NEWBURY PARK : Students Hear Tales of Soldier Hardships During Civil War

A pair of Civil War soldiers pitched camp at Sequoia Intermediate School in Newbury Park on Tuesday, captivating their young audience with tales from one of the country’s bloodiest battles.

Dressed in authentic uniforms and wielding rifles and sabers, Civil War experts Dave Kanawah and Jack Wells entertained nearly 100 eighth-graders with living history at Sequoia, the first stop on their four-school tour through Ventura County this week.

“We’re not here to bore you with dates and names,” Kanawah told the students. “We’re going to tell you about how the soldiers lived, about their personal hygiene and whether they had any fun.”

Kanawah and Wells, both participants in the extravagant Civil War re-enactment held at the state’s Fort Tejon State Historic Park every year, said soldiers on both sides faced horrors and hardships during the four-year battle.

Inadequate medical supplies in camp hastened disease and, many times, resulted in the amputation of limbs, Kanawah said. Unsanitary conditions caused lice infestations and dysentery. Outbreaks of measles wiped out entire companies, he said.

On the lighter side, Kanawah said bored soldiers would pelt each other during giant snowball fights sanctioned by their superiors. They would also gamble on anything, including how fast their pet lice could jump off a dinner plate, he said.

“They make history come alive for the kids,” said Sequoia English teacher Fran Hall-Vigne. “The history books are full of factual data, but this is about the people.”

Eighth-grade student Beth Fifield said she has always been interested in the Civil War.

“I’ve read a lot of books about it, but this really helped me,” she said after the program. “I learned a lot more than I already knew.”

Eighth-grade student Chris Manning agreed.

“It’s really neat,” the 12-year-old said. “Especially the part about all the legs and arms that were cut off.”

Kanawah and Wells will be at Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park today, at Rio del Valle Junior High in El Rio on Thursday and at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard on Friday.