I remember my first experience with the Civil War as if it was yesterday. My younger brother and I were on a family vacation to Washington D.C. We were perhaps seven or eight years old and had never before visited our nation's capitol. The first attraction we saw was Harpers Ferry, WV.
Harpers Ferry holds significant connections with the Civil War and most importantly, the infamous raid by the deranged lunatic Abolitionist John Brown. I listened to the historic account with profound enrapture as if it was the story of Santa Claus himself.
Immediately we were enchanted with the idea of the blue and grey clad soldiers killing each other on a grand scale. What fun we would have reenacting the brutal murder of thousands in our back yard! But before we could begin our countless hours of play, we had to obtain suitable equipment.
First and foremost we had to have guns, preferably rifles. How can we pretend to be fighting an epic civil war without firearms? Next we had to have hats. Without hats, someone might mistake us for soldiers from the Revolutionary War or even worse - World War I!
We quickly engaged the enemy - our parents - in yet another battle in the never ending war for toys. We were young and still prefered the direct assault rather than more nuanced and effective techniques we would learn with age and experience.
Our attack began without warning and in earnest, "Mom, I want a rifle!" Before our unsuspecting foe could react, we immediately escalated and intensified our attack. The enemy was completely caught off guard. We saw our opportunity and went for it with reckless abandon before resistance stiffened. Again we escalated the attack, boldly drawing on a do or die tactic - the temper tantrum.
Once engaged, the temper tantrum will inevitably lead to one of two scenarios. In the preferred scenario, our parents acquiesce to our demands and the temper tantrum ends immediately. But more often the temper tanturm resulted in the second scenario - immediate punishment. For this occasion, it proved extremely effective.
After such a sudden and intense attack, our parents' resistance collapsed like an old barn in a tornado. We won our toy rifles and then, drunk on power we upped the ante and demanded hats as well. Perhaps exhausted from the hours of driving, again our parents gave in to our demands.
"Which hat do you want?" There were not only two different styles of hats but they came in two different colors - blue and grey! We were befuddled. Beyond the demand for a hat, this was not something we had remotely considered. Was this a trick? I watched silently as my brother asked the obvious, yet most important question. "Who won?" he boldly asked. It was an essential question, because how could we pretend to be the losers - we were winners damn it!! "The blue," responded my mother. We would be blue! I got the small kepi style hat and my brother got the larger cavalry style - both blue.
Although we were not allowed to play with our rifles in the car, we wore our blue hats proudly for the rest of our trip which ended at our family reunion in Maryland.
Like all children, we were not happy or excited at the prospect of attending a family reunion yet we dutifully got out of the car and began to greet the myriad of unknown relatives and strangers. As cute children we were descended upon almost immediately. Much to my surprise, many relatives recoiled in abject horror at the site of our blue hats. It was similar to the effect of garlic on Dracula. At first I was confused. I had probably refused to shower the night before - was my smell that revolting?
"What are those children doing with those hats?" one relative demanded. "They're alright with me!" another relative said before giving us both great big bear hugs. It began to dawn on me, our blue hats had a profound effect on adults. At the same time they engendered anger and shock in some while pride in others. These hats were much bigger than I had imagined. Why did these cheap felt and cardboard hats that would probably disintegrate in water cause such strong and varied reactions among my relatives?
I had to find out why. Thus, my interest in the Civil War was born.
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