By DONNA HARRIS MELTON - dmelton@sunherald.com
BILOXI — The South wins most battles at Beavoir.
Saturday’s skirmish between the Union and the Confederacy was no different.
More than 300 re-enactors demonstrated their military prowess on the field near Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ home during the 24th annual Fall Muster.
AMANDA McCOY/SUN HERALD Smoke billows into the air after a replica Civil War 6-pound smoothbore cannon was fired at the 24th annual Fall Muster.
They’ll do it again today about 1:30 p.m., said Beauvoir’s acting director, Richard Forte.
Admission is $9 for adults with reduced rates for children, military and seniors. Beauvoir is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and parking is free at the Coast Coliseum for Beauvoir visitors.
With attendance down about 25 percent over the summer, Forte was excited by the steady flow of people coming through the gates to see the living history demonstrations and the re-enactment.
“This is the best crowd, I think, since we started back after Katrina,” he said.
The event was held at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in 2006 and 2007, and returned to Beauvoir in 2008.
At the Bama Rose, a sutler tent offering Civil War fashions for ladies, Krystal Ladner of Long Beach perused a table lined with hats, gloves and fans. Her husband, Andrew Ladner, 25, is a second-generation re-enactor with 3rd Mississippi. He has been doing this since he was 7.
“It’s kind of cool,” Krystal Ladner said about the battle. “It’s a good teaching lesson, although they always make the South win.”
Among the sutlers — sellers of clothing, supplies and memorabilia — the Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp 1353 of Hattiesburg is pushing its Confederate sausage dogs for $4. Half of their proceeds go to Beauvoir to support the historic property.
The polish dogs earned the Confederate name because they honor an immigrant from southern Poland who fought for the South during the Civil War, Lt. Commander Robert Ulmer said.
“If you don’t study history, you’re destined to repeat it,” he said.
Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/16/2560079/fall-muster-brings-re-enactors.html#ixzz12dbVABUf
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