Battle of Selma becomes living history lesson

SELMA – When James Hammonds volunteered to help make the Battle of Selma re-enactment a success, he never dreamed he’d be at it for much of the quarter century that followed.

Picture-perfect weather is predicted for this weekend’s version that will feature hundreds of Civil War re-enactors wearing blue and gray not far from the actual April 2, 1865, battle site.

Hundreds of students from throughout Alabama toured the area Thursday, with a similar number expected today. Hammonds was one happy man as he watched them walk from one station to another.

“What we’re doing here is putting on a play with 700 performers over a three-day period,” he said. “We’re also bringing in a lot of much-needed money for our local businesses.”

Hammonds, who has grown a long white beard befitting his role as a Confederate artillery officer, describes himself as a “gentleman farmer,” but with one major difference. He has a direct connection to America’s bloodiest conflict.

Some of his ancestors died in the Civil War, and that drives him to work even harder as planning begins long before the Battle of Selma re-enactment — one of Alabama’s most popular outdoor events — is held each April.

“Reading from a book is one thing, but until you hear a cannon’s roar or feel the sleeve of a jacket like one worn in the Civil War, you can’t truly understand what it must have been like,” said Hammonds, 59.

Tuscaloosa elementary school teacher Karen Scroggins couldn’t agree more. Her feelings mirrored his as she and her students listened to a description of just how deadly a solid shot cannon ball could be during a four-year conflict that claimed more than 600,000 lives.

“Now, when we talk about it, our students will have a visual picture about a cannon’s destructive force,” she said. “They’ll never forget that.”

Scroggins and other teachers escorted hundreds of elementary school students to a Selma that had, in effect, become an outdoor history book.

The Battle of Selma didn’t last long and could hardly be compared with the war’s bloodiest battles, but it is considered by history buffs to be Alabama’s primary Civil War site.

Selma was one of only two weapons manufacturing centers for the South during the Civil War, and as such, many Yankee troops died as a result of the bullets and bayonets manufactured here.

If you’re not doing anything special Sunday afternoon, come on over to watch a re-enactment that will take you back 149 years.

The action begins at 2 p.m. but be here an hour earlier to get a good seat on slopes overlooking the battle site. Tickets are only $7.