I am Charles Mcdaniel and i live in fredericksburg, virginia. 1786 by the in general who was a relative of mine. Tell us what is happening today. A recreation of the battle of fredericksburg, the crossing of the river, the forced crossing where the union army built a pontoon bridge right in this location. They had to build it under fire from confederates, many of whom were standing right where we are right now. Hidden in the sellers and behind the trees and contested that crossing. That is a recreation of a portion of the battle of fredericksburg. How did you come to on the house . It was always known my relatives built it. When it became available, i budgeted 50 years ago and have never lived anywhere else but here since the time. House, same job, same town, same everything. You used pictures earlier to show us what this looked like before. Could you do that again . Certainly, would be glad to. Of rightas a picture behind his house. The houses in the background, probably hard to see. But this was a crossing of the river in 1862 when they use canal boats that were floated from washington down the potomac, up the rappahannock. Is this your house right here . Yes. Right below it is an old house we have reconstructed now, same stones. Confederate soldiers were probably in that icehouse firing at the yankees coming across the river. Destroyed in a spring flood. Lincoln crossed this bridge. To show you what a bridge would really be like, this is just 100 yards up the river. That is in 1864. That would show you what the actual bridge would look like. Another picture directly behind where we are, this is a union here inthat was located 1864. That was right where the bridge is. That shows you what the land looks like them looked like. Here is a picture of our house. His is in 1864 picture that is where we live right now. A side view. The old kitchen was destroyed. The one there now was built after the civil war. I live in that house right now. We still find bullets, pieces of shells around in the yard. How long have you been planning for this event . I have not been planning very long because i am not one of the officials. I know they have been working on it for a year or so, a couple of years probably, the 150th anniversary. Im just glad to cooperate and let them use the actual spot where a lot of this happened. Today, how see this can you explain to viewers how it was different from what we will see today, back then . I have asked that question of the bunch of people and it has been asked of me. It is hard to describe what it would have been like. They will try to recreate it. They will set off fireworks to try to recreate the bombardment of fredericksburg. How do you recreate combat where people are getting killed . I dont know how you do that, so i cannot explain the. Thank you very much for your time. Glad to do it. I am frank oreilly. Am one of the historians we are in the heart of fredericksburg, virginia, on the rappahannock river. 150 years ago, this was the site of one of the bloodiest rattles in the civil war. Almost 18,000 people got hurt here. It is also one of the most novel battles of the civil war. They saw things that never happened on a battlefield before. Soldiers literally fought outside houses, block by block, street by street, through downtown fredericksburg. This was the first urban combat in all of north america. The other things that are very interesting and novel about the battle of fredericksburg is when the union army attempted to lay pontoon bridges across the rappahannock, they were stopped by confederate sharpshooters who held them at bay. In the course of that, the union army had to bombard the city to try to drive them out. It was unsuccessful. They had to put infantry in both and ferry them across the river and drive the confederates out. The pontoon bridges in 1852 would have been composed of numerous boats lined up with anchors above and below stream because the rappahannock would shift back and forth. They relate likes across to tie the boats together and put floorboards across them. The boats were commandeered to make the river assault. The boats looked like big shoeboxes. They had squared ends. They were designed for stability in the water. They were never designed to cut through the water. The gunwales of the boat were close to the edge of the river. Instead of slicing through the river, they literally plowed her way across the river. It was tough for these men. Very slow. The entire way, they would have been subject to gunfire. Soldier said was probably the toughest regatta ever on the river. [gunfire] the men who got into the first marineg the core under fire. They established the first beachhead under fire ever in our history. Between the idea of launching an attack in boats under fire, landing under fire, and literally fighting through the streets of fredericksburg, these men were rewriting history. There was not a Single Person here who had prepared for it, practiced it. They were just making it up as they went along. It is amazing how intuitive they were. When they crossed the rappahannock on december 11, 1862, they crossed the rubicon and brought us into the modern military experience. [gunfire] one of the amazing impacts of the fighting downtown is the confederates had so successfully delayed the union army that they crossed the Union Commanders plan. He was not able to get his forces across the river and strike the confederates in a timely manner. Robert e. Lee had more than enough time to bring his forces together and concentrate them. When the army was able to strike out 78,000 confederates had , ringed them in and were waiting for them. They bought leave a chance to concentrate his forces. According to generally, everything that happened downtown won the battle of fredericksburg and everything after was a foregone conclusion. Tactically, what we saw were lines of men moving down the street, firing, the confederates retreating. Is that the way it happened . There is a certain element that does ring true. Union forces did march through the downtown streets. They did literally fire from the streets. Most of the confederates were safely ensconced among the houses and rebel. Most of them had been here for about two weeks prior to the battle. They had already picked out ideal spots where they can fire on the street. When a house fell, they would quickly move back to the next defense hold position. In this case, we seeing in and the less with the union and confederate soldiers firing in the streets. Have seen2, we would most of Union Soldiers in the streets. But most of the confederates would have been hidden among the houses firing from the windows and alleyways. Get down boys come and get them this battle flag means battle. You cant