Military reenactments are strange. Most weekends, bloodless versions of famous battles are recreated by enthusiasts across the country, many of whom consider themselves “living historians”. While the historical value of military reenactments is debatable, the photographs in this ongoing project offer a glimpse into this masculinist world of emotionality and nostalgia.

Historians may dismiss war reenactments as perverse, but many reenactors see this activity as a celebration of the common soldier, the war-time version of “the forgotten man”. Such nostalgia makes it easier to offer a less thorny presentation of terrible events, occluding politics, civilian devastation, trauma, or war crimes. Instead reenactors focus their attention on the historical accuracy of their “impression”. They go to great expense to ensure that their uniforms accurate and their weapons are authentic. Many take equal pride in their ability to share encyclopedic knowledge of their impression to the smallest detail. And weekend reenactments offer men camaraderie outside the bounds of middle-class domesticity.

While I think there is humor in some of these photos (and in the events themselves) I’m not dismissive of this activity. The strangeness comes from their social irony. Of course there’s an alarming display of nostalgic militarism, largely untethered from the devastation of war, but they’re typically portrayed by enthusiastic, friendly people. Perhaps in other words portrayed by believers who see no contradiction in what they do, believing instead they champion a public service project that’s historical rather than propagandistic.

Still, public military reenactments are almost as old as war itself and show no sign of waning today. Considering this male-dominated form of community theater is worthwhile, particularly as it reflects and validates militarism and its pervasive influence in almost every corner of American life.