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Charles stared back at her blankly; the other et it? They were actors in a show, hopefully teaching A the way But sos died really slowly here, in plantation country Fa Loyalty to hearth and ho; they’d been beaten, and they knew it, but still, only one side of the cast of players was considered to be elite And the reenactors could be incredibly snobbish

That ood the odd man out

Toby Keaton cleared his throat and then said softly, "Charles--come on You’re lucky to be in with the 27th Bayou Militia Cavalry Unit Most of the ti part in the reenactht before You’ve got to see the truth of this thing You claie--your stepfather was an O’Reilly, and I know he raised you, but, you know, in other old Southern units, that wouldn’t count" Toby was forty-four, and Ashley’s next-door neighbor at Beauh they both had acres and acres of land Toby grinned as if to cut the harshness of his words "Newcomer--odd man out You’re a Yankee if I’ve ever seen one!"

"Great! So now I’m a newco around the rooot to understand This will really ave his appeal to the others gathered at the horse al Plantation that day--Cliff Boudreaux, Griffin Grant, Toby Keaton, Raeneral area, John Ashton, tour director froathering in the old s, and now a s theether for their roundtable discussions on the war, but each side met separately first on the day of the reenactment toLater, they’d all meet back here to make sure that everyone was apprised of all the safety factors involved

One, Charles, so it seeroup in the apartment They were short a Yankee, and that’s the way it was All of theed to Civil War roundtables, and these days, none of them really cared about sides--they just liked to discuss tactics and procedure They often al; Ashley loved to listen, because they also knew their history, and they spoke about events in the lives of enerals had often been best friends before they had been forced to choose sides in the bloody conflict They knew about weapons, uniforms, sad stories about treason and resisters, draft riots, food, clothing, trade and so much more

"Charles," Cliff Boudreaux said patiently "We’re all just teasing you here, really We’re short on Yankees today, on account of Barton Waverly being sick with the flu We’re pretty desperate And that’s the rule; newcomers play Yankees when our brothers from up North ask for help Hell, remember that year when half of us were laid up with the croup? Three of the anything bad to you--really"

Ramsay Clayton was seated across the table from Cliff Ramsay looked like an artist; he was tall, with a wirydark hair and classical features He owned a small place down the road, but he spent a lot of time in New Orleans, where he sometimes showed his work at Jackson Square and sorinned at Charles "Yeah, and don’t forget, the Yankees won Hell, come to think about it, where were all the Southern boys ere losing this thing?" he asked lightly "Ah, well Born in our day and age, it’s easy to look back at the South’s part in the Civil War and wonder, ‘What the hell e thinking?’"

Ashley suy

"Well, I wish I could just step up to the plate, but I can’t I can’t play a Yankee--I just can’t," Toby Keaton said "Hell, randfather was the first one to answer Marshall Donegal’s call for volunteers He was one of his best friends I think he’d roll in his grave if I played a Yankee Good God! I own a plantation! Wouldn’t be fitting for me to play a Yankee Lord knows, it could be bad for business"

Hank Trebly grinned "Well, I’ive a whit I see the war as over, over, over, and that’s the way it is Lord A- ended in 1865" Hank owned the property next to Donegal, and his ancestors had owned it forever The old plantation had been replaced by a sugar refinery years ago He was a smallto hiht have been here, but I don’t care," he said "The Civil War o back But I love ’e them on They all spend money and take tours"

"And what happened here was in 1861, for God’s sake, before the thing had really even gotten going," Griffin said, shaking his head "Come on, now! My ancestor went on to die at the Second Battle of Manassas--now, that’s a da battle We’re here to teach, and to re that happened in the past--and how it made us e are today Let’s have fun, folks C’ and statistics, computers and red tape I don’t care who plays what It’s just for a good time"

"I spend most of my time in New Orleans, art on the square and all that--you can call ," Ramsay said "And Lord knohat happened here couldn’t even be called a battle My ancestor and most of the Southern boys except for Marshall survived, but, as we’ve all pointed out now--the North won We are living the United States of Aht What had taken place late in 1861 hadn’t even been a battle Drinking downriver, toward New Orleans, two Yankee spies had heard about Donegal’s then-owner--Marshall Donegal--preparing a major summons to area troops to prepare the to draw Marshall Donegal’s otten into a fistfight when onechickens The two Confederates suspected the al The spies went back to their headquarters, but they were spies, and thus their numbers were small On each side, six men were mustered--and, rather than be executed as spies if they were caught, the Union ed from the stables to the porch of thewhen Captain Marshall Donegal had died of a bayonet wound in his own fa to the Southern side; the rebels had been left in utter defeat, according to their Northern counterparts

Now, the "battle" was soely due to its small size--and the fact that the current owner of the plantation, Ashley’s grandfather, Frazier Donegal, was a history buff and glad to welco history" took place frequently at Donegal, as often as once a week, but an actual reenact the reenacted not just to Civil War units, but Revolutionary War units, and it just depended on where the biggest shindig was going on Luckily, most of the men who could claim to have had ancestors in the brawl loved the plantation and the nearly exact-to-the-past-moment location of the place, and they usually al House was surely one of the prettiest places left on the river road, with reat house still nificent Greek coluant tree-shaded entries stretched forever before the front and back doors The currently used stables, housing only six horses, were next to the house, while the larger stables needed in a bygone era were far back from the house, to the left, riverside, and offered three apartht The old smokehouse and servants’ quarters were available for rent as well, and sometimes they even rented out five of the rooms in the main house With Beth there, Ashley’s extraordinarily talented friend and chef, and the efforts they werewith the restaurant and the crazy business that ca with the reenactment, they had chosen this year just to let roo history and their bed-and-breakfast rentals--was done to survive into the twenty-first century But the Donegal fa the place out for nearly thirty years now And the living history and the reenactuishing it fro the river

"Okay, sure You all are right," Charles said "It’s over Long over Hell, the Yankees did win the war"

Cliff laughed "Still hard to convince my mama and a few other folks I know that it’s true But thanks, Charles, that’s great The Yanks are good guys Man, it’s sad to think back, though, huh? We would have wound up being enes would have been back then?" Ashley asked "We ht for the North"

"It was a different time, a different lifestyle," Griffin pointed out "You’re all indignant now about injustice, but you didn’t live back then You didn’t grow up in an econoar"