All ages got in the act of playing pretend at the second annual Battle of Snoqualmie, held last weekend at Meadowbrook Farm. About 200 Civil War re-enactors, most of them historically aligned with the Confederate side, lived the frontier life again for a few days, camping, waging war, and even conducting a little sabotage, if the stories are to be believed.

South Carolina company soldier Pap Paw (Jim Read in real life) reported Sunday morning that late the previous night, one of the Confederate troops put on a blue coat and took a trash bag full of empty bottles and other litter from his camp, sneaked into the Union camp and had just finished scattering the trash all over the campsite when a Union sentry spotted him and fired off a warning shot.

“We do orneriness on each other,” Read said with a laugh.

The re-enactors collaborate, though, too. Read guessed that his side had 130 soldiers and “I think the Yankees are a little short of that,” so some of his side would have to switch colors for the battle, just to even things out.

The battles, two each day, are fictional re-enactments of a Civil War-era conflict. The weapons fire only black powder and there’s no longer any enmity between the two sides, but everything else, clothing, guns, lifestyle and historical context, is true to the period of the Civil War.

Throughout the day, visitors can see what life was like in the 1860s through various historical displays and conversations with helpful re-enactors, excited to share their information with interested parties.

The Washington Civil War Association sponsors several re-enactments throughout the state each year. Learn more about the association at http://www.wcwa.net.

For more photos of the event, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHskFdZkJ6.