Civil War Brigade brings history to life in Waynesfield

WAYNESFIELD — There was something different about sixth period at Waynesfield-Goshen High School on Wednesday. There were men walking around in gray, heavy wool jackets with bright insignia. Then there were the periodic loud booms that cascaded through the usually serene Auglaize County community.Pupils at the school stepped back in time — 150 years to be precise — to bring history to life. Civil War re-enactors, including Joe Foster, a high school history teacher at Waynesfield, brought an artillery battery back to life.“Usually people think about the Civil War they think of people lining up, marching at each other. That's just the stereotype. Today we are showing another aspect and that's the artillery. Artillery had been around for awhile before the Civil War but it really started to change with the Civil War with the rifled barrel and being a bigger part of casualties.”The presentation was organized by members of the school's Civil War Brigade, a student service organization focused on increasing historical awareness and student interest as well as promoting historical preservation.“I really wanted to learn more about the Civil War. It's really cool,” said Jenna Riemesch, 16, a sophomore at the school and a member of the brigade. “We went to a re-enactment. I thought that was pretty cool to see how it all works. I really learned a lot.”Engaging pupils and fostering an appreciation of history is what the event is all about, said Bob Kelley, a re-enactor from Woodville.“I really want to let these kids know what it was all about. They don't learn a lot about the Civil War, a couple pages in a book. This lets them see some of the things that actually went on.”Kelley brought a 12-pounder mountain howitzer. Several of the high school pupils volunteered as battery crew members and ran through the commands and the resulting actions before Kelley, Foster and the other re-enactors fired off a couple of 7-ounce charges.The explosive boom brought smiles and a couple of small jumps from the pupils as they watched the smoke drift downrange toward the football field. Kelley told them where the smoke cloud drifted was the likely area an active round would most likely have gone during the war.“I knew the general idea of the war. I've really learned what went on during the war,” Jenna said. “I've learned how the guns were fired, how they lined up, how to fire a cannon. It's been really cool.”