In his best-selling book Confederates in the Attic (Vintage), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and war correspondent Tony Horwitz discovers one of America's favorite new pastimes — Civil War reenactments. This hobby carries getting a feel for your ancestors' lives to an extreme: joining the ranks of the cold and uncomfortable for a weekend, gnawing on beef jerky and soaking uniform buttons in urine for an “authentic” look. After participating in a reenactment weekend himself, Horwitz couldn't help wondering about the appeal of re-living such an unpleasant period in history. The answer, as Horwitz shares in this Family Tree Magazine Q&A, isn't so simple.

Q. Why are Civil War reenactments so popular?