eat. drink. meet abe lincoln.

This evening I joined several of my friends, and we drove out to Colerain. One of our theology professors, James Snyder (on the right in the picture), is an absolutely head-over-heels Civil War fanatic (and he curses those bloody “Yankees”). We got to his house, a restored Carriage Coach Inn from the 1800s, and his wife led us into the living room. The room was drenched in the aroma of candles, and dozens upon dozens of muskets, along with Civil War relics, lined the walls. We were taken outside, and Snyder—along with the professor of Church History, Rick Cherok (on the left in the picture)—stood in front of an 1830s log cabin in the backyard. They were dressed up in clothing from the Antebellum time period (the period before the Civil War). They introduced a special guest, and out of the cabin stepped Abraham Lincoln himself! We built a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, leaned back on bales and hay and listened as Abraham Lincoln talked about his life and times. Everyone then had the opportunity to ask him a question. Everyone’s questions were very intellectual, and it was hilarious when someone questioned his war-time practices of suspending civil liberties as unconstitutional; Lincoln looked at him in the eyes, asked, “Are you familiar with the Constitution?” My friend said, “Yes.” Lincoln then expounded upon a remote location in the Constitution allowing him to suspend civil liberties in time of war; my other friend leaned over and whispered to him, “You just got owned.” Ha. Afterwards, Snyder—who reenacts Civil War battles in his free time—arranged the thirteen of us into rank and file, taught us several marching maneuvers, and then proceeded to instruct us on how to do a bayonet charge against an entrenched enemy position. It was fantastic. The whole ordeal was part of a class, “The Civil War Experience.” While I’m not actually in the class, I was able to tag along. It was a great time.