News reports speak of a war-torn nation, as protesters march in the streets calling out for an end to the bloodshed. What some anticipated to be a quick and decisive battle with a group of people who disagreed about a way of life has instead stretched on for years with ever rising death tolls. Though the scenario sounds like a day in the life in 2006, the year is 1863, during the Civil War.
History, says Civil War re-enactor and Goodrich resident Roger Duncan, does indeed repeat itself.
For that reason, among others, says Duncan, it is important to remember the past and recognize how it has shaped the present.
Duncan, along with his brother Max and other re-enactors from Battery ‘D? First Michigan. Lt. Artillery, will host the Duncan Brothers? Farm sixth annual Civil War Day, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Oct. 7 at 4476 Merwin Road, just north of Hadley.
‘It’s a very pivotal period in our history,? says Duncan.
If the Civil War had ended differently, Duncan says the world as we know it would not exist. Had the South managed to secede from the United States, both North and South would have been left as nations too weakened to fend off other world powers vying for dominance.
Duncan and fellow members of Battery ‘D?, will be recreating a day in 1861 as it would be at an encampment for a detachment of an artillery unit, left behind to guard some piece of land. Though they won’t be doing a battle re-enactment, there will be artillery demonstrations on the even hours throughout the day.
For Duncan, formerly a teacher in Flint for nearly 32 years, involvement with Battery ‘D? began when his son-in-law, Jim Lindsey, took up the hobby in 1992. Duncan would help Lindsey with events and found himself wanting to get involved.