The Civil War was bloody, gruesome, septic and awful. But watching the re-enactors, I wondered why - mechanically why, not politically why. Reloading takes forever, the accuracy of the muzzle-loaders and cannon aren't that good, especially in the heat of battle, and yet thousands of men were killed outright or died of their injuries. And horses.
Probably pointless. In the end, the industrial juggernaut of the North would have mowed down the South, or more likely assimilated it, with the same result, and many fewer young men slaughtered and much less bitterness.
Anyway, the photos:
Hot day, but a good one.
