Civil War Days!

This afternoon we headed out to a local Civil War Days and enjoy a re-enactment of life in the 1860's.

Shortly after we arrived, we got to see a military artillery re-enactment. The Union and Confederate soldiers battled it out on the field before us. Jason was entranced, although the popping from the weapons made him a bit nervous at times. Jack, on the other hand, had no problem at all with the loud noise. Instead, he didn't care for the loud booms of ... you guessed it, the drums. lol. They were able to enjoy the re-enactment, nonetheless.

Shawn, on the other hand, was NOT a fan of all of the noise. He and I went to look at the Civil War souvenirs. After much deliberation, he carefully selected two onyx elephants as his souvenirs. I'm fairly certain you cannot get any more period than two onyx elephants when selecting Civil War souvenirs. ;)

He's showing off his new elephant souvenirs.

Meanwhile, while Shawn and mom were off gallivanting around the grounds, the Union forces apparently lost their "skirmish" with the south. They were in desperate need of new recruits. Jason was up for the challenge, and our baby enlisted with the Union Army.

Jason standing guard while our president, Abraham Lincoln, gave his Gettysburg Address.

President Lincoln was quite the powerful speaker, too!

After the speeches concluded, Jason headed back to get a bit more training with his new riffle. 

Standing in line, waiting for instructions.

The new recruits learned how to load and aim their "riffles."

Once training was over, we were able to get a glimpse of the soldiers' way of life.

These people were some of the Confederate troop before the battle.

Some old fashioned dancing happened in the barn, too.

More soldiers preparing for another battle.

Jack got to try his hand at sewing with an old fashioned sewing machine.

He thought turning the wheel was really cool. 

Before Jason received his Honorary Discharge Papers, we had to get one last shot of our little soldier!

So proud of himself!

We had a little snack time, too.

Jack was less in the mood for smiling and more in the mood for eating his snack.

The last thing we did before heading home was to go get a bite to eat. This was clearly Shawn's favorite part of the day.

You'd never know he liked this part from his smile, now would you?

It was a fun day!