# Do other countries, besides America, "recreate" their civil wars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639 "2005-06-02T23:33:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/1 "2005-06-02T23:33:31Z")
It seems so bizarre that so many Americans will regularly dress up in blue & grey uniforms, paste on funky-looking mustaches, and march off to grassy fields where they pretend to kill each other with rubber muskets. Do any other countries “celebrate” their own civil war with full-on re-enactments? Do the Spanish dress up as Republicans and Nationalists? Do the Russians stage mock battles between the Reds and the Whites? Will Rwanda, given time, eventually dress up as Hutus and Tutsis and march down the street waving bloody machettes? (Yes I watched _Hotel Rwanda_ last night…that’s basically what led to this question.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/2 "2005-06-02T23:36:05Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > they pretend to kill each other with rubber muskets. Do any other countries “celebrate” their own civil war with full-on re-enactments? Nitpick: The muskets are real. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/3 "2005-06-02T23:39:59Z")
Historical re-enactment is quite a big thing here in the UK - not just limited to civil war stuff though - the Romans and other (historically) invading cultures also get a look in. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/4 "2005-06-02T23:42:36Z")
UK certainly has groups that recreate most periods of history including those of the Civil War. [www.sealedknot.org](http://www.sealedknot.org) is I think the biggest group. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/5 "2005-06-02T23:51:53Z")
A friend of mine was in Belgium a few years back to observe just such a recreation of the Battle of Waterloo. Granted that this was not exactly a civil war… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/6 "2005-06-03T00:19:34Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > UK certainly has groups that recreate most periods of history including those of the Civil War. [www.sealedknot.org](http://www.sealedknot.org) is I think the biggest group. And then there’s the Battley Townswomen’s Guild… ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/7 "2005-06-03T00:22:37Z")
I used to live near a village named Cropedy in the UK, where Oliver Cromwell and co. had a pretty big battle. There was a recreation every year if I recall. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/8 "2005-06-03T01:20:49Z")
In the US, Civil War recreations are probably the most popular and well-attended, but there’s a significant interest in Revolutionary War recreations, too. Especially around here, in NJ – you can’t go five miles without seeing a park sign commemorating a spot where Washington hooked up with some regiment, or held off a British salient, or hunkered down for a weekend or a winter, or took a dump… Doubtless the same can be said for many other locales in the NE: Philly/Camden, southeastern NY, Connecticut, etc. I wonder if there’ll be an uptick in War of 1812 activities around, oh, 2012? Short of burning down Washington, D.C., of course. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/9 "2005-06-03T01:40:47Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > I wonder if there’ll be an uptick in War of 1812 activities around, oh, 2012? Great! Count me in. > [@](#): > > Short of burning down Washington, D.C., of course. Shit. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/10 "2005-06-03T03:12:00Z")
Actually, the interesting thing is the number of people _outside_ of the US of A who are interested in re-enacting the War Between the States. There’s groups in Canada, the UK, mainland Europe, Australia, and for all I know, Japan, doing it. There’s more and more interest in WWI and WWII re-enactment, as well. We just hosted our Victoria Day weekend event, with re-enactors representing miitary units from the Canadian west coast from the late 1700s to the 1950s. In the past, one fellow did an impression (as they like to call it) of a Canadian medic in the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion (part of the International Brigade of the in the Spanish Civil War). I helped him out by making copies of an original Communist Party of Canada leaflet I have from 1937, exhorting the masses to contribute funds to further the struggle against fascism, and he handed these out to our somewhat bemused visitors. ¡No Pasarán! ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/11 "2005-06-03T03:34:59Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > In the US, Civil War recreations are probably the most popular and well-attended, but there’s a significant interest in Revolutionary War recreations, too. Especially around here, in NJ – you can’t go five miles without seeing a park sign commemorating a spot where Washington hooked up with some regiment, or held off a British salient, or hunkered down for a weekend or a winter, or took a dump… Doubtless the same can be said for many other locales in the NE: Philly/Camden, southeastern NY, Connecticut, etc. There a lot of those signs here in the DC area: Colonial/Revolutionary times, Civil War, even The Cold War have historical signs. One that got me laughing was one on the west side of Fairfax, VA. It said that some general and his troops turned to the north at that point on their way to Antidam (sp?). So basically, “General So-and-so turned left here”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/12 "2005-06-03T08:20:53Z")
Some wars in Germany could be called civil wars, notably the Peasant Wars (1524-1525 and other revolts in the 15th/16th centuries) and of course the Thirty Years’ War. There _is_ significant reenactment of the latter in Germany (see e.g. [**site of a group**](http://www.cronacher-ausschuss-compagnie.de/1206.html)). They don’t enact large battles, though lack of people and of space - mostly they do camp/garrison life, crafts, single combat/skirmishes etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/13 "2005-06-03T11:40:05Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > UK certainly has groups that recreate most periods of history including those of the Civil War. [my inner southerner]The correct name is the War of Northern Aggression, boy![/my inner southerner] Certainly, historical distance is a necessary prerequisite. I live in Beirut, and obviously nobody in Lebanon is in the slightest bit interested in reenacting their civil war. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/14 "2005-06-03T11:54:15Z")
Youths regularly re-enact civil wars -often in town centres- here in the UK. Usually at weekends after a few jars. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/15 "2005-06-03T12:43:12Z")
According to entry #10 in this thread, the Germans like to recreate _our_ Civil War: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319224&highlight=Karl](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319224&highlight=Karl) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/16 "2005-06-03T13:08:13Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > And then there’s the Battley Townswomen’s Guild… 😕😕😕 Enhance, please? 😕😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/17 "2005-06-03T13:27:14Z")
A Monty Python sketch - the re-enactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor by the Batley Townswomen’s Guild. The visual: They all wore dresses and swung purses at each other. [Link](http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/batley.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/18 "2005-06-03T15:07:03Z")
**Thudlow** boinked **Bosda** 🙂 **Sophistry and Illusion** since when have Northerners been aggressive 😉 OT… Don’t know if it was a civil war reenactment, but I remember from years back a news item about a man from UK who married a Japanese lady and was allowed to become involved in a Samurai reenactment society in Japan. Sort of like a modern day [William Adams](http://william-adams.biography.ms/) . ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/19 "2005-06-03T15:32:29Z")
Among _higher-class_ Southerners, it’s “The Late Unpleasantness”. Even now. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639/20 "2005-06-07T06:08:36Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > I wonder if there’ll be an uptick in War of 1812 activities around, oh, 2012? Short of burning down Washington, D.C., of course. I can’t imagine what might happen around D.C. to commemorate the War of 1812 but there might be a pretty big party in New Orleans on January 8, 2015. Think Johnny Horton. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-besides-america-recreate-their-civil-wars/306639.md?page=2)