• Article Photo. Mr. Alex Vasquez and 8th grader Emma Lippmann demonstrate Civil War weapon firing Friday at VSMS.
    Mr. Alex Vasquez and 8th grader Emma Lippmann demonstrate Civil War weapon firing Friday at VSMS.
  • Article Photo. Each year, Mr. Vasquez takes 8th grade students outside for Civil War history lessons and marches.
    Each year, Mr. Vasquez takes 8th grade students outside for Civil War history lessons and marches.
  • Article Photo. Emma Lippmann helps Mr. Vasquez demonstrate the standard Civil War weapon firing stance.
    Emma Lippmann helps Mr. Vasquez demonstrate the standard Civil War weapon firing stance.
  • Article Photo. Mr. Vasquez also taught the students the various weapon carry positions, including shoulder carry.
    Mr. Vasquez also taught the students the various weapon carry positions, including shoulder carry.

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 is also 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. 

On Friday, the teacher took his students outside at VSMS, where he showed them how to march and how to soldiers formed in lines to fire their muzzle-loading weapons.

Student Emma Lippmann is barely taller than the rifle she was holding during the demonstrations Friday afternoon. Mr. Vasquez asked her to carry the rifle as he showed the students the different ways to carry weapons as well as the stance used to fire them. 

He also taught them how to march, and explained 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.