Violence and historical reenactment: From the American Civil War to the Moore’s ford lynching

Abstract

War reenactors and “living history” groups (who perform for the public only while reenactors perform both publicly and privately) have grown from a small phenomenon to a startling array of contemporary groups and events. In the United States alone, war reenactments draw thousands of participants and spectators each year; in 1998 as many as 25,000 “troops” took part in a huge recreation of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Reenactment is not focused on the Civil War alone, however; it has grown to encompass nearly every war that has ever been prosecuted. Is the drive to reenact a passion to make history “visible” or a desire to personally participate in a grand imagined narrative? How does historical reenactment intersect with contemporary culture, politics, and society?.