Alabama Civil War Reenactment Could Fall Victim to TVA's Ash Spill

Alabama's largest Civil War reenactment could fall victim to TVA's coal ash spill.

For 16 years, the "Siege of Bridgeport" has been held on a family farm in the shadow of TVA's Widows Creek Fossil Plant.

But after the spill at the Kingston plant TVA is trying to claim the land near its ash ponds in Jackson County.

Jere McCraw and his brother JoJohn own the property where the "Siege of Bridgeport" takes place.

Jere says, "We in the South, obviously have never let go of the Civil War."

For the McCraws the 300 acre farm is a piece of family history.

The property was deeded to the family 175 years ago by president Andrew Jackson.

For more than a decade the land has witness another kind of history... The reenactment kind.

Jere says, "We in the South love "boom." Come on, lets be realistic."

Every Spring hundreds of Civil War reenactors and thousands of spectators gather to watch the South rise again.

Glenn Hill is playing a Union Soldier, "The federal army came out of Middle Tennessee to occupy North Alabama."

Jim Henderson plays a Confederate Soldier, "Yesterday we died gloriously on the field of battle. Today we won."

It doesn't depict an actual battle, although Civil War troops did camp on the grounds.

Each year Confederate troops claim victory...

Henderson laughs as he says, "That's the great thing about reenacting is I get to kill my best friends and let them kill me the next day."

Now the McCraw brothers face another kind of war...

Less than 100 yards from the battlefield is TVA's Widows Creek Fossil Plant.

Jere says, "They bought all of my neighbors' land..."

He says it's all due to another TVA Coal Ash Pond.

Fifteen months ago 100s of Tennessee families were devastated when the ash pond in Kingston ruptured, spilling a billion gallons of sludge.

TVA officials say there's no indication a smaller leak at Bridgeport could turn into that kind of nightmare... But they'd rather be safe than sorry.

All the land surrounding the McCraws farm has been purchased for what Jere calls a fair price.

But he says he and his brother still aren't selling, "I can understand why my neighbors sold it and I hope TVA understands why we don't want to sell it. It's just part of our heritage... And we think somehow that people should be able to hold on to that heritage."

In the meantime... The "Siege of Bridgeport" will go on.

Jere says, "We love to smell gun powder. Well, you can do that all weekend down here."

This year's reenactment takes place March 26-28.

One of TVA's offers to the brothers would allow the reenactment to continue indefinitely.