The American Civil War Experience strives to bring professional-grade Civil War living history experiences to the public. What exactly does "professional-grade" look like? We have taken inspiration from several museums who specialize in living history, such as Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia and Genesee Country Village and Museum in New York. We have also visited a great many Civil War battlefields, historic sites, and museums and have found that most only have intermittent and small-scale living history programs. This creates a situation where most visitors to places like battlefields leave having seen an empty field or hillside, where they were told that great and terrible events occurred a long time ago, but without any true understanding. The ACWE's mission is to bring the events of the Civil War historic sites to life by creating an accurate historical environment populated with living, breathing people and invinting vistors to see the front lines of our nation's greatest conflict with their own eyes. Whether it is for an event that we host, for a battlefield or museum, or just for a local school, we strive to make time travel a reality; not by going back in time, but by bringing the past into the present.
What makes the ACWE different from other living history organizations? Most existing organizations, no matter which era they portray, are strictly an association for hobbyists. Members are usually close freinds, and new members are recruited by word of mouth. Each member is expected to purchase and maintain their own set of clothing and equipment (costing thousands of dollars), with some veteran members loaning assorted extras from their own collections to incoming recruits. Recruits struggle to obtain quality gear from various sources, including safe and reliable equipment.
Additionally, living history events are often located far from population centers, and must expend a great deal of time and resources organizing numerous desperate organizations and catering to individual whims and personality conflicts in order to create a cohesive event. The result can be events of varying quality and accuracy at locations far away from the people who they are organized to benefit: the average American family.
In short, the current living history environment proves to be inaccessible to new performers and visitors alike, varying in historical accuracy, and an unprofessional system generally. Instead, the ACWE seeks to host its own events and support as many others as we can with Accessibility, Accuracy, and Professionalism in mind.
About the
Experience
Our Mission
The mission of the American Civil War Experience is to give Americans a personal connection to our nation’s struggle for a new birth of freedom.
Our Vision
The American Civil War Experience’s vision is to become a self-sustaining living history attraction recognized throughout the DFW metroplex as a premier heritage event – welcoming 500 visitors per day, supporting regional and national living history events, and inspiring new generations through immersive, story-driven experiences.
Our Background
The American Civil War Experience is dedicated to improving America’s understanding of its Civil War through living history and reenactment. Our approach focuses on providing professional-grade, immersive living history experiences at events locally, around the region, and across the nation. In this authentic historical environment, both our volunteer performers and our audience gain a new appreciation for our nation’s defining conflict and its impact on our lives today. We strive to provide a safe, exciting, and enriching experience for our performers, as well as an historically accurate, immersive, and eye-opening experience for our audiences.
Around the time of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, our founders noted several issues surrounding the living history community and the state of historical understanding in the nation. First, the reenactment community (which came of age in the 1960’s and 1970’s), was greatly in need of a new generation of enthusiasts, improved organization and training methods, and an update to its historical authenticity standards. Additionally, national events had exposed the fact that the public was greatly in need of of a deeper and more clear understanding of the War Between the States and its impact upon the present. Finally, as the public has begun to embrace the value of immersive experiences and personal relevancy in education, it is obvious that living history still has a tremendous role to play in preserving our nation's history. These observations, combined with our love of the United States and all its people, inspired the creation of the American Civil War Experience. The rest, you could say, is history.
What Makes Us Different
What Makes Us
Different
Accessibility, accuracy, and professionalism — the three pillars that define the ACWE experience.
Our Values
The Principles We
Live By
Honor
We hold ourselves to the highest of standards at all times, and we seek to honor the sacrifice of the all those who struggled in our nation's greatest trial.
Courage
We seek to emulate the bravery and conviction of the soldiers and civilians who served, and we are determined to bravely tell the historical truth, no matter what.
Comradery
Our bonds of friendship are our greatest asset, and it is our hope to help our visitors to feel a comradeship with all who witnessed the Civil War first-hand, and to carry that connection with history with them in their everyday life.
Be part of the story
Whether as a performer, a visitor, or a supporter — there's a role for everyone in bringing this history to life.