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Dan Campbell on the set of Gods and Generals
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Campbell Takes Reenacting to the Silver Screen
By Sarah McGurk
Ready. Aim. Fire!” Most of us hear this command shouted from a backyard
of kids playing soldier, but for Dan Campbell, executive technical assistant in
the Provost’s Office, these words represent a hobby as well as a way of life.
For the past four years, he has been a World War II and Civil War reenactor. Campbell
serves as a private in 20th Maine Company E, which is famous for holding off the
attack of Little Round Top in the Battle at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863.
In his most recent adventure, Campbell played an extra in Ron Maxwell’s
movie Gods and Generals, the prequel to Maxwell’s 1993 film Gettysburg.
Gods and Generals focuses on the role of Gen. Robert E. Lee (played by
Robert Duvall), Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (played by Stephen
Lang), and Col. Joshua Chamberlain (played by Jeff Daniels), and their accomplishments
during the early years of the war. The movie is scheduled for release late next
year.
During September, Campbell traveled to Staunton, Va., and Hagerstown, Md.,
where he portrayed a civilian and Confederate and Union soldiers. He was in scenes
that followed the progress of the 20th Maine Company E from recruitment and basic
training to the battlefield. Campbell also was filmed in the battle scenes of
First Manassas, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. Extras were required to bring
their own uniforms and gear, including authentic pure wool uniforms, underclothes,
and guns—a rule that extends to most reenactment groups and activities. Last
month, Campbell headed back to the Maryland movie set to film the Battle of Fredericksburg.
“Movie making is a fascinating business,” says Campbell. “Now
when I see a movie, or any professional video, I’m more aware of all the
camera angles than I am of the show.”
The Civil War captured Campbell’s interest in the fourth grade when he visited
Gettysburg as a Cub Scout. From that moment on, it was just a matter of waiting
until he had the time, money, and opportunity to join the Union Army. Campbell
and the 60 men who make up Company E participate in an average of 30 weekend events
per year, touring from Gettysburg to North Carolina.
The events fall into two categories: battle reenactments and living history.
Battle reenactments serve as entertainment for spectators and participants. Events
include cavalry, artillery, drilling, marching, and infantry demonstrations, as
well as one immense battle scene. The battle itself combines shoulder-to-shoulder
combat and the shooting of blank powder cartridges. Although no close fighting
occurs, people have been injured. “Safety is strongly emphasized because
we do use real guns and black powder, which can be dangerous,” said Campbell.
At night, the soldiers’ camp lives are completely authentic from their Union
regulation tents to their late 17th-century–era clothes, sleeping bags, food,
and campfire hobbies.
The living history weekends are designed to educate people. Soldiers are joined
by other characters out of Civil War history, including photographers, nurses,
washerwomen, refugees, and children, all with exhibits and demonstrations to present
and stories to tell. In addition, Civil War memorabilia is available, sold by
period sutlers (retailers), and range from uniforms and weapons to recipe and
song books. “If they ate it back then, it’s good enough to eat now,”
he said when describing Civil War-era food.
“I reenact because it’s fun,” says Campbell. “I am a student
of history and to teach people about history in ways that are different from books
and museum exhibits is a way of life for me. The question I get asked most often
is, How do you know when you’re dead?” Campbell says that if you feel
like dying, you’re hot, or you run out of ammunition, or an officer tells
you to die, you “just fall down and stay there.”
Campbell plans to continue his hobby “until [he’s] physically unable.”
But until then, he will continue to defend the honor of the Union and pay respect
to those men who died in battle.
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