I went to the Civil War reenactment of the first battle of Bull Run at Mannassas at Kearney Park on Oct. 9 and had a great time. I spoke to three of the people not only in costume, but in character. Each person had their own story and role in the Civil War, and they lived it for the whole two days.

First I talked to David, a Union artillery sergeant from the 3rd U.S. Federal Division. He said he had a family back home and missed his daughters very much.

When I talked to him he had just come back from marching and was relaxing with a large tin cup full of coffee. It seemed to me like the war wasn?t affecting him too much, because he was very laid back as if he was at home watching TV.

Then, I talked to a lady from the Confederate camp. Her job was to wash the soldier?s uniforms and help with the cooking for the soldiers. Her name was Mrs. Ralphlindy, but was difficult to talk to. She was impatient and seemed bothered by my questions. I got away from her quickly.

My next interviewee was my favorite. His name was Confederate Reverend L.E. Burrows. He helped soldiers with spiritual guidance and he gave aid and comfort to the sick, wounded and dying soldiers.

Rev. Burrows had been with the soldiers since the war started in 1861 and would not arrive home until the war had ended. He was a very nice person and was happy to answer my questions, unlike Mrs. Ralphlindy.

Overall I enjoyed the experience. It?s not so much a fun event, but an interesting one. The kettle corn tasted pretty good, and I wore a Confederate hat the whole time because my brother wore a Union one.

While the battle was raging, I watched for things in the battle that most people would not notice. For instance, we saw a wounded soldier crawl across the entire battlefield all by himself, over the course on the entire battle.

We also saw a ?supposedly? dead soldier stand up and surprise attack another man. That was so hilarious! I noticed a soldier who was not paying much attention to the battle, but flirting with a lady watching on the sidelines. He kept riding past her on his horse on tipping his hat, and he occasionally stopped and talked to her.

The Confederates actually ended up winning the battle, but at the end of the whole war, the Union won. It was a good experience and I learned a lot.