fandomhigh | Civil War Re-Enactment; Monday, Period Three [ 05/25 ].

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Civil War Re-Enactment; Monday, Period Three [ 05/25 ].

Feeling a little iffy about the weather, Jasper had the class meet again in the Danger Shop, in an open field surrounded by some trees. "Welcome back," he said, going straight into things. He wanted to get to the battle, so they could finish it and he could get to the point of today's class. "We're a few months past where we were last time, at Fort Sumter. Where we are now is near Manassas Junction, where two unseasoned generals from both sides will be clashing in what is considered the first real battle of the American Civil War. Called the First Battle of Bull Run by some, the First Battle of Manassas by others, this is a pivotal moment where America realized that they'd gotten themselves into something big. Pressured by public opinion to march on the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia to put an early end to the war, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell of the Union met with Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard of the Confederacy, both finding that their inexperience was leading the situation to be nothing like what they expected."

"At first, however, the Confederacy seemed at the disadvantage, until reinforcements arrived under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston; this changed the course of the battle. It was also helped significantly thanks to a brigade of Virginians lead by a then-unknown colonel by the name of Thomas J. Jackson -- that'd be you, Miss Stackhouse." He gave the girl a smile ~~assuming she was there~~. It was kind of hard not to feel warmth toward a girl who'd picked Stonewall in a heartbeat. "These Virginians stood their ground, which is how Jackson earned his infamous nickname of 'Stonewall.' The Confederacy was able to pull a strong counterattack, causing the Union to withdraw to Washington, D.C., panicked and surprised to see what they thought would be a quick victory turn into a defeat."

"Pretty straightforward, really, so the object of today's battle is for the Confederacy, no matter what, under Colonel Jackson's command, to hold their ground against our Union. Our Union's bigger than our Confederacy, which works, as the Union had significantly more men, but, for the purposes of today, Mr. Cullen, you're going to be our already-there Beauregard force. When I give the signal, Colonel Jackson and the others will arrive to reinforce you. Union, give Beauregard hell until then." Again, he couldn't help grinning.

"Suit up, to arms, and I'll have a little more to say once the Confederates have their victory."

[[ ~~wait for~~ the ocd is standing its ground! Class Roster and Syllabus ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Holding the line.

Worf

Hurley Reyes

Emmett Cullen

Joan Girardi

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Where most of you actually seem to take notes, which is very WTF for Jasper, but, hey, okay, nerds.

Worf took detailed notes. Notes that a warrior would take. Not nerdy ones, thank you.

Joan would resent the implication that she was a nerd.

Penelope was a nerd, yep, because she took lots of notes.

And now for the battle. In your uniforms and prop weapons, Union march against the Confederacy; Confederate reinforcements show up and kick butt.

Or just thwack at and pretend to shoot each other with toy guns. Whatever.

Emmett was pouting. He didn't want to lose, dammit.

Hurley chuckled, waiting in reserve. This whole class was... educational, yet also kinda silly.

Once the battle was over, Jasper wanted to have at least a few ~~hundred~~ words with the class, ending it with some very serious business. Damn empathy; even a day after talking with Algren, the other man's bitterness had clung to him, and he couldn't shake the gravity of things like this. It didn't help with what today was.

"One more thing," he said. "As I mentioned, this battle was pivotal for the war. It was the battle that made people realize that this was not going to be easy, that this would have serious consequences. Unlike the firing at Fort Sumter, this battle was not without its casualties. Union casualties were 460 killed, 1,124 wounded, and 1,312 missing or captured; Confederate casualties were 387 killed, 1,582 wounded, and 13 missing. And that was only the beginning. It was a slap to the face to wake the nation up that this was going to be a long, hard, bloody battle. War is hell. Any war. I think it's appropriate that today is Memorial Day, a day reserved for remembering and honoring those who have died in military service. It actually started to honor fallen Union soldiers, but has since become a day to remember all Americans killed in the service of their country. It becomes, as of late, focus on the wars that are in recent living memory, which usually don't include the Civil War. But, around here, there are people who not only remember this war, but served in it. One of your other teachers, actually, is a survivor of this particular war, and it's a bloody scar on America's past, where we didn't fight an enemy, we fought each other. So remember it, be respectful. Even if you're not American, hopefully you can still understand the need for reverence."

There. Now he felt a little better. And, if anything, it was a strange sort of attempt to reconnect with his lost humanity a little. Maybe.

And even if the class didn't feel more respectful by the end of his little soapbox speech...well, he did have that ability to control emotions, so he was going to make them feel respectful. Ha.

Emmett raised his hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Hale. How many hours did you spend writing that speech last night? And, as a followup, were you not aware there was a Deadliest Catch marathon you could have been watching instead?"

Of course he stayed up all night working on the speech. What else was he going to do? Sleep?

It took some effort, but Jasper managed to not grin too much, shaking his head. "And are you aware, Mr. Cullen," he asked, "of an invention called a book?"

Emmett looked at Jasper seriously. "Yeah, you name me one book that has men fighting against nature on the high seas."

There was a pause.

"...that's also narrated by Mike Rowe."

Jasper had opened his mouth to say something about that in that pause, but then Emmett's follow-up soundly made him bite it back.

Because, okay, yeah. Melville read by Mike Rowe? Pretty much amazing, really, and probably the only way his men fighting against nature on the high seas would be enjoyable, too.

"Well," he concluded, "I might have caught it if someone had clued me in to the fact that there was one going on..."

Re: Aftermath -- 05/25.

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Re: Aftermath -- 05/25.

civilwarsongs.livejournal.com - 2009-05-25 23:45 (UTC) - Expand

When the other sparkly vampire pings in.

Emmett was most definitely not taking notes because he was no nerd. But he was there.

Who is trying not to be all broody and empathetic, but it's kind of hard for him to avoid it.

"That was a stirring speech," Algren mused as he approached the broody, empathetic one after the class. "It's good to hear someone reminding the students that their history isn't something to take lightly."

Yes, he was nosy. Yes, he'd dropped in to see what this course was all about. Yes, he'd been impressed. Even if the toy guns had seemed a little silly.

Nosy and bitter.

"Algren," Jasper nodded, avoiding a title because he knew the man had served, but didn't know what rank, and it seemed more respectful to just skip a mister if a higher designation was needed. "Good to see you approve, but I'm afraid I can't take full credit for it. It was almost entirely inspired by a conversation I had yesterday."

"That must have been one hell of a conversation," Algren noted. He'd never really thought he was the most inspiring individual to grace the island with his presence, but if there had been something about their conversation that had managed to lead to that lecture, he could certainly live with it.

Nosy and bitter and inspiring. Apparently.

Huh.

"With any luck, the students will take something out of it, too, then."

Edited 2009-05-25 16:57 (UTC)

Sign In -- 05/25.

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During the Lecture -- 05/25.

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The First Battle of Bull Run -- 05/25.

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Aftermath -- 05/25.

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Talk to the TA -- 05/25.

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Talk to the Teacher -- 05/25.

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OOC -- 05/25.

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