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Hi, I'm McNally and I'm a Civil War reenactor. I entered the hobby in 2013 and picked up a reasonable amount of knowledge along the way, or so I'd like to think. For drat sure the Civil War section of my bookshelf expanded dramatically. There were some questions about reenacting over in the Army thread and some interest was expressed about a thread on Civil War reenacting, so I thought I'd oblige. First I'm going to walk through basic gear, then discuss stuff someone wishing to join the hobby can get later on as needed, and then open the thread to any questions. First, though, I'm going to say that I reenact Union infantry, so my experience is limited to that scope. I have some vague understandings of some of the other areas (Confederate infantry, Union cavalry, zouaves...), but I'm just going to say it now: Any answers relating to anything other than Union infantry are going to start with "I don't know, but." So with that out of the way, let's begin. First, what I'm about to throw at you is going to be daunting. It's not a cheap hobby, but you don't have to get everything all at once. Most units have loaner gear for new members because, frankly, anyone who jumps in with both feet and gets everything before they even try it for a weekend is an idiot. Starting from the head and working our way down we have: Headgear.  This might be one of the most important first purchases you can make. To the untrained eye, a hand sewn, completely accurate uniform jacket is nearly indistinguishable from a middling "sutler row" example. But a crappy hat looks like a crappy hat and an accurate hat  The forage cap is the quintessential Civil War headgear. When I was a kid who knew fuckin' nothing about the Civil War, I knew that Civil War soldiers had those funny hats that kinda flopped forward and ended in a circle. That's the forage cap. Not to be confused with the kepi (which bears a resemblance to a ranger rolled patrol cap, which is probably why people started doing that). The kepi is a cap and has always been a cap, where a forage cap is literally just a floppy shako. That's where it comes from: It's just a limp, shortened shako.  If you're more of a dandy, there's also the regulation dress hat. A lot of guys wore these, but not many of them wore it according to regulation.   poo poo, that's just more brass to keep polished. And fuckin' feather flew off my head in the first breeze after I stepped out of the goddamned barracks, I lost that goddamn thing in 1861. But it is a wide brimmed hat, which is good for keeping the sun off you. That tall crown isn't particularly stylish, though, unless you like looking like our Pilgrim ancestors. Soldiers are a creative bunch, though, so you'd see this hat worn all kinds of different ways: Pinched, telescoped into a shorter crown, crunched into something unique and shapeless. The possibilities are near limitless! Finally, if you like being an individual in this here army, there's always a private purchase civilian hat.  I bought mine at an event over the summer because I was tired of the sun beating down on me. The next day was overcast. So what's a hat cost? The answer is a near-unanimous "about a hundred bucks." Give or take. The forage cap? About a hundred bucks. The dress hat? About a hundred bucks, plus trimmings. The civilian hat? About a hundred bucks. Plus another twenty. Get the forage cap first, though. It's pretty ubiquitous. Next comes the shirt. drat near every reenactor has the same off-white muslin shirt, so I won't take a picture of mine. Here's three.  Left to right we have a red checkered homespun shirt, a shirt that I bought because I wanted a dandier shirt, and the standard issue flannel shirt that was designed for men in like 1820 and was never updated. The issue shirt has one button, at the neck. The others have three, starting at the sternum. Shirts, like hats, are your window to individuality. Buy them, make them, it's all good. But the cut of a 19th century shirt is different from a modern shirt, so don't try to get away with any shenanigans. Shirts tend to start at around $30 because they know you can't go to Walmart. After you put on the shirt, you put on your trousers.  Note the rise in the back. Trousers were worn high-waisted (trousers have *always* been worn high waisted until about 40 or 50 years ago), so you're buttoning them around the navel or so. None of that drop front nonsense here, by the Civil War they finally figured out the modern button fly.  Pre- and early-war trousers were all dark blue, with sky blue becoming the standard by 1862 (except for senior officers, who continued to wear dark blue). Privates worn theirs unadorned, corporals wore a 1/2" stripe in their branch color (or dark blue for infantry, since a sky blue stripe wouldn't be visible on sky blue pants), sergeants wore a 1 1/2" stripe, and officers wore a 1/8th inch welt in the seam. Trousers start around $120 and go up in price depending on quality and your waistline. Now put your jacket on. You have two options: Fatigue jacket or frock coat.  