Civil War lessons at Bensenville's Fischer Farm

The sounds of cannon fire mixed with the words of Abraham Lincoln and Sojourner Truth Sunday during the final day of the Civil War Re-enactment Weekend at Bensenville Park District's Fischer Farm.

The two-day event provided a living history lesson for visitors who could see firsthand what life was like for soldiers and civilians during the Civil War through a series of drills, skirmishes and first-person presentations by re-enactors portraying people of the time.

Re-enactors portraying soldiers from both sides of the conflict were on hand to talk about life in the field. Actors portraying Lincoln and Truth - an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist who was born into slavery but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826 - shared some of their most inspiring words.

Even the Battlefield Balladeers performed music of the time.