Va. Civil War dispute ends in courtroom stalemate

[February 04, 2010]  STANARDSVILLE, Va. (AP) -- A judge in Virginia says it's a draw between two Union and Confederate Civil War re-enactors who got into a tussle on the battlefield.

A judge found each man not guilty of assault on Wednesday after they pressed charges against each other over the dispute last September.

The men were playing cavalry officers in a re-enactment of the Battle of Stanardsville. The Confederate re-enactor claims his Union counterpart knocked his hat off.

The Confederate was accused of responding by firing a blank round from his revolver. There was no bullet, but the powder charge injured the Union re-enactor.

Both men were on horseback and both said their actions were accidental. The judge concluded he could not find either man guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."

[Associated Press]

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