talk your way out of this second platoon, fire. Fire march my name is robert young. Im a Second Lieutenant in the United States infantry. I live in kentucky that the dean and i have been reenacting for 10 years. I graduated from the military institute in 2012. Why do you reenact . What i guess i got into it because i was always curious about history and i wanted to reconnect with the pure American Experience which is the fundamentals of the civil war. It is the civil war. The civil war changed america forever. And to better understand what the war was like, what the times were like and the dynamics of the region that were affected by the war, this is one of the best ways. When people are watching this reenactment today, how much do you think it will resemble historic reality . Well, obviously, the streets and New Buildings were to turn thewere not here during the actual battle. But for the most part, this is going to be pretty accurate representation as in your are going to see the thing firing procedures and much of the same drill. Most of these guys have been twoing out a night or living in the most opposite way possible trying to reconnect and come to a better understanding of what it was like during the civil war. I think the spectators will have a good experience watching the battle. Obviously, it is fun to watch guns and stuff. But to actually try to resemble the struggle of what the soldiers experienced is the best thing we can give to the spectators so they can understand the civil war and understand really the culture of america. As someone who studied the battle, how could you summarize it for us . Essentially, it was one of the thrusts south of the union army. Bridgecept of using a had been around but had not been well tested. This is one of the most famous street battles that ever happened in the civil war. It will conclude later in the day. , i guesssee a lot of the best way to explain it is it will be an allout slaughter. These are mostly the same streets. As same amount of people best we can do, and the same type of equipment and same type of uniforms that wouldve been around in the time. About 95 of reenacting is not out here. It is actually sitting around reading books and studying and getting ready, getting prepared. To know what is going to happen today . Me personally . I can probably tell you that im going to be jumping around like a chicken with my head cut off screaming at people because im a Sergeant Major here. [gunfire] in real life, are you a Sergeant Major . In real life, i am a Second Lieutenant, exact opposite of a Sergeant Major. I just graduated from the institute and am waiting on my orders to go to Infantry School and ranger school. Fire fire ready, aim, fire ready, aim, fire ready, aim, fire, fire lets go [gunfire] ready, aim, fire traitors. [marching drums] [gunfire] i am from westfield, indiana. It is about 20 miles north of indianapolis, indiana. What brings you all this way . I was here for the 140th battle and the opportunity to participate and view the 150th reenactment of this battle at fredericksburg, you only see Something Like this once in a lifetime. Im from virginia. Why are you doing what you are doing here today . We enjoy interpreting history. How do you determine how you are dressed . We do a lot of research. We make sure everything we have is period correct. It may not be original because you dont want to take anything original out, but we make sure it is as original as possible. The man never talks, he was do the talking for him, even during the civil war. What a gentleman. As in 1860, as in happy wife, 1812, happy life. This is my first street battle. It is wonderful. The Historical Places in fredericksburg are glorious. It is more than a battle. You get to engage with the people on the street and answer a lot of questions. It is a lot more for filling for us. What kinds of things do people ask you . People are curious about how women survived during an occupied time. Which was very hard for women. From your research, what did the civilians do during the battle . I am not going to be able tell you much about this particular battle. But i can generically tell you what would have happened for another occupied city. Women would have been the hardest hit. They would have been short of food, if they stayed. If they do not refugee to an outside area if they had family they would have left. If they were here, they would have done nursing. They would have taken soldiers into their homes, they wouldve had to figure out a way to survive without your men and in an occupied town which was also very difficult. When you have soldiers whether they are from the north or the south, soldiers are rough. You have to be very careful as a woman alone. My name is bjorn and im from belgium. Ella. Own where they brew st can you explain the green thing on top . It is the belgian flag. It is actually world war ii, but nobody knows. This is irish brigade. They put a piece of green on the ir hats to show people they were from ireland, the emerald isle, and sure connection with the island of ireland. You are wounded . I got hit in my arm. I hope they do not have to amputate. Thank you. [gunfire] ready, aim, fire could you explain the park Service Policy about reenacting and why it is not happening on park Service Ground now . The policy for reenacting on National Park land changed with the centennial 50 years ago. The National Park service was not only looking at battlefields , but they were also looking to preserve them in perpetuity. Unfortunately, battles have torn up our landscape so badly in many cases that even the recreation has an impact on the land. One of the things that the congress has charged the National Park service with is groundbackground that and saving it forever. Fredericksburg city today versus fredericksburg the city in 1862, how different is it . The world has changed so much in a century and a the city has half. Grown up. It still retains the vital essence of what made it a great city in 1862. It is still the term today. Even as people go through the downtown, they see modern landscapes and historic landscapes. They see modern architecture next to historic architecture. It has a beautiful symmetry to it. It is not that one replaces the other, but enhances the other. One the city is growing and doing great. You can watch this and other american artifacts by visiting our website cspan. Org history. Next, early members of the National Organization for women celebrate the 50th anniversary. Aey discussed the need for network of feminist activities in the 1960s and 1970s. And they remember leaders of the movement, including founder n. Tty frieda this was part of a larger Conference Held in washington, d. C. This is about 90 minutes