The fatigue jacket was the most common jacket worn in the Civil War. Simple, lightweight, four buttons, interior pocket. It was originally designed for fatigue duty but became the jacket of choice for the fighting man. This'll run you $100 to $150, more or less.  The frock coat was the Class A jacket of its day. It was also the ACU blouse of its day. And the field jacket of its day. Basically what I'm saying is that the idea of a combat uniform separate from the dress uniform didn't really become a thing until the 20th century. The frock coat was, believe it or not, not uncommon among the fighting man because it's fancier and who doesn't like feeling fancy? You'll also see them worn as a jacket, with the skirt cut down to the waist. Almost as fancy for less weight. If you pay less than $200 for one of these, you've either got yourself a great bargain or a really lovely coat. As far as socks go, I wear Fox River rag wool socks. Nobody really looks at your socks. Shoes, though, shoes are important.  The most common shoe is made with rough side out leather. Which is why mine are smooth side out: Just as common (if not more so) during the actual Civil War, but hardly ever seen among reenactors. Why? I don't have a clue. Good shoes are important, don't skimp on good shoes. A cheap pair will rub your feet raw and then fall apart when you look at them funny. A good pair will last you for years and years if you take care of them. $200. So that's the basic uniform. Now we're moving into basic gear, what every soldier should have on the field. Much like the clothing, I'm going to go in order of how you put it on. First up is your cartridge box.  This is where your ammunition lives. It's worn just behind your right hip, slung over your left shoulder by a leather strap. Cartridge box and strap will run you  Mr. Eagle here rests in the center of your chest, telling the rebs where to aim. Next comes your waist belt.  On the belt is your cap pouch and bayonet scabbard. Inside your scabbard is either an Enfield bayonet (left) or a Springfield bayonet (right), depending on what kind of rifle you have. Well, if you're doing early war you may also have an Austrian or Belgian bayonet, but you hardly ever see anyone carrying an Austrian or Belgian weapon in reenactments, so nevermind about them for now. The belt goes around your waist, over the cartridge box sling. Waist belt, cartidge box, sling, and buckles and plates'll run you about $120 all together. Scabbard ought to come with your bayonet, which'll run you about $75. Next, slung over your right shoulder so it sits just above your left hip, is your haversack.  This contains about three days worth of food. Or it would if you were an actual Civil War soldier. If you're a reenactor, it more than likely contains some food, your car keys, your cell phone, maybe your wallet, and a package of baby wipes if you're smart. Maybe some bug spray if you're a wuss. Possibly some sunscreen if you don't want to eventually get skin cancer. Anyway, stuff you want on you but want to keep out of sight goes in here. Unless you're one of those hardcore campaigner types who only go out "like the old boys did," in which case yeah, three days worth of food. Haversacks are about $30, more if you want to be all fancy with one that's completely hand-sewn (like mine). And then on top of that goes your canteen.  The Civil War canteen held about three pints of water and was covered in wool to help protect it from bumps and dings, and to help keep the water inside cool (soak the wool, it cools the water - just like the fluffy lining of the old 2 quart canteen cover). I've heard stories of soldiers keeping milk in theirs, taken from cows encountered along the march and... euughh. Canteens run around $75-ish. Finally, your rifle.  This is a fairly important choice to make, because it's the single most expensive item you'll buy (they're running around $800 for a new in box reproduction nowadays). A general rule of thumb is that you can't go wrong with a Model 1861 Springfield. Soldiers on both sides of the war loved this rifle. It was reliable, it was well made and, best of all, if yours was broke, you could probably fix it with parts from another. Interchangeable parts was a thing with US rifles starting in 1842. Sure, you might need to do a little bit of filing to fit, but you could always make the parts fit. Anyway, I'm getting off track. Bottom line, Springfields are a good catch-all. Another good choice would be the Pattern 1853 Enfield. Both sides used it in the beginning of the war and the Confederates continued to do so all the way to the end. So if you want to crossdress, an Enfield is a good choice. There are also Model 1842 Springfield muskets and Austrian Lorenz rifles available as reproductions. I have a somewhat comprehensive write-up of Civil War rifles here, but I'm happy to take direct questions on this subject. So that's your basic beginner's kit: Uniform, equipment, and rifle. Where do you go from here? Well, you'll eventually want a tent, ground cloth, blanket, greatcoat, knapsack, maybe a small lantern...  That's a rabbit hole unto itself.
