fandomhigh | 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 ]]

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That earned a bit of a wry smirk as the bitterness eased away slightly.

"Why would you think that? You're teaching it, aren't you?" Algren reserved the right to be smug at his own leisure. "It must have interested you enough at some point for you to pay attention enough to learn this history, yourself."

And, barring that...

"And anyhow, Fandom is full of surprises."

It was now Jasper's turn for a wry smirk.

Oh, what the hell...

"You don't really have to learn something you lived through, really."

There we go.

"Confederate?" There was no animosity at all in that phrase, really. Algren might have spoken it with disdain over a decade ago in his own lifetime, but things had changed so much, he had changed so much since then that it hardly seemed like there was any point to drawing a distinction between the two, anymore. It was all America. "You have that look about you. The look of a man who knows what war really looks like, I mean."

He was also not at all surprised. Ah, Fandom.

So long as Algren didn't seen to question exactly why, despite having been born before the wore, he had perfectly modern habits, dispositions, and ways of talking, he was fine. Or perhaps some of that older stuff stuck to him more than he thought.

"Hm," Jasper said thoughtfully. "Do I?"

He wondered what Algren would say if he saw the scars, or knew anything about the much more brutal war after the one they shared.

" But, yes, Confederate. I'm from Texas."

Algren had learned sometime last semester that if he asked questions, people would give him answers. And that was exactly why he wasn't asking about little things like age, mannerisms, and accents now.

He was pretty convinced that whatever it was that had kept Jasper from being straightforward with him about it in the first place was probably something he didn't want to know. And he could live with the curiosity.

Honestly, Fandom would probably find a way to have it bite him in the arse over it in the future, anyhow.

"You do. Possibly not all of the time," he noted, "but you did when you were giving that speech to the students, for one. It's difficult to pull that tone out of thin air."

"Does it show," Jasper asked, glancing over toward Algren with a wry grin again, "that I'm on the side that lost, too?"

Lost as Algren knew it, anyway. If he'd lost his other war, he wouldn't be standing here right now.

Algren actually took a moment to carefully consider his reply, at that.

"What shows," he said, finally, "is that you fought. But you don't carry yourself like a man who believes he's been completely defeated." They were both all about the wry grinning, his afternoon. "You haven't chased me out of the room yet, knowing that I fought for the Union. I suppose that colors my impression of you somewhat, as well."

Taking the time to consider it. Nice.

"I've been through a lot since then," Jasper said. "Like you said, after a while, you just realize how insignificant that sort of thing can be."

There was a slight pause.

"Which sort of make the whole thing all the more tragic, really..."

Oh, he was just inviting the bitterness, now.

"It's been over eleven years since the end of that war, to me," Algren shared. "I've stopped thinking about the victory, and I put away my medals."

Maybe eventually, the images in his head would fade, too.

"I can't say I'm proud of it. Or much of anything that I've done since. It runs together, just pouring more bodies into the same damned tally, over and over."

Bitter and philosophical, apparently.

But Jasper couldn't help it! He felt what the people around him felt, here.

He did agree with Algren, though, that was for sure, his head nodding slowly, and finding he had nothing more to add.

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

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