Combat was more intense, while civilians were uncertain about what the future would hold.
This is the setting for the Civil War Re-enactment on Saturday and Sunday July 20-21 at Genesee Country Village & Museum. With nearly 1,000 participants, it is one of the largest Civil War Sesquicentennial events in the Northeast.
Each day sees two battles, one in the historic village at 11:30 a.m. and another, featuring cavalry and live cannon fire, in an open battlefield at 2 p.m.
Townsfolk occupying the village will offer musical concerts, specialty shopping and vignettes depicting civilian life during the war. The military camps will also be open for inspection during the day. Mounted cavalrymen will be parading about on campus, warming up for the afternoon battle.
Meanwhile, the historic village takes on the guise of a border town, with civilians busy with trying to maintain a normal life, while dealing with the wartime shortages, mixing school lessons and farm duties with rallies, sewing for soldiers, caring for the wounded and dealing with solders encamped around their homes.