Lynn WiezyckiThere are some events you just have to go back to year after year and the Brooksville Raid is one of those! This is one of the larger Civil War Re-enactments in Florida, in terms of participants and spectators. Every year they put on a great show and this year was no exception.
This year they added the “village” of Brooksville to the battlefield. The women and home guard did some defending when the Union soldiers approached.
But they retreated to the side-lines when the battle became too intense.
Both sides had some cavalry.
There were a number of cannons firing!
The infantries were the largest groups on the battlefield. They worked their way back and forth shooting their rifles.
There were messengers galloping from one side to the other.
This re-enactment is not based on an actual battle so this time the Union side won the battle!
Back in the two encampments, there are always interesting things to see, experience and photograph.
Girls and horses…yesterday and today!
Playing with the simpler things.
And then there are the old soldiers who are colorful and such characters. They are all very knowledgable about the Civil War and the battles fought in Florida.
All the Civil War re-enactments have a Union camp, Confederate camp, sutlers (merchants) and some have a village. In these areas, they are required to dress in period clothing, use period appropriate utensils and accommodations. This gives the spectators a good idea of what it was like back during those times.
The Brooksville Raid is fairly close to Tampa so there are always many spectators. There are also a large number of photographers, as this is a rich environment for images!
If you are in the Central Florida area, the 3rd weekend in January, I highly recommend a visit to this fun event at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation in Brooksville. See the Brooksville Raid’s website for details.
Please visit my gallery for these and additional images from the 2017 event. Check out this post for 2016 event.
That is all for now!
Lynn
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