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Thank you for your interest in the Southern Piedmont Historical Reenactment Society, Inc (SPHRS). The SPHRS is a non-profit, family oriented, historical society made up of people like you who are interested in preserving our nation's rich heritage.
The main emphasis of the society is in portraying as accurately as possible, the common Civil War soldier of 1860-65. SPHRS is a "galvanized" reenactment unit, meaning we will represent either Confederate or Federal military units depending on what is needed at a particular reenactment event. The military units SPHRS proudly represents are the 49th North Carolina of the Confederate Army and the 21st Massachusetts of the Union or Federal Army. However, whenever we attend a reenactment event/battle where the 49th NC actually fought, we are always Confederate!
We are asked many times why we do what we do. The late Bruce Catton, Civil War historian and author of many books on the subject, when asked a similar question on this subject said the following:
"We are people to whom the past is forever speaking. We listen to it because we cannot help ourselves. For the past speaks with many voices. Far out of that nowhere is the time before we were born, men who were flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, went through fire and storm to break a path to the future. We are a part of the future they died for; they are part of the past that brought the future. What they did-the stories they told and the songs they sang, and finally the deaths they died make up a past of our own experience. We cannot cut ourselves off from it. It is as real to us as something that happened last week. It is a basic part of our heritage as Americans."
By striving to create a historically accurate impression during living history events, school programs, and battle reenactments we hope to give a glimpse of the common Civil War soldier to the public.
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