Nature provides authentic touch

Monday, March 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PEA RIDGE, Ark. (AP) -- Nature added its own touch of authenticity when filmmakers began shooting a movie to give visitors to the Pea Ridge National Military Park a feel for what happened here 138 years ago.

On March 8, 1862, soldiers in the Union and Confederate armies had to contend with harsh winter conditions that included snow when they met in a battle just south of the Missouri state line.

On March 11, 2000, when cameras began rolling, there was snow on the ground and a stiff breeze, and re-enactors huddled together for warmth. The park's acting superintendent, Doug Wilson, said the filmmakers reported they got some "great footage," so the movie may be longer than the 12 to 15 minutes originally planned.

The film is intended to replace a slide presentation now shown in the auditorium of the park visitor's center.

Re-enactors from six states -- Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri -- were excited by the conditions similar to those of the real battle. The Confederate soldiers in the actual battle had worn out their shoes and had little warm clothing.

For the filming, the breeze lowered the wind-chill factor to levels that gave re-enactors a realistic experience.

The filming was done by Great Divide Pictures of Littleton, Colo., under contract to the National Park Service's Harper's Ferry Design Center.

Great Divide did some preliminary shooting in February with local re-enactors, shooting individual scenes and landscape shots to set the scene, and sunsets. Additional filming was done on private property near the park.

For more information on the Pea Ridge National Military Park, select here to go to the Pea Ridge battlefield web site.
http://www. nps.gov/peri/index.html