Battlefield classroom
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on May 10, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Randy Sauls, left foreground, and Kerry Thompson demonstrate the shoulder arms technique for holding a musket during a walking tour given to students from Tommy's Road Elementary and St. Mary Catholic School on Friday at the site of the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge. Students also enjoyed a cannon demonstration.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Ruthie Thompson, 10, tastes honeysuckle at the battle site while on a walking tour with her classmates. Ruthie has been participating in re-enactments with her father, Kerry, since she was 3 years old.
Children's screams echoed across the battlefield long after the smoke of the cannon faded.
They cheered as Kerry Thompson and his friends reloaded it for another demonstration.
On Friday, Tommy's Road Elementary's fourth-grade and St. Mary Catholic School's sixth-grade classes were transported back in time to the Civil War and the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge.
Randy Sauls and Thompson dressed in period garb and led the tour of the battlefield.
Thompson wore the blue Union uniform while Sauls wore the mustard Confederate colors.
"It should have been called the Battle of Blue and Tan, instead of Blue and Gray," he explained to the students.
This was the second field trip Sauls has led this year, but the largest group ever. He estimated that there were 130 students registered for the trip.
"We do these at the drop of a hat for any school group," Sauls said.
The field trip accompanied the Civil War and North Carolina history that the fourth-graders at Tommy's Road are currently studying.
Sauls narrated the battle, he explained the wool uniforms, marching process and the soldiers' diet. Sauls and Thompson demonstrated the nine-step process of firing a musket.
Jayliah Bristow of Tommy's Road was most impressed with the story of the battle.
"The bridge was blown up," she said.
For Luke Foery, it was less about the history and more about the field trip.
"I'm most excited for the pizza, probably," he said.
Pizza Inn donated the pies to the students.
But the cannon fire stole the show.
"The cannon is a big boom; it always is," Sauls said.
He explained the process of loading and firing the cannon.
"It's like a giant musket," he said.
The students plugged their ears and waited in anticipation. George Worrell of Wayco Hams pulled the cord and the cannon erupted into the air to a chorus of cheers.
"It was so loud," fourth-grader Deiontae Bell said. "My heart just dropped."
Sauls said he loves sharing his passion with students. He fell in love with the Civil War as a child celebrating the centennial. It was the romance of men on horseback and local connection that drew Sauls in.
"It was here," he said -- he had ancestors in the war. "It's exotic."