A reenactor waves a confederate flag on the battlefield during the 160th reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, at Daniel Lady Farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on June 30, 2023. The Battle of Gettysburg, which is considered to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on US soil, occurred from July 1-July 3, 1863 during the US Civil War. Approximately 10,000 Union and Confederate troops were left dead, and another 30,000 wounded. Each year, the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association holds a reenactment on the weekend closest to the original battle, hosting living history demonstrations and military reenactments to help teach people the history of the Civil War battle. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Gerald Leonard Drake, a former Civil War reenactor from Winchester, Va., has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for mailing threatening letters and planting a pipe bomb at the Cedar Creek Battlefield during a Civil War reenactment event in 2017.
  • Drake, 64, pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered explosive device and stalking in April 2023.
  • He sent threatening letters claiming to be a member of Antifa, referencing the Unite the Right riots in Charlottesville, and admitted to manufacturing a pipe bomb with dangerous explosive contents, which was discovered during the reenactment event and later rendered safe by authorities.  
Read More