Civil War Reenactment Gives a Glimpse of 150 Years AGo

It was really old times in the Parker Press Park over the weekend. That was when the park was filled with Civil War re-enactors, who gave visitors a taste of what life was like for fighting men almost 150 years ago.

"We love history. That's one of the reasons we do this," said Larry Korczyk, one of the soldiers in the camp about his passion for participate in the live reenactments year after year.

The encampment was sponsored by the Robert E. Lee Civil War Roundtable, an Avenel-based society that studies the internecine War Between the States.

Parker Press Park was filled with newspaper articles, paintings, flags and other memorabilia signifying a time when the nation was at war with itself. 

The Civil War tribute was topped off with men dressed as Union and Confederate soldiers, women dressed in tradtional outfits of the time period, and tents and campsites set up all over the park. A final touch was a live reenactment of possible confrontations and situations the troops may have encountered. 

Jim Donovan, an amateur historian from Bayonne was dressed as a Confederate solider in a gray uniform. Donovan took a picture alongside Bruce Form, a former principal and history teacher, who was dressed as a Union solider in navy blue.

Both Form and Donovan are very interested in history and wanted to highlight the actual possibility of such a picture, of a Union soldier posing with a Confederate fighter - one of the things most forgotten about the Civil War is the friendships that existed between both sides.

"This picture is an event that could have occured during the Civil War," explained Donovan, who is fascinated by history. "I've read and heard of stories in which a Union and a Confederate are friends before the Civil War and then they have to fight against each other."

"But they would get together in the woods or anywhere and meet with each other. There are even stories of cousins who fought on opposite sides," added Form.

The Civil War Memorial event at Parker Press Park is an annual event that has been taking place for the past 20 years, and Korczyk has been participating in it for the past 15 years. "I've played the same soldier every year, a soldier from the 2nd Rhode Island," said Korczyk, who was dressed as a Union soldier from the 2nd Rhode Island unit.

"There are many groups out there and each group represents a unit that existed during the War," explained Mike Torre, who was also dressed as a member from the same unit.

"Our unit was actually a unit that lasted throughout the war. It was started in 1861 and fought until the surrender. Some units lasted only a few months," explained Korczyk.

"They thought it was going to be a short war," said Torre.