Rail fence a `labor of love' for Georgia re-enactor

PERRYVILLE, KENTUCKY - For John Cleveland, building a split rail fence at the Perryville Battlefield is a labor of love. <br> <br> Cleveland and seven other men spent Thursday adding to existing split rail fences on the site of the 1862 battle, and Cleveland said the reason is a payback. <br> <br> ``I love this area,&#39;&#39; said the Georgia resident, who works as a restoration carpenter. ``I love this field, I love this environment. In Georgia we can&#39;t do what we&#39;re doing here. Here the land is pristine, so close to what it was like in 1862, and here there is so much local support. It&#39;s a labor of love, literally.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The fence is part of preparations for the 140th anniversary of the Oct. 8, 1862, battle fought west of town. Organizers expect 15,000 to 20,000 spectators for the weekend, when re-enactors will camp out and tromp over the central Kentucky hills where 7,500 Confederate and Union troops were killed or wounded in five hours of fighting. <br> <br> What Cleveland and his men did Thursday was unload 1,400 locust fence rails by hand, then add to sections of the existing rail fences. Their goal, said Cleveland, is to make the battlefield look like it did before the battle. <br> <br> ``Before the battle these fences were everywhere,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Before and during the battle, the armies would destroy them completely. They needed firewood, and they needed the wood for shelter against inclement weather. By the time the battle was over they were completely gone, but during the battle they lend an air of authenticity.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``The park has secured funding for land purchases, which most battlefields are unable to do because of the high cost of the land,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We get to come here and do things the way the soldiers did, on the same land the soldiers fought and died on, and building this fence is a very small way we can repay the battlefield and the people of Perryville for that opportunity.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Tim Prince, a resident of Nashville, Tenn., and a member of the 48th Tennessee Regiment of re-enactors, describes the fence work as a duty. <br> <br> ``When I participated last year, did the Ghost Walk and saw what John had done, it shamed me,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We talk about preservation, but most of us just talk about it. We don&#39;t do anything about it. I couldn&#39;t take myself seriously if I didn&#39;t help in some way.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``We get donations from various people and groups for the rails, and to pay the shipping costs,&#39;&#39; said Cleveland, who works in period costume. ``We started four years ago with 50 or 60 rails, and this year we&#39;re up to 1,400.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Cleveland said the re-enactors become obsessed with the entire project. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s an obsessive hobby, a consuming hobby, and an expensive hobby,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s probably more like a passion, or an infection. You do it once, then you become consumed by it.&#39;&#39;

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