Mr. Reighard, AP US history teacher at Riverbend, partakes in many reenactments, both from the Civil War and Revolutionary War.He got involved in the reenactments in 1988 because one of his old friends who was doing it for a while, invited Mr Reighard to join. He agreed because of his fascination with black powder weapons and his vast interest in history.
Mr. Reighard continues to participate in reenactments because, “I wanted a deeper understanding to how it was in those times. One of the reasons he became a teacher is because of the reenactments. “He said,”It pushed me to become a teacher.” He soon realized that he had a connection to the Civil War with about a dozen relatives who all took part in it. Each year he tries to do a least one reenactment, because he believes they are a good representation of history. “My favorite part is always the vast amount of educating others along with myself,” he said.
Mr. Reighard’s main focus is authenticity. He is constantly striving to be authentic by making his uniform standard to the time with wool,a jacket, socks,a hat, and pants along with authentic shoes and pouches. Participating in reenactments can also come with great danger.
Because of the growing controversy that surrounds the rebel flag,some reenactments have been known to have been canceled this past year. Mr.Reighard commented saying that.
As time moves on, so does Mr. Reighard in his push to educate his students with true passion and his historical love for Fredericksburg.