Erika Wilhite
Published: February 22, 2006
“The Great Civil War Exposition Theater Company” came to PJC’s Pensacola Campus Student Center on Thursday, Feb 23. The “Exposition” consists of living historians Steve Gipson and Michael Pleasant, who are touring the U.S. giving presentations about the Civil War.
“We’ve been from Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to Vicksburg in Mississippi,” said Pleasant, who describes the show as “not politically correct” because “we tell the truth – not just the Northern or Southern side, but both sides of the story.”
The exposition consists of a conversation between two brothers, one a Union colonel and the other a Confederate corporal, who meet in the Union camp after dark to quarrel about politics and reminisce about “home”, a plantation in Sequatchie Valley, Tenn.
Occasionally the show felt more like a comedy sketch than a history lesson, with Gipson and Pleasant trading barbs and insults between colorful anecdotes and details about U.S. history in general, and the Civil War in particular. The presentation was geared toward the entire audience, ranging from pre-schoolers to seniors, and tended to emphasize the fact that the U.S. has changed a great deal since the 1860s and that historians are too quick to put a contemporary slant on history.
Also, Gipson focused on the fact that “history written by whites for whites” has given the impression that African and Native Americans had no part in the war, or that they only fought on the Union side, and emphasized the importance of restoring the truth to history texts.
“We try not to read modern history books,” said Pleasant, explaining that he and Gipson only study first-hand accounts of the Civil War in order to glean as much of the truth as possible from the people who actually lived through the events. “When you assimilate both sides of the story, you get a true picture of what happened.”
“We were glad that the community turned out,” added Gipson, “But we’re always disappointed that more students don’t show up.”
Sequatchie Valley is in fact the real-life home of neighbors Gipson and Pleasant, who have purchased a period-style church in the area and are turning it into Civil War Dinner Theater, serving authentic cuisine in an authentic setting. Gipson currently lives in and operates the Button Willow Plantation Civil War Living History Museum, which he built to 19th century specifications and furnished with period furniture, hiding all modern conveniences. You may visit his website at https://www.buttonwillowplantation.com/.