The first American Civil War re-enactors were veterans of the war itself!
Civil War re-enactments are common occurrences in the south. Battles are redone for audiences visiting historic sites. Today’s re-enactors are Civil War enthusiasts, but this was not always the case.
In an interesting twist, the first Civil War re-enactors were actually veterans of the very war they were recreating. They redid the battles to honor their fallen comrades and to teach people about the war.
The Great Reunion of 1913, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, included 50,000 Union and Confederate veterans. Modern-day reenactments became really popular in the 1980s and the 1990s.