At the Old Capitol: Muster at the Museum

In its continuing focus on the Civil War this year, the 150th anniversary of its start, the Old Capitol Museum presents the family- and kids-oriented Muster at the Museum.
It's a chance for children to step into a soldier's shoes and back in time. About 25 Civil War reenactors will be set up on the Old Capitol Green in different stations. Visitors can "enlist" in the Mississippi Militia, be issued a wooden weapon, shown how to set up a tent, how to march and how to fire the gun, and learn campfire games.
"The idea is to give them a feel of what it was like to be a Civil War soldier," museum director Clay Williams said.
There's no age target, or limit. "Anybody who wants to go through this, from a 5-year-old to a 45-year-old, is more than welcome.
"We're looking for any able-bodied person to sign up" at the come-and-go event.
Ready, aim: A couple of cannons will be onsite but they won't be fired. "We don't want to blow out any windows in downtown," Williams said, "but at least they'll be able to see how they were fired."
Some reenactors will fire fake rounds from their weapons.
At the end, visitors will be out of the Army, issued their payment in replica early Mississippi money and mustered out, Williams said.
The event's time frame is right after Mississippi seceded but before the Confederacy began, under the Magnolia flag.