Saturday, September 5, 2026
You may want to pour a second cup of coffee and warm up another pain au chocolat before starting to read the accounts of this action packed day.
We left Camarillo at about 10:00 a.m. for the long drive to Orange County to see . . .
A Civil War Reenactment in
Huntington Beach, a.k.a.,
"Surf City, U.S.A."
A two day affair that we attend
annually on Sundays
That is because of Jacob's Pop Warner games on Saturdays the last four years.
Now in high school, Jacob and Michael could participate both days for the first time.
There is much more to these Civil War Days than just the two battles each day.
There are educational chats
Chats on a wide variety of topics
I heard this talk last year,
FASCINATING!
The naval history of the Civil War
is not talked about enough
After we finally found a parking spot, no easy task I must say, the search for our two Union reenactors began.
An encampment up ahead
Uh-oh, it was a Confederate encampment.
A period correct teacher instructing
her current day students
A rebel woman preparing lunch
for the men in her charge
I always get a kick out of the
Iron Pear Tree Inn and its sign,
"Real French Women From France"
Julien Urgenti, do you care to comment?
Embalming is a necessary endeavor
in any war zone
Union Cannons at the ready
We still had not found our two Yanks but were feeling safer now firmly in Union held territory.
Today's crowd was much bigger than any Sunday crowd that we had experienced over the years.
There were more soldiers on both sides on this warm Saturday, as well.
Even many spectators were sporting
in period correct fashions
General Ulysses S. Grant was with us
So was President Abraham Lincoln
Standing Guard over the Union's
much needed provisions
Union wives, I suspected
Now we were getting close
to finding our Boys in Blue
Of course the Union had a
band to lead them into battle
Last minute equipment
checks are a MUST!
Rifles handy for the impending battle
Colorful flags are also a
battlefield requirement
Speaking of colorful, New York's
fighting Zouaves Regiment was . . .
. . . dressed impeccably
A fierce looking N.Y. Zouave
We finally found Michael and
Jacob's tent but not them
Well, we felt better that they
had access to nutritional items
at their tent side
We found Jacob super excited
After months of saving his money, he was able to at last purchase a period correct replica musket from one of the other reenactors thanks to his father's negotiating efforts.
He also purchased a bayonet that was actually used in the Civil War, thus our most happy Yank.
MUSTER!
Infantryman Jacob looking a bit
apprehensive before the battle
But where was Michael?
Found him practicing proper
Artillery protocols
Michael and an Artillery Batterymate
The battle about to begin, we needed to find ourselves a good viewpoint.
We did, next to a young artist
painting the battle scene
The horses warming up
for the skirmish
Last minute photos
We bought some miniature
wooden soldiers here
Michael's battery at a forward cannon
He had time to come over to talk
The green outfits signify that these
men are Sharpshooters
Cool gaiters
These leggings were worn over their boots for an extra layer of protection. Though they looked good, it was reported that not many soldiers liked to wear them.
Getting serious, the brass arrives
Forward cannon . . .
. . . prepare to . . .
. . . FIRE!
Lone Union Officer tempting
Fate to the utmost!
The rag-tag Confederates were
assembling to take the fight to the Yankees
Rebels returning fire
Confederates on the march
Another Rebel volley
More Rebs advancing
Matching uniforms was not a
big thing for the Southern troops
Still firing as the Rebs advanced
Here come our Union forces
N.Y. Zouaves on the far right
FIRE!
The Rebs captured the cannon that
Jacob's battery had fired earlier
Rebs retreating . . .
. . . right in front of us
The man smoking the cigar
is a newspaper writer
ZOUAVE DOWN!
Keep battling
The battle was growing INTENSE!
Casualties were mounting on both sides
Sadly, in the lower far left, we saw Jacob die.
A few moments later, Laurie saw Michael fall from a Confederate cannon shot that landed near his artillery position.
DAMN!
The Union advanced but . . .
. . . the Rebs were rallying with . . .
. . . a successful . . .
. . . flanking maneuver
The Confederate saluting his
fallen comrade who conveniently
died in the shade of this large tree
The battle over with the Confederates
winning this early afternoon skirmish,
our boys miraculously sprang back to life
Safe and Sound to fight again
at 4:00 p.m.
We then toured the suttlers area with them looking for any treasures that they may have had for sale.
Fox fur is always a nice
fashion accessory option
Sutller women in fine costumes
A lady using a spinning wheel
President Lincoln still draws a
crowd with his inspiring words
of wisdom unlike our current leader
A Bushwhacker if I've ever seen one
Bushwhackers were pro-Confederate guerilla fighters operating mostly in Missouri.
Laurie loved his "work bench"
We ended our visit with some music
The guitar player's outfit was not regulation at this affair.
Our day was decidedly not done as of yet, we were off to attend a 5:00 p.m. game in the glorious city of Whittier.
The Simpson University Red Hawks (0-1)
at
The Whittier College Poets (0-0)
Simpson University is located in Redding, California and its Red Hawks athletic teams compete in the NAIA's Frontier Conference for football. This circuit has 14 football playing colleges found in the states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota.
The Frontier Conference had five football teams in the NAIA's in pre-season Top 25 poll.
As for the home team Poets, they were playing their first game since dropping the sport after the 2022 season. Whittier is a member of the NCAA DIII Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) that has eight football playing colleges including Azusa Pacific who is also reviving its football program this season.
Do you hear that Occidental College?
Our first ever look at . . .
Wallace "Chief" Newman Memorial Stadium
By the time that the game started, there would be a good crowd on hand for a game in a DIII SCIAC stadium.
Whitter Kicking off to start their
program's exciting reboot
The new Poets first Offensive play
of the game
Good Whittier Pass Pro
Red Hawks about to score
the game's first TD
Simpson Kicking Off
Again affording the Poet QB
lots of time to find an open receiver
The Whittier punter would
be busy on this warm evening
Good Whittier Punt Coverage
A Poet defender giving GREAT effort
As always, the Pit was hectic
Whittier's blocking continued to
have a solid look to it
The Poets crowd got excited by
this fine. leaping catch
Unfortunately, on the next play,
a Jet Sweep, Whittier fumbled . . .
. . . and a Red Hawk scooped and
set sail to score . . .
. . . except one lone Poet gave
incredible effort and saved the day!
Nice Red Hawks Afro by the way
The calm before the storm
The Poet Defense stopped Simpson
on downs, that great TD saving
tackle was not wasted
Whittier's ground game was solid
This year I have noted that Swing
passes have become a great weapon
at all of the games that we've attended
See . . .
. . . what I mean?
Final Score
Simpson (1-1) - 56
Whittier (0-1) - 14
Although the final score was not competitive, I do believe that the Poets played the lots of effort, pride and passion for their first game in four years with a 100% new roster.
In the end, the Red Hawks experience playing together made the difference tonight.
There was a BIG college game
in Mexico today
Chapingo Toros Salvajes
vs.
Veracruz Halcones
Which reminded me . . .
The Whittier Poets will host
the CETYS Zorros from Baja
California next Saturday evening
We might just have to go see this international intercollegiate battle.
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