Living history -- the act of portraying real people from an earlier time in a way that gives non-experts a chance to understand a bit about their ancestors -- brought 32 people together for a breakfast discussion Saturday morning at the General Morgan Inn.

Among them was U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-1st, of Johnson City, who describes himself as a history buff. Davis hosted a History, Heritage and Tourism "summit" last year at Tusculum College, and said he plans another in November in Jonesborough.

"There's history all over these mountains," Davis told those present at the dutch-treat breakfast, which was co-hosted by the Battle of Blue Springs Planning Committee and the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.

The congressman said the region's history has shaped -- and been shaped by -- the values and work ethic of the people who settled here when this was the frontier, and their descendants of the current era.

Davis said tourism is Tennessee's number two industry, after agriculture, "and we can make it even bigger for Northeast Tennessee."

Carlos Whaley, who has become a spokesperson for the Battle of Blue Springs annual reenactment, said those who seek to reenact that 1863 engagement do so in an effort to pass along what they have learned about "the history that sometimes we're losing to the demands of the time we're in.

"Living history is about continuity," Whaley added. "It's about sharing the history that is the basis of our own civilization."

Whaley noted that Jim Allen, the Battle of Blue Springs renactment's director for several years, has been one of the key leaders in that effort.

Allen, who was present in a Confederate States of America (CSA) cavalry officer's uniform, is an expert horseman, a Civil War military historian, a former Army medic, a registered nurse, and the director of clinical information systems for the 15-hospital Wellmont group.

Through the efforts of the Town of Mosheim and volunteers like Allen, Whaley said, the Battle of Blue Springs has become recognized in reenacting circles as "the centerpiece of reenacted battles between Nashville and Roanoke."

Living history is becoming more and more marketable, Whaley said, and will be even more so as gasoline prices force people to take vacations closer to home.

Whaley introduced David Chaltas, a Kentucky educator and ordained Episcopal priest who has become well known across the region for his portrayal of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Chaltas, who was honored as Kentucky teacher of the year for children with behavioral disorders, strongly resembles the general, especially when wearing a long grey military coat and a hat that looks exactly like the one in which Lee was often photographed.

Chaltas's topic was "Living History and the Importance of Preserving Your Heritage."

"It's history that offers us hope," Chaltas said, quickly adding, "I didn't say that. Gen. Lee did."

When Chaltas was introduced, he stood, holding a staff, to the top of which was fastened a metal cross. Without fanfare, he explained that his vows call for him to kneel to the cross before speaking, so he did.

The Bible tells us, Chaltas said, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Then he added, "You have the vision" for preserving history and heritage in Greeneville.

The Bible also says "Do not remove an ancient landmark," Chaltas said. He said he was pleased to note so much respect for history here. "It's amazing and inspiring, and I applaud you for it," he said.

Chaltas said he was pleased that the late Sgt. Elbert Kinser, "a Tennessee man, a Greeneville man" who gave his life for his Marine comrades during World War II, is still honored in his hometown.

Kinser received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroism. Here in Greene County, both Kinser Park and the Kinser Bridge are named for him, and a Tennessee Historical Commission marker in front of the county courthouse describes his self-sacrifice.

Chaltas said he did not seek to portray Gen. Lee when he joined a reenactor group as a private soldier, years ago, but "He picked me."

He recalled one woman he did not know who saw him marching as a private and told him, "You should be ashamed of yourself" for not portraying Lee. "You look like him, you should act like him," the woman said.

When incidents such as that continued to happen, Chaltas said, he began researching Lee, and six years later wrote a book, ""The Legend and Legacy of Lee."

Chaltas said he believes Lee's outstanding character is the thing that still draws people to a man who died Oct. 12, 1870.

"We all embrace a time when we had honor and duty" and they were held up as the standard for conduct that all should seek to live by, he said.

"It's important to remember, we're just here for a brief time," Chaltas said, before we "pass the torch" to the next generation. And it's important that we make sure the next generation learns the lessons of the past, he said.

He quoted former President Ronald Reagan, who said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."

Freedom is costly, and must be fought for, Chaltas said, "and we do ourselves a great disservice if we do not honor those" who paid in blood to defend it.

Lizzie Watts, superintendent of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, spoke briefly. Watts said she worked for several years at Arlington House, Lee's home near Washington, D.C., "when I was a buck ranger" with the National Park Service.

Watts said Chaltas' evocation of the love the general had for his wife and family brought tears to her eyes as she remembered what she had learned at Arlington.

She said it has been "an honor" working with Whaley, Allen, Chaltas and others involved in historical reenacting locally, as they celebrate Johnson's 200th birthday.

"The Battle of Blue Springs brings thousands of kids back to history" each year, the veteran park ranger said, "and has one of the strongest educational programs I've ever seen, and I've seen many."

The breakfast was the first event of a full day of living history in downtown Greeneville.

Greeneville changed hands at least 26 times during the Civil War, Whaley said in an interview.

Beginning last winter, the town has been "occupied" by Confederate or Federal reenactors several times. This past weekend was the Confederates' turn, and pickets "guarded" the Greene County Courthouse and the Andrew Johnson Homestead.

Behind the Homestead, white tents were pitched, and meals were cooked by members of Co. B of the 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment.

Reenactors, and in some cases their wives and families, built fires, cooked their meals, and passed the time talking.

"Civilians" had the opportunity to "Meet the Generals" and hear remarks by Gen. Lee (Chaltas); Gen. William Nelson Pendleton (Ken Cresswell, of Knoxville); and Gen. John Cable Breckenridge, who, though an ardent secessionist before the war, and a Confederate general, went on to become the youngest vice president of the United States.

Female reenactors dressed in period clothing gave a "fashion show," and showed their skill in the way the domestic arts were practiced in the 1860s.

Diane Blanken, of Chilhowie, Va., whose husband, David, walked picket in front of the Homestead, demonstrated how a poor woman could achieve "a very vibrant pink" color by boiling bleached muslin cloth with plum pits.

To dye enough cloth for a dress would have required eight hours tending a boiling copper kettle over a wood fire, "and close to a bushel of plums," she said. Setting the dye would have called for soda ash.

"That's how a poor woman would have done it," she said, while wealthier folk could have afforded elaborate print fabri such as that in the dress Mrs. Blanken wore.

The reenactors ate the plums used in the demonstration, but returned the pits. Women who lived in the 1860s "made use of everything," she said, "and so have we."

Asked where she had obtained the plums, Mrs. Blanken looked around carefully before covering her mouth with a hand and whispering, "Wal-Mart."