Idiots... I have seen some of these re-enactments. Most of the re-enactors are very responsible with their weapons, but these are functional weapons in every sense of the word. As a general rule, I don't point a weapon at anything I don't plan on killing. You don't play with guns.
RICHMOND, Va. - In the passionate world of Civil War re-enactors, authenticity is everything — from uniforms with historically correct stitching to hardtack made from scratch.
A battle re-enactment last month pushed realism to the limits: A retired New York City police officer portraying a Union soldier for a documentary film was shot in the shoulder, possibly by a Confederate re-enactor.
The shooting sent the 73-year-old to the hospital and left the Isle of Wight Sheriff's Office in rural southeastern Virginia with a Civil War-style CSI case. Investigators used film to piece together what happened and have narrowed a suspect to one re-enactor.
The Sept. 27 injury also sent ripples through the tight-knit re-enactment community, which can be understandably sensitive to public perceptions of thousands of enthusiasts toting swords and firearms in roughhewn uniforms, often on horseback.
"We were sort of freaked out because this hits the hobby hard," said Ed Hooper, editor of Camp Chase Gazette, a monthly magazine aimed at re-enactors. "It is so out of the norm.
Lord was shot in the shoulder while portraying a member of the 7th New York Cavalry. The unit answered an Internet casting call from a film company called Alderwerks.
Officials with the Virginia Film Office were not familiar with the company or the director, listed on the casting call as Matthew Burchfield, who was credited as a casting assistant on director Terrence Malick's 2006 film "The New World," starring Colin Farrell and Christian Bale.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Burchfield declined to discuss specifics of the filming because of the investigation.
"We are thankful for Mr. Lord's recovery and continue to keep him in our thoughts," Burchfield wrote. "We have been in full co-operation with the investigators on this case and await their findings."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27372438/?GT1=43001