Anyone who has spent very much time around me has heard a little about what I do with my free time. For the past 20 years, I've had a passion for learning about the history of the American Civil War. For the past 18 years, I've been active in the hobby/addiction of Civil War Re-enacting. I've spent most of that time portraying the life of the common Union infantryman. I've worked with lots of friends in the hobby and now often portray one of the three ranking officers in the regiments we portary.

It is an interesting hobby that spills over in the my professional world. In my years in the film industry, I have been asked to work on many projects with a historic theme, whether they be feature, documentary or educational.

It is my years of participation in this hobby that has helped me develop an eye for what works on screen and how to best tell the story of American history. In the mid-1990s, I took the basic drill manuals for the Union and Confederate infantrymen and created a 2 volume series on the video teaching these drill manuals. The progam was released under the title "School of the Soldier" and is still available.

When I am hired on a Civil War era project, I know thoroughly what I am looking at and can often, if requested, provide ideas to the historical consultants about how to improve the look of an image based on my skills as a camera operator and military unit commander.

In 2005, I was hired by Historical Films Inc., a historic filmmaking company, to help them fulfil their obligations on "The War that Made America," a documentary about the French and Indian War.

They had been hired to provide the army of men who would portray both the French and British troops from the conflict. I was hired to train the men in the infantry tactics of the mid-18th century. After finding both a British and French drill manuals, I created training manuals for the officers and NCOs of this re-created force to teach the men. Along with one other excellent drill master, I spent a four-day weekend helping these dedicated historians learn two sets of drill.