He came to talk about the Civil War, not to fight it.

Federalist Sgt. Steve Mata leaned on a porch rail at the Drum Barracks in Wilmington and puffed slowly on his long-stemmed clay pipe, his 1816 cap-and-ball rifle by his side. Though he was wearing long underwear, a blue wool uniform and 20-pound backpack in the morning sun, Mata said he felt pretty comfortable.

Although Mata, 26, and several of his army buddies from the 55th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) were prepared for battle Saturday, they came to the Fourth of July picnic to talk about the Civil War, not to re-enact it.

They were on hand to mingle with visitors to the Civil War museum, a former Army post built in 1861, and to answer questions about that period of U.S history.

Mata and his unit participate in mock battles staged by Civil War buffs around the country, but Mata said: “I really enjoy telling people about it now instead of fighting the battles.”

Mata has been involved in Civil War reenactments since 1976, when he and his parents went to see a mock battle staged at Ft. Tejon State Historic Park near Gorman. Mata said he has been hooked ever since.

“Something inside of me just clicked and I knew that it was for me,” he said.

Mata became such an avid Civil War buff, he says, that he often got kicked out his high school history class for arguing with his teachers about facts of the war. Several years ago he formed his own brigade, the 55th OVI, named in honor of relatives who fought in the war.

“I was really disgusted with the way my high school teachers skimmed that period. I mean, the slave trade issue alone between 1840 and 1870 is worth a week,” he said.

Now, as a guest speaker, “I get to go to schools and talk all I want about it,” he said.

He also gets to fight the war all he wants. A welder by trade, the Torrance resident has fought in more than 200 mock battles since he started playing soldier--more battles than there actually were during the war.

“I’ve been in every major battle there was,” Mata said. “I’ve been in the battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, Shylock, Tenn., Antietam, Md., and a lot that didn’t even exist.” Some have involved more than 16,000 participants and lasted more than three hours.

Although the battles are mock, some of Mata’s injuries are painfully real.

Six weeks ago he fought in Virginia and caught Lyme disease from a tick, which hospitalized him for a week. A year ago, a wooden spike cut through his leg, just below the knee, during the filming of a Civil War battle in Mississippi. The injury required surgery, but Mata has no permanent damage from it.

“Just the price of fame, I guess,” he said.

Despite those hazards, Mata plans to fight again at Ft. Tejon this month, and he is especially excited about a mock battle planned in Atlanta in September. More than 6,000 Civil War buffs are expected to be there.

“I’m always up for a big fight,” Mata said.