By Andy Dahn
DOWNS -The Civil War is coming to Downs.
Tri-Valley Schools will reenact a battle Friday on the school’s practice football field, in which students will portray members of the Confederate and Union armies. Tri-Valley history teacher Mark McBride told WJBC’s Terry James the reenactment will be as realistic as possible, and that means firing cannons and rifles.

“We shoot a blank round with black powder,” McBride said. “It would be about half of a round that it would normally take to fire a real bullet out of it. And safety is one of our main concerns. Everyone has to be trained in safety before we allow them to go out on the battlefield.”

McBride said a student portraying a doctor will also be on the scene.

“He has his surgeons instruments, his bone saws and retractors,” said McBride. “And he usually gets one of the students that has been wounded on the battlefield to be carried over and he’ll go through and perform a full amputation in front of the students.”

The battle will begin at noon and will be followed by a show displaying fashion of the time and music from a Civil War era band.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].