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By Willa Jessee, June 26, 2005

Last updated: Sunday, June 26, 2005 8:03 AM EDT

Ten-year-old Alexis McKenzie and her sister, Scarlett, 8, played in Branch Creek Saturday afternoon, while the March to Destiny swirled around them.

The McKenzie sisters, from Chambersburg, say they have been re-enactors since they were small. Alexis says she loves it. "It's out of doors, and it's history."

She admits that while some might find history boring, she doesn't. "Telling about it in class, that is boring. But when you are actually doing it, walking around, petting the horses, it's really fun."

A record number of people wanted to have fun with history at the March to Destiny Saturday in Shippensburg. According to March founder Aletha Chamberlin, the event has probably tripled in size from last year.

"I know how many people registered, close to 400, but the walk-ins on Friday just blew me away," she says.

During the three-day event, visitors can get their history informally by talking to re-enactors in period dress who are happy to share a little of their passion for the Civil War. The event is loosely centered around the Shippensburg Library, where a mercantile tent district has been set up in the lawn. Walking through the Union camp behind the borough police station, or the Confederate camp, across Burd Street on the borough grounds, visitors can get an idea of the conditions faced by soldiers.

A family affair

A major difference though is the presence of families.

According to Eleanor Fleck, a re-enactor who travels with the First North Carolina Artillery and the 37th North Carolina Infantry, being with family and friends is a large part of the appeal of the experience. Fleck, from Newtown, Pa., says "Everyone in our unit gets along really well."

She explains that the group is made up of family members. "My daughter married the son of the general who started it," she adds.

Carole Novack, another member of the group, says she also got involved because of family members. Her younger son went to a re-enactment and met John Houck of Bel Air, Md., who is the commander of the regiment. She adds "My son thinks he is the reincarnation of Robert E. Lee, that's one reason we are here."

Fleck says that while the male members of the group are participating in structured events, the women and children get to spend time relaxing. "We sit and visit, sometimes we have sewing projects, or rug hooking." They have an afternoon tea each day.

Houck, who has been a re-enactor for 18 years, started the regiments because he had ancestral links to the original units.

He says that while most of the activities of the weekend are period, he draws the line at food. One of the planned events of the March to Destiny is Confederates foraging for food. Before the event, businesses and homeowners in the downtown area are asked if they would allow foraging. If they choose to do so, the house is marked, and soldiers can go from "forage" from door to door.

Successful foragers

Houck, who had just returned from foraging a head of cabbage, some potatoes and a banana, says "The armies starved. For example, the Confederates had a dish called ‘cush.'" Made with fatback and cornmeal, the dish provided little nourishment. "That's why they had so many diseases" he added.

Houck says his men had been very successful in foraging this year, adding, "They had so much stuff they were giving it to people on the street."

James Francesconi of Salem N.J., and Anthony Clay Mosby of Pittsburgh, both with the 9th Virginia Calvary, were looking forward to the foraging as well. Francesconi, who takes on the persona of James Clay Liv-Amor, a trooper, said he was "hoping to get enough food to get us through the day." Mosby agrees, although he hoped for enough food for a day or two.

Both Mosby and Francesconi say they re-enact as Confederate soldiers for similar reasons. "My sympathies were always with the Confederacy. They were invaded by the North because they had the industry and the cotton."

He goes on to say that he enjoys helping others understand the Civil War, adding "It's the most misunderstood period there is." Mosby adds that a family connection drew him to the Confederacy, explaining "John Singleton Mosby was a relative of mine.

"My sympathies lie with the South because of Northern aggression. I have been a sympathizer of the South since I was 8 years old," he adds.

Author attends

Anyone who wanted a more formal history could speak to Irvin G. Myers, whose book "We Might As Well Die Here" tells the story of the 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry. Myers says his interest in the 53rd Pennsylvania was sparked by listening to stories told him by his grandmother, whose father had been a member of the regiment.

Myers said the book took five years of serious research, adding "although I have been gathering information for 20." Myers says 1,900 men belonged to the regiment, which suffered an overall casualty rate of 880.

"The biggest killer was typhoid and chronic dysentery," Myers explains.

Other formal events on Saturday included presentations from Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant re-enactors. A street parade, followed by a street skirmish, were the highlights of the afternoon, while an ice cream social at the McLean House provided an opportunity for visitors to relax in the shade.

Saturday evening events include a Victorian wedding, held on the grounds of the Dykeman House, and the Dance to Destiny Victorian Ball, held this year in the showroom of Naugle Motors.

On Sunday, visitors can experience living history in the tent camps or visit the shops in Sutler's Row, on the library lawn, until 3 p.m. A period church service will be held at 10 a.m. on the library grounds followed by a Victorian tea and fashion show at Dykeman House. A scripted battle at the Fairgrounds will be held at 1 p.m.