Faces of America: A Civil War Reenactment in Dublin, VA

Emma KapotesUpdated: Apr. 15, 2021

Photographer Glenn Glasser meets passionate performers in Dublin, VA at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain Civil War Reenactment.

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Allan Stamp (Portraying General Lee)

“Was it Winston Churchill who said, ‘The farther back you can look, the farther ahead you can see’? Which is basically the same thing—if you don’t learn from your past mistakes, you’re doomed to repeat them.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Wolfgang Landers

“What I really respect most about the men who fought the American Civil War is their bravery. Think about it: You were told to march across an open field and open fire, and if you ran, you were shot. You had to be pretty brave to do that.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Lori Haden

“I play Private Jimmy Clayton. It would have been my only way into the war, a female disguised as a man. A lot of women followed their husbands into war. They found a woman dead on the Gettysburg battlefield! But I don’t try to be a female in male disguise. I just try to be Private Jimmy.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

William Hohnhorst

“Personally, I think it started with a bunch of hotheads who couldn’t get along.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Kathy Maitland

“In this particular battle, one of the major characters was a Confederate who was treated in a Union hospital. When the Confederates came to get him, he said, ‘Don’t worry. I’m doing fine here. They treated me very well.’ Medics cross all bounds.”

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Glenn Glaser for Reader's Digest

Helen Beavers

“Right now I’m Sergeant Bob Morgan, who was really Molly Belle. Up to 8 percent of both armies were female. These women refused medical care and wouldn’t allow doctors to examine them even if they were wounded, for fear of being discovered. Often, nobody would know until they were found lying dead on the field.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Robert Etzler

“The American Civil War was a travesty—a bad time in this country’s history, but it’s still history, and I think you need to tell the good and the bad. We honor our ancestors, live the history, get out there in line, and smell the powder burning—once it gets into you, you’re hooked.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Steve Taylor

“It’s kind of an awesome feeling, after a weekend of living in the 1860s and then being back Monday morning in 2014.”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Barry Meadows (Portraying General Grant)

What did you want to be growing up?
“Older. Of course!”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Susan Vaught

“Frankly, I have seven layers of clothing under this. So it takes about an hour and a half to dress!”

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Glenn Glasser for Reader's Digest

Glenn Davis

“I used to be a proud soldier in the Army. Now I’m a roadie for my wife’s traveling dress shop. I have learned more about women’s clothing than I’ve ever wanted to know in life! Yeah, I’m here just as a showpiece—sometimes people think I’m a mannequin.”

Originally Published: May 21, 2014

Originally Published in Reader's Digest