A blast from the past in Bayside
Lively Civil War demonstration enthralls students at Cardozo High School
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Benjamin N. Cardozo High
School in Bayside has been
bringing the Civil War to life
for their students for more
than a decade.
Last week, the high
school brought back the
interactive history war lesson
for hundreds of juniors as a
supplement to what they’re
learning in the classroom.
Hundreds of students got
the opportunity to see, hear
and even taste the experience
of Civil War-era soldiers on
Jan 4. Outdoor activities were
led by Cardozo history teacher
Dr. Peter Ridout, an active
member of the 124th New York
State Volunteers Civil War reenactment
unit.
Joining Ridout for his 12th
year was his son William
Ridout — currently a cargo
specialist in the U.S. Army
— and fellow social studies
teacher and war re-enactor
Stanton Mitrano.
According to the school’s
assistant principal, Peter
Georgatos, Dr. Ridout and
his crew began setting up the
demonstration near the sports
field at 6 a.m. The day consisted
of showing each class the
experience of an average soldier
including camp life, food, the
tents they lived in and the types
of weapons they used.
William Ridout brought
in his army uniform and
other supplies for a side-byside
comparison between a
21st century army uniform
and a 19th century uniform.
Ridout and Mitrano also
demonstrated the nine steps
to shoot a rifle and fired blank
bullets to end the presentation
with a literal bang.
“I think it kind of brings
it to life because it’s hard for
somebody in the 21st century
to really imagine it. You
can tell them what it was
The day consisted of showing each class the experience of an average soldier including camp life,
food, the tents they lived in and the types of weapons they used. Photos by Bruce Adler
like and they can read about
a dog tent and they can read
about the food, but they get
to actually see it, to smell it
and if they want to, taste
it,” said Dr. Ridout.
“In textbooks, it’s always
about the generals and the
major battles but you don’t
know about the average
soldiers — the average
soldiers were 18 or 19 years
old. So we try to show them
how the average person was,”
Mitrano added.
This “bottom-up” way of
teaching history is something
that Ridout and Mitrano want
to instill in the students to
reiterate the fact that the
soldiers lost their lives in these
battles to fight for freedom.
“At Cold Harbor, there were
7,000 dead in 20 minutes. At
Gettysburg, there were 53,000
total casualties in three days.
These are casualty rates that
The kids, they’re our kids and we
want this tradition in the school.
We’re gonna keep it going. I’m
saying 30 or 40 years.
Peter Georgatos
Assistant Principal
are unfathomable in today’s
standards and we want for
them to kind of understand that
this was the cost of freedom in
this country,” said Ridout.
Ridout started doing war
re-enactments in upstate
New York when he watched
members of his current
unit do a demonstration at
the Farmers’ Museum in
Cooperstown. As lifelong
history and Civil War
enthusiast, joining the
reenactment unit appealed
to him.
“It sounded interesting
and it encompassed history
and the Civil War and
camping, so I said ‘oh,
perfect!’” Ridout said.
Both he and Mitrano
travel up and down the East
Coast to help reenact famous
battles, including the Battle
of Gettysburg, the First and
Dr. Peter Ridout dressed in
a traditional Civil War army
uniform. Photo by Jenna Bagcal
Second Battles of Manassas and
the Battle of Fredericksburg.
He recalls the celebration
of the 150th anniversary of
Gettysburg when 15,000 to
20,000 re-enactors participated
in the event.
“We get together, we travel
around the country, mostly
upstate or Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and recreate
different battles from the Civil
War. I’ve recreated medical
scenes because my unit was
also part of a medical unit,”
said Mitrano.
Georgatos has seen the
interactive lesson during
the seven years he’s been at
Cardozo and hopes that it’s
something students will get to
experience for years to come.
“I love tradition. The thing
that I love about it is that
it’s ours,” said Georgatos. “I
want us to be a family. The
kids, they’re our kids and
we want this tradition in the
school. We’re gonna keep
going, I’m saying 30 or 40
years. Hopefully, the person
who takes over will have their
kids doing the reenactment.
It’s just something that I really
believe in.”
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