Waterloo Reenactment Draws Thousands

Actors re-enact the battle of Waterloo in Waterloo, Belgium, Saturday June 16, 2007. The Battle of Waterloo, fought on 18 June 1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His defeat put a final end to his rule as Emperor of France. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (Geert Vanden Wijngaert - AP)

The reenactors set up their camp on the grounds of Hougoumont, still a working family farm.

Nearly 1,000 women, mostly wives and girlfriends, accompanied these weekend warriors, much like the women who followed armies on their campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars. Also in period costume, they set about preparing period food _ stews and sausages cooked over wood fires _ and mending uniforms.

"The soldiers then ate one-pot meals with horsemeat, rabbit or other game, so we prepare similar foods," said Lesley Collins, who was chopping meat for the evening meal. "We enjoy this as much as the men, and the kids love running around the camp playing soldiers or drummer-boys."

The reenactors usually belong to individual clubs that represent specific military units from various wars. Members meet once or twice a month to practice drilling, fighting and even "dying."

"It's just huge fun," said David Dore, a London businessman who belongs to a society that portrays the 17th Lancers cavalry regiment. He said that in the last two years, his group joined numerous reenactments, including the Charge of the Light Brigade in the "Valley of Death" on the Crimean Peninsula and a Boer War battle in South Africa.

But passion for this pastime is inevitably tempered by finances. A complete kit of uniform, boots, weapons and other trappings for just one historical period costs between $2,660-$5,320, so many reenactors stick to one period costume. Those with deeper pockets can buy more expensive uniforms like the cavalry outfits, typically costing more than $6,650, or acquire kits from several periods.

"We all have to like history, but the main attraction is the social side of things," said Frederich Loggen of the Dutch town of Deventer. "We become good friends here."

Alison Strait, the wife of a cavalryman, described the hobby as the ultimate boys' club.

"Not only do they get to hang out with their friends, they get to dress up as soldiers and fight battles," she said.