments, the 37th Georgia Volunteer Infantry re-enactment group aims to convey what life was like for the average soldier during the Civil War, Mr. Culpepper said.

Mr. Culpepper’s wife, Brenda, also is a re-enactor and a boomer. As a member of the Mullis-Heartland Refugees, she helps tell the story of women and families during the Civil War, she said.

“(Women at that time) would be gathering the family and moving them from place to place for safety,” she said. “Then they would do different things around the camp. They did different things to make money.”

original article

2007-04-25