Living History is not for everyone. Being a Living Historian is not the same as being a Re-enactor. We don’t burn powder and we don’t recreate battles except through the “eyes” of our member’s story telling talents. In that regard, we are looking for a few special people to tell the story of the Civil War from the Union perspective, but more specifically, high-profile individuals from the period and those willing to enter the hobby in a supporting role as a staff officer, NCO, or enlisted personnel.
Our mission is straightforward. In brief, to honor the men; preserve the sacred ground; and educate the public. The Civil War was the single greatest experience of a generation and it redefined the nation. Among its many lessons, two are very clear. The Union is perpetual and ALL men are created equal. We take very seriously a mandate to connect the public to those lessons and that experience – America’s epic Homeric “Odyssey’ – through the historical personalities we portray.
The people we look for share a passion to take on that challenge, and it is not an easy one. Uniforms are expensive – often exceeding $1,000. Research and study is time consuming and ongoing. An inclination to and a gift for public speaking is a requirement. Our rules of conduct are firm – in short, no alcohol, bad language, or bad behavior. Painting the whole “canvas” of the Civil War era — on the battlefield & on the home front— through the many different roles and perspectives of its participants — is an important objective.
If being a Living Historian is something you’re committed to, and you would like to be considered for membership, then filling out an application is the next step. If you click on and fill out the On-Line application and submit it, you are agreeing that you have read, understand, and agree to our Rules.
Living Historians Creed
“We are people to whom the past is forever speaking. We listen to it because we cannot help ourselves, for the past speaks to us with many voices. Far out of that dark nowhere which is the time before we were born, men who were flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone went through fire and storm to break a path to the future. We are part of the future they died for; they are part of the past that brought the future. What they did–the lives they lived, the sacrifices they made, the stories they told and the songs they sang and, finally, the deaths they died–make up a part of our own experience. We cannot cut ourselves off from it. It is as real to us as something that happened last week. It is a basic part of our heritage as Americans.”
—Bruce Catton