No black powder got burned; no cannon or horses were involved.  How can this be a Civil War event?  Easy.  Just take an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people wearing wool uniforms, blue or gray, or elaborate hoopskirts, who take spectators on a stimulating journey back to the 19^th century, in their sights and in their minds.  Stir them up with a Constitutional issue or two, or a spectator’s question critical of battle tactics from 146 years ago, and you have “A Civil War Gathering of Eagles.”

This event, now four  years old and counting but that recently completed its third edition at the Old Court House Museum in Winchester, Virginia, is unique among the plethora of  War Between the States events being offered.  It is billed as a “seminar” because it does not include the pseudo-battles that most “reenactments” offer as their main form of entertainment.  Yet, rather than a dry lecture, or series of lectures by 21^st-century historians in suits, the learning at “Gathering” is first-person and interactive – if you have a question for General Lee, or Abraham Lincoln, just ask them - they are there, in front of you, ready and able for any discussion you might desire.

Hosted by the combined forces of “Lee’s Lieutenants” and the “Federal Generals Corps”, totaling to nearly 50 well-honed portrayals of real Civil War personas, “Gathering” once again this year proved itself to be a phenomenon far beyond any other Civil War educational opportunity extant.  Debates on the Constitution and states’ rights, eerily similar to those same debates going on in our statehouses today, are carried on with certain knowledge of the Founders’ thoughts and positions on subjects such as the controlling power being sought by the Federal government.  We heard these positions staked out by the very people who 145+ years ago laid their lives and fortunes on the line to defend the Union, or stand tall for their home states.

I write this as someone who very much enjoys riding my horse and burning powder in Civil War events.  I can say with all candor that the level of scholarship and understanding of the mid-19^th century on display in Winchester exceeded anything I have experienced in my life-long study of the War Between the States.  Historian Shelby Foote once said that before one can truly understand the United States in the 21^st century, one must understand the American Civil War.  It is through events such as “Gathering” that such understanding can be readily gained.  It is, year after year, stimulating, thought-provoking, and even inspiring, when one contemplates the courage and sacrifice of our forebears in thrashing out this gigantic controversy in a trial of fire and blood.  As one of my colleagues observed, “they were a different kind of people.”

“Gathering” is the first weekend of June, every year, same place in Winchester, Virginia.  Don’t miss it in 2010 – you will not be disappointed.