NATCHEZ — Wednesday afternoon, 30 children were transported back to 1861 to relive the experiences of a Civil War soldier.

This week, Historic Jefferson College is in Civil War Camp mode. Children, ages 8 to 12, are immersed in the orders of the infantry, cavalry and artillery of the late 19th century.

“It is just a fun camp,” 10-year-old Jacob Porter said. “Learning to march is great because you get to feel like an actual soldier marching in the past.”

Jefferson College Historian Clark Burkett said the kids learned about marching, manual arms and Civil War food on Wednesday.

“We got to learn about the different formations and how to hold the gun,” 10-year-old Emily Hootsell said. “I felt in control while I was doing it, like I could do anything.”

Chip Landrey, cadet commander of the camp, talked about how to present a gun after teaching two girls to properly salute.

“When they presented the lower side of the firearm to the honoree, that was a present arms,” Landrey said. “The military came up with it because it is tough to salute while holding a rifle.”

Just before the day ended, the children were allowed to shoot paper out of a capped muzzle-loaded rifle.

“I thought I’d give them a reward for marching all day,” Burkett said.

The reward was greatly appreciated by many of the children. Ten-year-old Katie Wheat said she couldn’t wait to go out and shoot the gun.

“I’m looking forward to learning how to shoot,” she said. “So if anything happens to my family, I can protect them.”

Jordan Waller, 11, said she was a little nervous before going, but afterwards she felt different.

“It was so cool! It made me feel like I was a soldier,” Waller said. “I felt like I was tough.”

Mary Evans Kelly, 9, said she was excited because she had never shot a muzzle-loader before.

“It was cool because you can’t go to a camp every day and shoot a gun,” she said.

Today, the kids will get to experience what it was like in the cavalry.

Burkett said someone will bring a horse to the college to teach the children how to put on a saddle and about the equipment the horse would pack.

Then, the children get to play war games.

“They are using wooden guns, so they have to use their imagination when they divide up on sides,” Burkett said. “When they get shot, they have to hold their guns up in the air and count to 30 before they can come back to life.”

Friday, Donnis Davis, from Pearl River, will bring his cannon and tell the children about it.

“They always love it when he fires it,” Burkett said.

After that Burkett said the kids will receive Civil War kepis, which are the caps they wore, Jefferson Military College metals and they will march in formation to graduation.

“It’ll feel like it is worth it when, at graduation, they march in the formations (I taught them),” Landrey said.

Burkett said he loves what he does with the Civil War Camp every year.

“I feel great about the camp,” he said. “It felt like it was worthwhile when I had kids come back who did it last year.”