Taken September
18, 1999, at the Chickamauga Reenactment
Heg's Brigade and Confederates
exchanging fire in the distance
Photo courtesy of Martha C. Meeker
|
Taken September
18, 1999, at the Chickamauga Reenactment |
This photo was taken near the middle of the hour-long "Assault of Heg's Brigade" battle scenario, which took place at the reenactment of the September 19-20, 1863 Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. The reenactment was held near Ringgold, Georgia, just a few miles from the original Chickamauga battlefield. The Assault of Heg's Brigade was intended to reprise the original fighting that took place around Viniard's Farm on the first day of the battle.
The photo shows Heg's Brigade, which included the 15th Wisconsin, in distance exchanging musket fire up close to a long line of Confederate troops. Heg's Brigade (3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Army Corp) suffered very serious casualties in the original fighting at Viniard's Farm. The reenactors portraying the 15th Wisconsin are positioned on the right end of Heg's Brigade, with the regiment's national flag just visible above them. The 15th went into the original battle with some 200 soldiers and lost over half of them killed, wounded, or captured.
The haze in the photo was created by white smoke from the firing of thousands of rounds of musket ammunition and many dozen cannon charges, combined with the fine red dust of Georgia that was thrown up by some 5,000 reenactors manouvering on the battlefield. This haze grew steadily thicker as the reenactment progressed.
This page Copyright 1999
Scott Cantwell Meeker, Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Last updated October 25, 1999.