With guns blazing and canons blasting, the North and South were at it again Sunday for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma.

Unlike years past, James Hammonds, president of the April 1865 Society, was on the sidelines this year watching the re-enactment take place alongside thousands of spectators.

Hammonds said although attendance numbers had not been finalized by Monday afternoon, he estimated that between 2,000-3,000 spectators came out for Sunday’s event, which featured more than 1,000 re-enactors.

“It was obvious that we had about twice as many soldiers on the field than we normally have,” Hammonds said.

One of the Union re-enactors, Leeds resident Leonard Collins said the battle was exciting, and he enjoyed participating in it even though he didn’t survive this fight.

“The battle was great. It’s always that adrenaline rush. It happens in every battle that I fight in,” Collins said. “I ended up taking a hit from a Confederate gun. I love it.”

On the other side was Confederate re-enactor George LeCroy.

“Except for the rain, it was an incredible experience. I think it was very well put on,” LeCroy said. “The Alabama units have been nothing but hospitable. I look forward to coming back next year.”

Lori and Chris Fly came back for the second time this year to watch the re-enactment and both said it was again well worth it.

“It was interesting. I thought it was fun to see what’s going on, and there was so much action to watch from all sides,” Lori said. “It was kind of hard keeping up.”

Hunter Gatschet, an eighth-grader from Andalusia, wasn’t too thrilled about attending the Battle of Selma to begin with, but after it was over, he came around.

“At first I didn’t think it would be really fun,” Gatschet said. “It was just something that my dad brought me out here to do, but as the day went on, it was pretty fun.”

Overall, Hammonds said the four day event went as planned, and he was happy with the turnout.

“The staff of the April 1865 Society and the Battle of Selma committee worked tirelessly. We were able to meet all the needs that were required of us to put on a production like that. The infrastructure was in place,” Hammonds said. “We couldn’t ask for a better production of an outdoor pageant like we had. I’m happy. We had double the visitors to Selma, and I think everybody was hospitable to them.”

Many events led up to the main battle re-enactment, but one of the grandest of them all was Saturday night’s Battle of Selma Grand Military Ball.

“There is no ball in the Southeast as extravagant and as formal as Sturdivant Hall,” said re-enactor John Kilpatrick. “Sturdivant Hall is second to none. It is a beautiful, beautiful plantation. I enjoy going there.”

Hammonds said the ball was fantastic and many were there to celebrate and dance.

“The staff at Sturdivant gave me a head count of 600 last year, and from everybody that I’ve talked to … it was probably in excess of 800 people,” Hammonds said.