It was long, hot weekend of sitting in a saddle in wool pants, but re-enacting the Battle of Chickamauga helped Mike Turner, of Decatur, Ala., get a glimpse of what the Civil War battle would have been like for his ancestor Albert Kyle, who died fighting for the Confederate cause.

Staff Photo by Margaret Fenton
Kirk and Maria Callison of Buckeystown, Md., wave to a train of Confederate troops from Virginia before the Battle of Snodgrass Hill on Sunday at the 145th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Chickamauga.

On Saturday, Mr. Turner’s cavalry unit dressed as Union soldiers from Eli Lilly’s 18th Indiana Light Artillery to re-create the Battle of Reed’s Bridge and Hood’s Assault at Vinlad’s Farm.

“Sitting in the saddle for eight hours, in the sun and the heat ... the powder taste in your mouth from the cannon smoke ... it was the most realistic thing that I’ve done yet,” said Mr. Turner, who has participated in Civil War re-enactments since 1991.

This weekend’s events marked the 145th anniversary of the Confederate victory over Union forces and drew re-enactors from as far away as Denmark and Australia.

For complete coverage see Monday’s Times Free Press.