Home video brings 1938 Civil War reunion to life

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- One hundred and fifty-six years ago, America was ripped apart by the greatest conflict it had ever seen. Two years into the Civil War there was no end in sight, and rebel forces were making headway.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Confederacy, as General Robert E. Lee marched northward through the Shenandoah Valley with designs on penetrating deep into Pennsylvania.

Over the course of three days, Union and Confederate armies suffered between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties, making Gettysburg the most costly battle in U.S. history.

The relatively new technology of still photography allowed people to witness the horrors of war on a large scale for the first time, but the ability to capture these soldiers in motion did not exist, and would not exist for another generation.

Seventy-five years after the Battle of Gettysburg, the surviving members on both sides of the Civil War gathered on the battlefield one last time.

From July 1 to July 5 of 1938, nearly 2,000 Civil War veterans—including around 25 from the battle itself--descended on Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the 75th anniversary of the battle, this time encamped together, sharing the battlefield not in conflict, but in remembrance.

Louisville resident Ron Crimm, now in his 80s and retired from the Kentucky state legislature, where he served for 20 years, was just three-years-old when his father took him to the 1938 reunion to get a first-hand account of an historic generation that was quickly fading away.

“My dad just thought it was important that I be exposed to this thing. And as it ends up it was important. It was very important. I’m thrilled to be able to say I shook hands with men who fought in the Civil War," Crimm said.

By this time, motion picture technology had progressed to the point where people could buy a hand-held movie camera, and Crimm’s father had one--an 8mm Keystone. He took the camera along with him to capture the Civil War veterans in action as they returned to the battlefield. The resulting film had been forgotten in storage for years, until Ron and his wife Phyllis rediscovered it during a recent move.

[grayfoxx]

This gives you an idea of how young our nation really is. That a man living today shook hands with Civil War veterans who, when they were young children, could have shaken the hands of veterans of the American Revolution.

[kristov]

Take your children and grandchildren to meet a WWII veteran. Time is running out.

[KM-oiks]

There is just something about watching old people interact with very young people....that little salute, and the old man saluting back....warms my heart.

[lpdog]

To reach your hand across the gulf of time and shake hands with a living civil war vet, beyond amazing

[Bumper]

Today WWII vets are about the same age as these men in this film.

[henerymag]

I'm proud to have known and met soldiers of WW1. All have gone now.

[tikitavi]

I am 60 now, and knew a veteran of the Spanish American war.

[CTeale]

No matter what his father did, from that day forward, he was a great dad! What a gift to leave for your child.

[bracken]

At this reunion in 1938, a lot of the Civil War veterans are in their 80's or 90's but during the Civil War they were only around 17 or 18. Amazing.

[wizardofahhhs]

"Shaking hands with history", I couldn't have summed it up better myself.

[danielcooper]

"I'm thrilled to say I shook hands with men who fought in the civil war."
Mind blown 🤯. What a snapshot of history!

[fiddlemusik]

RIP Ron Crimm; 3/11/35 - 8/25/22. We share a birthday, different years. I am sorry to have never met the man who shook the hands of CW veterans. What a moving video; a national treasure.

[retiredguyadventures]

The veteran at 4:11 is wearing a deer tail on his hat indicating he was a member of the Pennsylvania Bucktail Brigade that consisted of the 143, 149 and 150th PVI. My grandfather served with the 149th Pennsylvania Bucktails and fought at Gettysburg and possibly knew this gentleman...

[patrickbush]

I recently buried my father he's a World War II veteran. He was 14 years old when he went to war everybody lied about it their age in those days to get off the farm. He told me so many stories about the old Civil War veterans living in the streets begging for food or shelter. So many of these Brave Lads froze to death in the winter in their final years.

[ericwilliams]

A wonderful bit of film. As the generations fade away its always the case of "If only I'd asked them questions about their youth". I was brought up by my grandfather - a WW1 veteran, who passed away when I was 16 (1976). When he very rarely mentioned the war I just wasn't at all interested - I didn't care, then a few years later, after he'd gone, I tried to find out things about his time in the trenches....and it was too damn late.
If you are now an old timer and want your life to be remembered, try talking to kids, and if they're not bothered then just write it all down. There will be a time when they are interested but you won't be around to tell them.

[Lovememore]

This gentleman has recently passed but what an amazing video! So glad he shared it. Rip Ron

[PaulJordan]

Wow. Shaking hands of a Civil War Veteran🇺🇸is amazing to hear in 2018.

[fiveofever]

This was awesome! One day in the near future some 85 year old man will say "I shook the hand of a man who fought in WW2"

[danschneider]

I'm so glad when I was a kid I spent so much time hanging out at the VFW post with my grandfather. Got to meet great WW2, Korea and being this was 25ish years ago, even a few WW1 veterans. They saw so much and gave so much. God bless them

[krakon]

I feel honored to say that when I was a tiny boy there were still a few Civil War vets alive on this earth with me. It's wild to think about.