Published: October 06, 2009 10:53 pm      

Friends & Neighbors: Meet Rebecca and Daniel Hardin

You could say Rebecca and Daniel Hardin met in 1864.

Both were participating in the annual Battle of Tunnel Hill Re-enactment — he as a soldier and she as a civilian — when their paths first crossed 12 years ago at the event’s ball. They became friends and exchanged telephone numbers, but eventually their different re-enactment schedules caused them to only see each other twice a year. Neither one realized there was a mutual attraction.

“I didn’t know he liked me, and he didn’t know I liked him,” laughed Rebecca, 33.

Rebecca began doing Civil War re-enactments 14 years ago when her mom, a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, peaked her interest in it. A longtime genealogy and history buff, Rebecca really became intrigued when the family came across diaries relatives kept and carried during the war.

“One was a Northerner (Alex Thompson) who fought with one of the Ohio infantries,” she said. “He marched through this area and led (soldiers in) this area. After the war he came back here and married a local girl. He’s buried in Tunnel Hill. More are buried in Murray County.”

Rebecca primarily serves as a civilian during re-enactments, working behind the scenes helping out re-enactors as part of the 35th Tennessee regiment, which hosts the Battle of Tunnel Hill each September. But family ties are not the only reason she finds the Civil War so personal.

Sherman’s March to Atlanta hits close to home — literally.

“The original road bed that went to Atlanta goes through our yard” in Dalton, Rebecca said. “Now I can walk along it and think ‘troops actually came through here’ and how many didn’t make it out. Especially now with the debate about the war, the same questions asked now are the ones I’d hear in history class about the Civil War. Regardless of how you feel about each side, the point is we fight for what we believe in.”

Daniel, 31, has participated in re-enactments for 13 years, first as a soldier, then as captain, of the 41st Georgia Company H regiment. He loves the history of the re-enactments — especially being able to live history and teach others about it.

“You really get to interact with history, you get to listen to the drums like they do and march like they do,” said Daniel. “I recommend it for anyone at least once. I think it’s better than any other time period because of all the technology that came out. They tried so many different experiments with cannons, rifles and ships.”

In 2004, Rebecca and Daniel lost touch. She found him on MySpace last February and sent him a message saying, “You so better message me back. Even if you don’t remember me you better say you do.”

“I hadn’t seen him at the last couple of re-enactments and I missed him,” said Rebecca. “I wanted to see if he was OK. I didn’t know if he was married or whatever.”

Soon their mutual attraction was revealed. Neither was shocked.

“We ran into each other so much (at re-enactments) we thought it was meant to be,” she said. “We started visiting each other, and finally we were worried we would lose touch again so he moved here (from Zebulon) in May.”

It didn’t take long for the couple to start talking marriage, and they knew exactly where they wanted to hold the ceremony — at the re-enactment ball. At first, plans were to wait a few years, but they soon realized waiting was the last thing they wanted to do. The ceremony was scheduled for Sept. 19 of this year.

However, rainy weather that weekend caused the ball to be canceled, so the couple married inside the W&A tunnel. They say it is the first wedding to be held there.

“We did a little dramatic scene beforehand of a shotgun wedding, and Daniel was escorted down,” said Rebecca. “I had to walk the whole length of the tunnel. The train of my gown was black.”

For Rebecca, the ceremony was a way to combine her future and past. Now the newlyweds plan to begin traveling to each other’s re-enactments and participating together. They also enjoy exploring local sites and camping with Rebecca’s two children, Jake and Cassie.

“It’s funny … when we met I had never met his family,” said Rebecca. “All these years they didn’t think I was real until they saw me on MySpace.”