Gunfire filled the air as Yankees and Confederates clashed in the normally-serene surroundings of Castle Howard.

Hundreds of enthusiasts from the American Civil War Society pitched camp in front of the North Yorkshire stately home and took part in set-piece battles for the bank holiday crowds.

Entire families swapped modern clothes for period dress and spent the weekend under canvas and around pot-bellied stoves with horses tethered nearby.

They re-created, down to the smallest detail, life on and around a 19th century American battlefield in what was one of the society's major events of the year.

Up to 300 soldiers took up arms in the weekend's two show battles, alongside mounted cavalry and ten artillery pieces.

Many of those taking part were former servicemen.

Updated: 11:08 Tuesday, May 29, 2001