BUY Rebel Flags For SaleThe Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, but its history still speaks to people today, even on the beaches of Southern California. In 2016, Huntington Beach hosted a Civil War reenactment marking the 155th anniversary of the start of the war, giving local families a chance to see the history of the 1860s come to life.
The Civil War in California
Most people do not connect California with the Civil War, but the state had its own story. Southern California in particular had many residents with Southern roots, and support for the Confederacy ran strong in Los Angeles in 1861.
When the war began, General Albert Sidney Johnston was commanding the U.S. Army’s Department of the Pacific. A Kentuckian by birth and a Texan by choice, he resigned his commission and rode east from Los Angeles across the desert with a small band of Southern volunteers to join the Confederacy. Johnston became one of the South’s highest-ranking generals and was killed leading his army at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.
Why Reenactments Matter
Reading about history is one thing. Seeing it is another. At a reenactment, visitors can watch infantry drill, hear the thunder of cannon fire, walk through camps and talk with reenactors about what daily life was like for soldiers on both sides. For many children, it is the moment history stops being just a date in a textbook.
Reenactors spend countless hours researching uniforms, weapons and the regiments they portray. Their work keeps the memory of the men who fought alive, far from the battlefields of Virginia and Tennessee.
Read more about the hobby in The Next Generation of Civil War Reenactors and California Goes Confederate, and find flags for your next event in our Confederate flag collection.
Source: Orange County Register: Civil War re-enactment brings history to Huntington Beach
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