[RC] Gods and Generals ( was who i would like to ride with) - Tom Sites
Hello Mary, If i was Simon on American Idol i
would have said..."the movie was horrible", but it was an
experience. They were looking for beards of the period and for the extras
the more unkept the better. So i guess i fit in. If this ever happens
again you ladies should put on a fake one and wear mens clothes like Joan (Also
known as Jeanne, Jehanne or if you look at her signature its Johanne).
The re-enactors were used a lot and some of those
period costumes cost up to a $1,000 a set. Its big money and they take the
whole period thing seriously. You should go to one of their 'skirmishes'
or battle re-enactments someday and see.
I think the 'horsemen' were not nearly as good as
the real ones, as the CSA were some of the best horsemen in the war/world at the
time. They also had the best horses until attrition took its toll. A horse
is always a bigger target.
Robert E. Lee was one of the finest military
leaders we ever had and he was a good man who unfortunately found himself
on the losing side. There is a big field with a vista in Orange
Va. where he spent the winter of 1863-64 after the battle of Gettysburg where he
slept in a tent while all the line Generals stayed in the comfort of the local
manor houses. Lee wanted to be with his troops and i've been to the spot
he stayed and the rocks to the chimney for his heated tent are still there in
disarray. This was even after he had what many thought suffered a heart
attack after Gettysburg, but he wanted to be near his 30,000-40,000 troops,
remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia who were demoralized after
Gettysburg. I've thought of how i want to rebuild that chimney.
There is a sign on Rt. 20 north of Orange called Lees Camp if anyone ever goes
by that way and takes the time to see.
While the extras had real beards the Generals in
G&G's had such fake beards i found it humorous. For the money spent
they could have done better.
I will say that the food fed on the set was
very,very good and endurance riders would have been better horsemen than the
re-enactors. So Girls, put on your beards and pants and show up for the
casting call. Be like Johanne who took an arrow in the neck and a cannonball to
her helmeted head and kept riding for her visions and dreams.
