Civil War Reenactment 2026; Zearing Days Iowa By G.C. Stevens

 

ARMY OF THE SOUTHWEST

Event Report 

Zearing Iowa 

July 25th 2026

I'm really proud to be a member of the Army of The Southwest. The people of ASW bring their hearts and knowledge along to every event. We not only share our experiences and knowledge with the public, but we share that knowledge with each other as well, which makes us a stronger living history group.                                    

We had smaller and tighter area to set up camp this year at Zearing, but we made it work, and we had some really great displays, which is one of the hallmarks of the ASW. Our displays always generate a lot of good discussion with the public. 

All photos by the author

Members of the ASW, mounted up for

 the Zearing days Parade

19th Century mode of transportation came by 

camp at fairly fast trot!

Dept: Artillery, display

Dept: Unit Photographers Camp

Dept; Medical: Medical Demonstration

 

Dusty Trails of the Old West Events Schedule

 

G.C. STEVENS U.S. PHOTGRAPHER 

Traveling Artist & Writer

Come Visit the Photo Gallery at the listed living history events

Dusty Trails Books will be attending the Adair Iowa Market and Crafts

2026 Event Schedule: Photo Gallery and Book Signings

• July 25th Zearing Iowa: 19th Century Photo Gallery

•   Aug 16th Adair Iowa: Craft / Market             

4-6 pm

Aug 30th Adair Iowa Craft/ Market 
4-6 pm

• Sep 5th & 6th Madrid Iowa 19th Century Photo Gallery

• Sep 20th Adair Iowa Craft / Market

 4-6pm

• Oct 4th Adair Iowa Craft / Market

 4-6pm 

• Oct 10th and 11th Winterset Iowa: 19th Century Photo Gallery

Army of the Southwest

250 YEARS OF AMERICAN HISTORY

   

G C. Stevens U.S. Photographer

 

RECREATING EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY 

FROM THE LATE

 1800'S TO THE

 EARLY 20TH CENTURY

email

(right click to copy email)

PHOTO GALLERIES

 I utilize both vintage cameras and digital to recreate old time photos. I have also developed a technique for recreating cabinet cards.

My cameras: A No. 2 Kodak Brownie, an Imperial SIX-TWENTY & A No. 2 folding Premo.

Photos: Civil War Days Jefferson Iowa By G.C. Stevens U.S. Photographer

 

 All Photos by G.C. Stevens  

*U.S. Photographer: Photo gallery*

The Army of The Southwest Keeps History Alive!

The Army of the southwest (ASW) held the annual civil war reenactment in Jefferson Iowa as part of the Bell Tower Festival. Saturday was very damp due to the ongoing rainstorms that have passed through Iowa over the last few weeks. But Sunday was a beautiful day. Jefferson is located in a very bucolic setting in western Iowa and one of my favorite things about this event, was that the train horns can be heard in the air from the local Union Pacific railroad line. This was my first event for 2026, and I decided to incorporate one of my passions to my historic impressions as a field photographer. But it took some work to create this impression, so I built a camera housing that would accommodate both a traditional black and white film camera and a small digital camera. I was already in possession of a vintage Kodak Brownie Camera (120) that I purchased many years ago when I was experimenting with different film formats. I included a small digital camera for quick and expedient photos. I will be adding more photos to this article later when the roll of 120 film return from the processor.

Seargent OJ Fargo conducts drill

The camera housing with the digital camera

The digital camera in a home made adapter

The digital camera

The homemade camera housing

The camera hosing with the vintage Brownie inside

                                         Camp Photos

Soldiers sitting for photos 

Drill