I spent 20 years CW reeancting, over 30 years shooting BP and am just now getting into Longhunter full swing. What everybody has said in this thread makes sense. Knowing the outcome of a historical event does tend to get old. So what we did was on Saturdays, we would do a "tactical" or war game. Sometimes we even reversed who "won" the battle on that day then did the actual scenario on Sunday. And there is always the opportunity to hone your persona or even get invited to participate in another branch. I was infantry, but I got the opportunity to serve on a gun crew once in a while. Like any other hobby you have to diversify once in a while. I was even a sutler one summer. Many reenactors do more than one period. We had guys in my unit that did Rev. War and a couple were doubling as Waffen SS machine gunners when they weren't doing CW. How they could afford that I don't know. Like it was said, these events come around once a year, but even knowing the outcome, they're all unique in their own way. When we reminisce about those events with our comrades, one will say, "Do you remember what happened at Bentonville that time?" And another will say, "Which one?" "Aww, you know, the '83 one." "Oh, yeah! You mean when..." What I'm trying to say is, you'll have distinct memories of those times. It's not so much how the battle turned out, it's what you and your friends did and the pleasures you shared. My CW days, especially the last ten were a big part of my life and very special to me. In fact, that is how I met my wife...But that's another story.
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