Re-enactors represent Civil War participants and civilians

Brian Siegel blew reveille at 7 a.m. Sunday, waking dozens of Civil War re-enactors camped at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley.

Later in the day the 13-year-old marched with the Confederate infantry and held the regiment banner high while soldiers demonstrated a rifle volley for park visitors.

"I love the Civil War, and this is just a way of enjoying and living it," said the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies seventh-grader. Three years playing trumpet in school segued to his becoming a bugler with the  re-enactors.

Reading the book "Gettysburg" in the third grade sparked Siegel's interest in the Civil War, said his father, David Siegel of Granada Hills. When Brian Siegel "enlisted" with the 8th Louisiana Regiment, David thought he'd just be chaperoning, but he was soon recruited as well. Owners of a replica 1860s camp tent, the two participated in their first re-enactment overnighter last weekend.

Those portraying Confederate and Union soldiers and civilians shared stories of their characters from history and facts about the war at the two-day encampment.

Some 400 people visited the park over the two days, said Judy Pepiot, board member for the Simi Valley Historical Society.

"We've had an excellent turnout," Pepiot said.

Many visitors were from surrounding communities — Conejo Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo and  Ventura.

The Civil War is a "subject of interest to many people," she said. Although it was a departure from the Historical Society's general focus on local history, it was a way of drawing newcomers to the park and to explore its historical buildings, which were staffed by docents throughout the weekend.

Admission to the re-enactment will cover the cost of city permits, with any money raised beyond expenses going to building rehabilitation, Pepiot said.

"It's a neat venue, and we're happy to have found it," veteran re-enactor Cindy Kimmick said. "It's neat to have some historic buildings as backdrop."

One of several women representing females who impersonated male soldiers during the war, Kimmick was at the encampment with her husband, James Kimmick, and daughter, Tarynn Kimmick, 14. The family was part of the 2nd Vermont volunteer infantry.

"I find it's pretty fun getting to talk to the people who come by," said Tarynn. Dressed Sunday in a period dress, the teenager sat outside the family tent reading a history book on Malta.

"It's a nice way to teach the public about history. It's a lot more than they can read in a textbook," she said.

While there were many demonstrations and exhibits, including hand crank sewing machines and Victorian dance, the re-enactors were the stars. Dressed in replica uniforms and boasting camp supplies and arms, the men, women and some children rarely broke character when talking with visitors.

"We do this as a way to do living history ... to give people a view into a period that was most critical in the history of our country," said Ed Mann of Newbury Park. A member of the Richmond Howitzers artillery unit, Mann organized this weekend's encampment and coordinates the annual The Blue & The Gray Civil War Re-enactment sponsored by the Moorpark Rotary Club.

The re-enactment season generally runs from February through November, culminating with the Moorpark event that Mann calls "the Super Bowl of encampments ... the largest west of the Mississippi."

A Presidents Day weekend encampment is generally staged at Knott's Berry Farm, but a change in management left the time slot open for Strathearn, he said. Next up is the third annual Pierce College re-enactment April 28-29, sponsored by the Pierce College Foundation.

The re-enactments "can make the public aware of history," Mann said. "What we do is theater in the open. We don't have a stage; we have an amphitheater in the great outdoors."

Using the steps of the Strathearn House as his stage, William Peck as President Abraham Lincoln presented the Gettysburg Address twice daily Saturday and Sunday. Flanked by two Union soldiers, he not only gave the address but also talked about the events of the war and to today's discord in the United States.

"It's a time for healing, for bringing this country back together," Peck said. "My task for this country is to put it back together as a loving family."

When not giving speeches, Peck visited with guests and handed out shiny, uncirculated Lincoln head pennies to children such as Austin Schuler, 7, of Moorpark, and his sisters — Allison, 5, and Averie, 4.

"They learn how I lived, not about war, about human life," Peck said.

There's a joy in "doing history" as he has done since 1981, when he began portraying Lincoln. Over the years he's passed out close to 7,000 pennies.

Events like the Strathearn Park encampment, he added, provide an opportunity "to teach young people and to keep the history being taken out of schoolbooks alive."