Sesquicentennial Badges and Zombies?

Thanks to Mr. Lincoln, the kids got their badges.

What do sesquicentennial badges and zombies have in common?  I should think that is obvious, but I'll try to explain.  The sesquicentennial badges commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, and unknown to most historians until now, the Civil War was crawling with zombies.

Zombies in Georgia?  How'd they ever get in?

How do I know this, you ask?  While working on their sesquicentennial ranger badges at Fort Pulaski National Park, our kids had to dodge zombies until Abe Lincoln, Zombie Killer, came to their rescue.  Anabel, Wyatt and Emma were just about to rewrite history (in their notes, at least) until they noticed the green screen.  Wait a minute... there may have been zombies during the civil war, but they didn't have green screens, right?  

Does any of this make sense? No.  Let me back up...

Kids at Sally Port Drawbridge over Moat

While I stayed home to write, Greg took the kids to Fort Pulaski to finish their National Ranger Sesquicentennial Civil War Badge work. They had two out of three assignments complete with the Fort Sumter field trip and an online civil war scavenger hunt.  At Fort Pulaski, they toured with park rangers and viewed a weapons demonstration.

Fort Pulaski has daily reenactments.

History Break:

Located near Savannah on Cockspur Island, Fort Pulaski is a 19th century pentagonal fortress built from 1827 to 1842 of brick and mortar and surrounded by a moat.  Created to protect the port of Savannah from foreign attacks, it is ironic that it did not see battle until America was at war with itself.  The fort gained its place in military history during its 1862 battle which proved the new weapon technology could easily take out old building materials.  Brick and mortar was no match for the rifled cannon.  

Occupied by Union soldiers for the remainder of the war, Fort Pulaski saw some of the first baseball games ever played.  It holds a place in Baseball history as the location of one of the oldest photographs of baseball.  

The kids discovered all this history while completing their final assignment for their badge.

So where do zombies come in?  

Never fear, Lincoln is here!

Cut to 21st century filmmaking and you will find a new movie being shot on location in Savannah and at Fort Pulaski.  The name of the movie?  Abraham Lincoln vs. the Zombies.  Sounds like an instant classic, doesn't it?  Who knows.  The kids had a ball learning about the Civil War and about filmmaking.  They came home thrilled about their new badge and about how they had to be quiet on the set.  They learned about fortress warfare and how many takes are needed to get a good shot of Lincoln killing a Confederate zombie. 

Did they get bit?  Looking a little zombie-like to me...

Good thing Greg got them out of there quickly; with all their new found knowledge, the kids would have made a great snack between takes... Brains!  Brains!