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Nov 14, 2017 03:09
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 10:46 |
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redneck nazgul posted:A: If you don't mind me asking, what part of the country did you grow up in, and is it the same area you reenact in? I go to reenactments in what was the Eastern Theater of the war: As far north as Gettysburg, as far south as maybe Petersburg (possibly Norfolk). I grew up in Northern Virginia, but my family comes from central New York. It's a mix. Some events are meant to represent specific battles, others are loose skirmishes that happen around a "living history" camp in a local or national part (I did one this summer where the "battle" happened in the town's baseball field), and sometimes we just do a living history encampment with maybe a couple of firing demonstrations. In my group, I'd say that pretty much every man is genuinely interested in history. We actually have strict rules about politics in camp: Don't talk about politics. I HAVE GOOD AIDS posted:Cool thread! Not ours, no. Field hospitals are usually put up by either a group who does specifically medical stuff or as part of a larger organized display (like at a national park event). As far as fake wounds go, nobody in my unit does that, but I've seen it. We have talked about carrying a dressed mannequin leg with a boot on it to throw into the air when artillery goes off, though.
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Nov 14, 2017 03:29
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I LICK APE PUSSY posted:How do you handle the actual fighting? What are the rules? I hear some units will have guys draw slips of paper from a hat to determine their fate: Survive the fight, wounded, killed, run away like a coward, etc. In my unit we just wing it. Are you tired? Okay, next time the rebs fire, take a hit. Rifle keeps misfiring? Take a hit. Out of blanks? Hit. The other side fired a good volley and it would look silly if nobody went down? Hit. Last event of the weekend and we're near the parking lot? THE WHOLE COMPANY IS WIPED OUT OH GOD Really it's a matter of balancing the fact that you're probably there to burn powder and don't want to miss out and it would look silly if we keep blasting away at each other and nobody goes down. At the higher levels of an event, there's a battle plan of sorts. "Okay, we're reenacting the 3rd Battle of Spankbottom Hill. That means you guys are representing such and such unit, so you come in first from over there, then you guys representing such and such brigade march in from this way a little later..."
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Nov 14, 2017 03:45
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Karl Rove posted:What powder load do you use for reenacting, and are you shooting black powder or Pyrodex? 60 grains of black powder. Pyrodex isn't suitable for reenacting. Coasterphreak posted:This sounds like a good way to get stuck hanging out with a bunch of sperglords for an entire weekend. It's not as bad as it sounds, actually. Nobody's standing there with a watch saying "okay, now you guys" or anything. Not that I've seen, anyway. It's more general "you guys go there, start fighting, get pushed back, then these guys will come up," not "after taking 300 steps to the northwest, turn 13 degrees to the right and fire exactly three volleys before withdrawing 200 yards southeast, leaving 11 casualties on the field..." Though I'm sure people like that exist.
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Nov 14, 2017 21:27
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Generation Internet posted:I've always kind of been curious about getting my hands on a set of Civil War union kit to see how it compares because that's who we would have been defending against at the fort I work at. What fort is that? I reenacted the Battle of Ridgeway at Old Fort Erie last summer.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:23
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Generation Internet posted:Fort Henry, which while a really nice fort was never attacked so there's nothing significant for reenactments around here. We mostly focus on the precision drill and fire at imaginary Americans instead. With Snider-Enfields? You guys are 50 years late to that party.
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Nov 15, 2017 03:30
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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:Have you reenacted during the current political climate? if so have you buttstroked any confederates wearing maga hats I was at Cedar Creek last month, which was shut down to the public and the Confederate camp evacuated because apparently someone found a pipe bomb (or a fake pipe bomb, I'm still not sure). Confederates don't wear maga hats on the field, that would be inaccurate.
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Nov 15, 2017 21:37
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 10:46 |
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Duzzy Funlop posted:loving get in Not gonna lie, if something likes that happens to me, I hope I manage to crack a decent joke. Y'know, instead of just saying "AAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
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Nov 18, 2017 22:16
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