Civil War-style CSI: Who shot the re-enactor?

'We don't let strangers fight'
Re-enactors' attention to detail was on display again this month at Cedar Creek Battlefield in northern Virginia, when thousands participated without any serious injuries, according to Jake Jennette, who commanded the Confederate forces that weekend.

With the cadence of a retired Marine Corps infantry officer, Jennette ran through a laundry list of inspections his troops must undergo, from weapons inspections to repeated drills.

"When we go on the field we are satisfied that the weapon is cleared," Jennette said. "We've trained these guys. We start them out as a private in the ranks."

Walk-ons would not be allowed to fight under Jennette's command.

"We don't let strangers fight," he said. "We fight together, we trust each other."

Rookies typically will have faces smudged with powder to signal a new arrival — known as "seeing the elephant," he said. Bayonets are removed, and weapons are aimed upward during a charge.

According to witnesses, Lord was raising his arm in victory when a musket ball ripped into him. "I felt like I got hit in the shoulder with a baseball bat," Lord told The Daily Press of Newport News. He declined interviews with The Associated Press, citing the investigation.

Historical reality
The hobby has come a long way from its ragtag origins to the near-fanatical authenticity modern purists demand.

The National Park Service allowed 2,500 re-enactors to stage a battle in 1961 on Manassas National Battlefield Park, in what some view as the birth of Civil War re-enacting. A horse-drawn caisson bolted and had to be chased down and someone was knocked down by a cannon blast.

The Park Service no longer allows battlefield re-enactments.

Hooper, the editor of the re-enactor magazine, believes the hobby has been surprisingly injury-free despite the frenetic battle scenes.

The most serious incident he could recall was a shooting 20 years ago at the re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. A Charlottesville man was wounded when he was accidentally shot by a re-enactor from France, according to news accounts.

Phelps said the shooter could face a misdemeanor charge of reckless handling of a firearm up to a felony, malicious wounding.

For his part, Hooper said the shooting will only amplify safety.

"This will make people, especially the commanders, take a good look at the men in his unit," he said.

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