On the third day of the engagement, debonair Major General J.E.B. Stewart had finally shown up in time to attempt an attack on the Union rear. The dashing "Boy General" George Armstrong Custer shouting "Come on, you Wolverines!" led the charges against him and although they hadn't thoroughly kicked the Confederate's rear (this part of the battle was a draw) the 7th and 1st Michigan cavalries prevented Stewart from carrying out his mission. Thus ended the first of the reenacted battles, organized by the Living History Education Society (www.alhes.com), scheduled for July 6, commemorating the events of 150 years ago.

Inspired by the exploits of the Civil War reporters and particularly the "special artists" who were embedded with the troops, I traveled to the 150th Gettysburg anniversary reenactment with pencil, paper and clipboard to get some perspective on what it must have been like to walk in their shoes.

It was hot. While I broiled in my T-shirt, vest and shorts, the reenactors must have suffocated in their multiple layers of linen, cotton and wool garments. Fortunately, I brought along lots of water to keep hydrated. Unfortunately, I had not brought binoculars (something a journalist back then could not do without, especially when real bullets were involved).

The "battlefield" was a property close to where the actual conflict was fought. There was so much terrain for the troops to maneuver on, that for us spectators, much of the action seemed to be going on in the next county. This was especially true for General Sickles' Klingle Farm debacle and the Rebel attack on the Yankee position between Culp's Hill and East Cemetery Hill. For those of us on the sidelines, the carpenter ants in the foreground were the advancing Confederates. The line of picnic ants in front of them were the Union's line of defense. The aphids further back were Yankees held in reserve.

In spite of this, I scribbled away furiously as the action unfolded in front of me. Since I had not sketched anything from life since my college days, this was quite a challenge. I began to appreciate the real challenges the 34-year-old Alfred R. Waud, "special artist" for Harper's Weekly must have faced as he sketched the battle at Gettysburg amid the hot weather, hot lead and bursting shells.

Waud fearlessly went on to draw Pickett's charge while Edwin Forbes, a "special" with Frank Leslie's Illustrated News, found himself running for cover. The sketches made on the front lines were then sent to the newspapers for other artists to engrave the scenes on wood blocks. The illustrations and the news accompanying them were soon run off the presses for a public eager to follow the war's latest developments.

Although not at Gettysburg, among the members of this elite "Bohemian Brigade" who covered the war were Thomas Nast (later a famous cartoonist) and Winslow Homer (who went on to become a renowned painter).

Hats off to the thousands of "living history" folks whose interest and dedication to keeping America's past alive continue through events such as this one.

Well, for me, I guess it's back to the drawing board.