Civil War Commemoration

Yesterday we attended the annual Civil War Revisited event at Kearney Park. I loved attending this when I was younger with my Grandma and Grandpa McLelland, so it was fun to go again this year. It was an unseasonably , miserable, humid and hot weekend, but we still managed to have fun and survive the heat!

This year, the event commemorated Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

The kids next to one of several huge, and loud cannons.
A solider's tent.
Some of the campgrounds.
A tent full of explosives. At first I thought it was just trying to portray a tent full of explosives, without actually explosives inside, but then I noticed the fire extinguisher so I'm thinking there possibly could have been explosives inside.
All Megan wanted was kettle corn, so we made sure to get the biggest bag possible. :)
Who couldn't love this face?! Although she is in desperate need of a bang trim.
And this face too! So excited to see army guys fight!
Sadie kept wanting to go see some horses nearby the spot we were saving to watch the battle, and after no adult would take her, she convinced Max to hold her hand and make a run for it together. And yes, I took several pictures before actually stopping them. :)
But really, it was so sweet.
Unfortunately as soon as the first cannon went off, all Max's excitement left and the tears came. Poor little man, he was genuinely terrified. I even shed a few tears because I felt so bad for him.
Sadie was pretty tough, although every time a cannon went off she panicked and wanted her ears covered, but then bounced back quick. She was mostly just in love with this little horse we bought her. She was really sweet towards Max trying to comfort him, although he made sure everyone knew both he and Sadie were scared of the cannons. :) Here Sadie is with Grandpa McLelland, showing off her horse.
It was really a cool battle to watch. The horses were always really close to where we sat which made it more interesting.


This is when they were both scared at one point and both had to be on Dad's lap....just to prove Max right that they were both afraid. :)
Towards the end Sadie got really tired and just wanted to be held with her ears covered. I didn't mind, since it's rare a toddler wants to sit still and let you hold them!
I love that my brothers love learning about battles, wars, and history. They watch a lot of History Channel specials and I think it's so great that they have this love for history...although it's mostly fueled by a love for war histories.
I think Megan was the happiest about Sadie wanting to be held. They had a nice little rest together. :)

It was a fun day and a great way to remember the history of our great nation!!