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Civil War re-enactors brave the heat in Virginia

Michael Reynolds / EPA

A re-enactor portraying a Confederate soldier, center, drinks water from a flask to stay cool during the heat, before the reenactment of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in Manassas, Va., July 23. The reenactment, with over 8,000 re-enactors, is part of the 150th Anniversary Commemoration of the first major land battle in the American Civil War, which took place in Manassas, July 21, 1861. The original battle happened when about 35,000 Union troops marched from Washington and clashed with a Confederate force of 20,000, which resulted in a Confederate victory. Re-enactors had to endure a brutal heat wave with some wearing wool uniforms, as temperatures were expected to reach 102 Fahrenheit.

 Read more about the heat wave here.