News Civil War demonstration Thursday at VSMS; public invited

It's mostly a coincidence that Alex Vasquez has his students learning to march like Civil War soldiers late in May, just as Americans are preparing for Memorial Day.
But the timing is appropriate.
Mr. Vasquez is the grandson of a World War II veteran and great-great-great grandson of a soldier who survived being shot in the face during the Civil War. He also has been a Civil War re-enactor whose unit (Scott's Tennessee Battery) has been involved in dozens of re-enactments and even some historical presentations and Civil War movies.
Each year, Mr. Vasquez teaches Civil War history late in the spring. The lessons include demonstrations of the equipment Vasquez uses in his Civil War demonstration. He leads his 8th-grade students outside, where he shows them how to march and how to soldiers formed in lines to fire their muzzle-loading weapons. He also explaines the reasons for the different marching steps that soldiers were required to learn.
In previous lessons, Vasquez has told students that his uniform looks virtually the same as those worn by Civil War soldiers. The only things that would be different, he said, are the gold wedding band he wears and gold fillings in his teeth.
This year, Vasquez is inviting the public to see these presentations.
V-S 8th grade Civil War Day will be Thursday, May 17. The 8th grade classes will be shown the equipment and drill of an Iowa soldier during the Civil War. Part of this demonstration will involve the blank firing of a musket. This drill is open to any interested spectators in the field behind the Middle School; approximate times are 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, and 1:30.