Figured I'd share what information I have about the bomb scare at the Cedar Creek reenactment this past weekend. I was there with the 24th North Carolina and around 4:00 pm Saturday after the battle, there was a "suspicious devise" found in one of the sutler tents. The police closed down the area and determined that it was in fact a pipe bomb. At first we were just instructed to lock down our camps, no cars or civilians were allowed in. First time I've stood a "legit" picket duty... Eventually, seeing as how the Confederate camp was right next to the sutlers, we were all evacuated to the Confederate parking lot.
They eventually bused the Confederates over the the local elementary school while the police investigated the pipe bomb and searched the camps. In the end, two devices were found; one was a soda bottle/can filled with nails, and the other was a pipe bomb with ball bearings. For whatever reason, when the police detonated the pipe bomb, it did not explode. Whether it was faulty wiring or some other reason, I do not know. Not sure what happened with the soda can either but everyone was cleared to reenter camp later Saturday night.
The ATF and FBI were there till Sunday afternoon and initially, everyone was informed that the event was cancelled. Eventually, at the insistence of all the reenactors, the event staff decided to still have the final battle even though the event was closed to the public. It was a battle, not against the Blue and the Gray, but against the cowards that wanted to try and stop us. The "battle" ended with both sides embracing one another, singing Dixie and the Star Spangled Banner, and finally a "USA USA!" chant.
I was proud to be a part of this event. Thank God no one was hurt during this ordeal but in the end, we showed that we will not be intimidated by cowards who want to try and erase our history. The cowards that placed these devices placed them in an area with a lot of foot traffic, a child actually found the soda can bomb... I'm not sure if there have been any arrests yet, but I'll be keeping my ears open to hear of any more information.
One final note, while I know that not all of us here are reenactors, I would like to think that we all appreciate this period of history, no matter where you are from. As always I applaud the developers for taking on such a project and for keeping it historically accurate to the best of their abilities. Now more than ever, it is important that we remember the past so we can teach it, and so that mistakes made then, are not made again.
~Sully