While the annual Civil War Days event in San Benito County is meant to act out the casualties that come with war, one of the participants in Sunday’s second and last battle was injured by a knife, prompting organizers to end the portrayal well before its completion.
See video below from the reenactment being halted, and the story continues down the page.
The injury was described as minor after the commanding officer in the Union Army apparently cut himself with a knife of some kind. It was during the 1 p.m. battle reenactment at the Tres Pinos park, and it was the fourth and final battle scene of the two-day event put on by the National Civil War Association.
There was initial confusion as to whether the “cease fire” was part of the act or a real injury, but minutes later organizers decided to call off the battle in order to tend to the injured actor. It happened as the actors portraying the Confederate Army were pushing back the Union Army with fake gunfire, and while women townsfolk had been helping to simulate the firing of a cannon toward soldiers with the Union.
“It was just a cut to the hand. I guess someone had a knife,” said participant Charles Kenyon. “You’re supposed to have them put away, secured safely. I don’t know what happened. I was down here. Somehow he got his finger cut, but it’s being taken care of. There’s no other injuries, and he should be OK.”
Kenyon said such injuries are very uncommon.
“I’ve never seen this happen. I’ve been doing this for years,” he said.
He said since participants didn’t know how bad the injury was, it was “just for the best to stop.”
“It really is a bummer because we had 25 more minutes of stuff to do,” he said.
