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Arts & Entertainment

Musket Fire in Wilton

High School senior Michael Kaelin is part of CT's 14th Infantry Regiment that spent all day Saturday re-enacting soldiers' campgrounds, drills and gunfire.

A Wilton teen was responsible for gunshots fired Saturday at the Wilton Historical Society, but thankfully it was all show for history’s sake.

The Historical Society hosted Connecticut’s 14th Infantry Regiment for a Civil War re-enactment, with events organized in large part by Wilton High School senior Michael Kaelin.

Kaelin and his fellow infantry members helped bring history to life with an all-day encampment by the regiment on the Historical Society grounds. Visitors were able to watch the men execute military drills and firing demonstrations and later interact with the soldiers as they re-enacted typical camp life of a Civil War union soldier.

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“The Civil War stands out because it was such a national tragedy,” says Kaelin of his motivation to make the day of history come to life. “In terms of the development of the United States it really was incredibly important to how we ended up being who we are today. So I think it’s really important that people are educated about it and I think this is one of the best ways to do that.”

The day also saw fellow Wilton High School senior Bryan Caswell present a lecture on the Civil War. 

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The actors wore period-realistic wool uniforms and carried equipment, including musket rifles, similar to what soldiers of the era would have used. However, for the demonstrations, the men used paper gunpowder cartridges rather than real bullets.

Wilton Historical Trustee Dan Kinley said it was a great, three-dimensional way to tell the story to visitors.

“The Wilton Historical Society was happy to provide the grounds and it fit perfectly with the current Civil War exhibit we have now," he said.

The society’s current exhibit, “America’s Civil War Retrospective,” timed for the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, is scheduled through May 13.

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