CIVIL WAR COMBAT:
First Manassas
Location shooting for this episode of the History Channel series took
place at Lady Farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in early September, 2001.
Photo above shows the dolly setup for a sequence in which Union soldiers
in "Zouave" uniforms were to be chased down by a squad of Confederate
cavalry.
The hectic Union retreat from Manassas (also known as the Battle of
Bull Run) was called by many a "rout." It was characterized as
"The Bull Run Races," or "The Great Skeedaddle." Here's
a shot from our staging of the battle's end.
Two cameras were used simultaneously through much of the shooting.
Above, Tim Murray mans the Betacam, Tom Collins shoots with DV.
The blood of the battle was washed away by a Virginia rain on
the night after the fighting. Our rain was a lawn sprinkler held on a second
story balcony of a house adjacent to this plot of grass.
Here is a "deer stand" used by hunters on Lady Farm. It was
suggested to me that this would be a good place to get a high angle shot.
I climbed to the top, but at the crossbar indicated, lost my footing on
the way down. The result is seen below:
Six (count'em) stitches above my left eye. The unshaven look was intentional
(my attempt to blend in with the re-enactors). Once I had an injury to show
off, however, the stubble was unnecessary:
....So, here is the freshly-shaven version, with the bruising spreading
a few hours later. I was back on the set in only two hours, by the way.
...And, in case you're wondering, the Confederates STILL won.