Cantigny re-enactment offers slice of Civil War life

“Jesse Martin” leads a simple life. A DuPage County farmer, he says he has spent more of his life behind a horse and plows than he has riding one.

He did not graduate West Point. He does not have friends in high places. Instead, he rose to the rank of cavalry chief in the Civil War because of his experience in the Mexican-American War in the 1840s.

That's the back story Warrenville resident Jesse Martinez, 39, holds to on the battlefield.

The story has evolved during his 11 years as a Civil War re-enactor and, he says, “is essentially a part of me out there.”

“It is a character that has been developing for years and based on the experience of real officers,” he said. “It keeps on evolving as I gain new information.”

Martinez will be among between 100 and 125 Civil War-era re-enactors and impersonators expected on the grounds of the First Division Museum at Cantigny this weekend. The activities will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, on the grounds of the museum, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.

A small skirmish will be among the many activities during the event's two days and Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman impersonators will roam the grounds.

Although the skirmishes remain popular among attendees, Martinez said his love for military strategy and history drives him to participate in eight to 10 re-enactment events per year. Martinez usually serves in a leadership role during the events.

He spends a lot of his time reading and learning military tactics of the Civil War era, generally the 1860s. Additionally, he has pored over many actual diaries of soldiers of the day, which have helped him create his alter ego, “Jesse Martin.”

“They give you a perspective of what they felt when they were in that situation,” he said.

The re-enactors will include infantry, artillery, cavalry without horses and medical soldiers from the 1st Illinois Brigade Volunteers. This will be the third straight year the brigade will attend the re-enactment, held in conjunction with a Civil War Symposium on Saturday at the museum.

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War officially began when Confederate soldiers opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C. Several months later, many Illinois farmers and soldiers were sent east for the fight.

Martinez said the skirmish portion of the re-enactment portrays what might have happened if patrols from opposing sides had met, with each of the patrols advancing shoulder-to-shoulder.

But for the most part, Martinez and other re-enactors at Cantigny will present what he calls “generic” profiles of Civil War-era soldiers.

Martinez said that provides visitors a clear picture of life at that time, with much of the Cantigny show highlighting the soldiers' everyday lives.

“It's a snapshot of what life was like for the Civil War soldier,” he said. “It gives visitors an opportunity to interact with people who have studied this. My main goal is to educate the public as to what happened, what life was like and keep the memory of those who served to preserve our country back then and kept our nation united.”

If you go

What: Civil War period Re-enactment

When: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1; 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2

Where: First Division Museum at Cantigny, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton

Cost: Free with normal parking fee at the park

Info: firstdivisionmuseum.org or (630) 260-8185