As soon as the students walked outside, they were enlisted. After all, during the War Between the States, good infantrymen were hard to find.
Scott Washburn, captain of the small battalion, had the students line up and learn to "double rank," or line up in two rows.
"Company, right dress," Washburn yelled, and the two rows of students, somewhat confused, turned to the right.
"March. Right. Left. Right. Left," Washburn commanded his modern-day crew.
It was all part of an innovative history lesson provided by local Civil War re-enactment enthusiasts.
Washburn, who usually works as an engineer, is a West Chester resident who, along with his wife, Rosemary, and friends Tim Friswell of New Castle, Del., and Chuck Lindvig of Middletown, Del., occasionally travels to schools to demonstrate the weapons, uniforms and atmosphere of the Civil War.
As the students sat on the grass, Washburn told them about the soldiers' different uniforms.
"They were wool, and it was very hot," he said.
"We are the infantry, so we had to walk everywhere we went. Look at my shoes. They are made of hard leather. The soles are very heavy and are attached with wooden pegs," Washburn told the students.
The students learned about the food that soldiers had to eat when they were in battle: salted pork, hardtack (unleavened bread made in very hard, large wafers), beans and split peas.
"Notoriously, this food was full of bugs and stuff," said Lindvig.
"Oh, gross," came a moan from the students.
They learned about the unsanitary conditions of the battlefield and the crude medical methods, but the students' favorite display was the discharging of the muskets.
