I’m going to begin this post with a little update. I recently participated in an event at Gettysburg National Park. This was a great little event and the perfect opportunity for me to talk about “living histories,” a type of reenacting event which I personally prefer. The problem is, I forgot my camera that weekend. While my disposable camera is developed I’m going to do something else I’ve been meaning to do for a while, a reenactor FAQ.
Over the years I’ve been asked many questions about reenacting, and some questions are asked more often than others. These are perhaps the most basic questions about what we do, and I hope by answering them I can give a little bit of an insight into the life of a reenactor.
Where do you get your stuff?
Reenacting involves a lot of stuff. For instance I currently have four different Union “impressions”.* Most of the items you can’t just walk out to the mall and buy, in fact I don’t really know of anything like that. Instead we rely on a dedicated community of “sutlers” to make and sell us clothing and equipment. During the war “sutlers” were merchants who followed the army selling soldiers goods they might need (extra shirts, socks, writing supplies, and canned food just to name a few items). Many of today’s higher end sutlers make their own goods, or contract with people who have specialized in certain items. Most reenacting units (clubs) will recommend suppliers to buy certain items from. One sutler’s pants might be of really good quality while his shoes bear little resemblance to originals. Some sutlers specialize in uniforms and clothing, others leather items while others in more personal items. Often higher end suppliers are simply a single reenactor who makes one type of item particularly well, running a small company as a side job (or in some cases a full time job). I’m going to share with you some of my favorites.
Sells some of the best uniforms out there plus excellent items like reproduction glass bottles (under civilian clothing)
Excellent handcrafted leather accouterments
Reproduction books, paperwork and stationary
Sells personal items and tin goods
Hats
Civil War Unifroms
How much does all this cost?
I took a minute this evening to crunch the numbers. If I was buying all the “basic required” items from my unit’s recommended vendors it would come up to around $2,400. Now for the one or two of you who ever thought about becoming a reenactor let me say, most of these can be found used on one of several online reenacting forums. Additionally many reenactors and units are happy to lend out gear to new recruits when needed.
How do you know when you’ve been shot?
Most reenactments involve a battle, and soldiers died in battle. We reenactors “take hits” during battle reenactments out of respect for those who fell during the original battle. Since we don’t use paint ball guns or lasers or anything like that there is no way to know if you’ve been hit. What we do instead is take hits when we feel it’s appropriate. For many reenactors this happens when we’ve run out of ammunition, get too hot, our musket fouls, or we want to lie down and take pictures of the battle without looking like a complete idiot. What this means is that during the first half of a battle, no one takes a hit. I’m just as guilty of this as everyone else. Some reenactors like to ham it up by taking an overly dramatic hit right in front of the spectators. There is nothing cheesier than this (hhmm, ham and cheese). Some unit commanders like to say “next time that cannon goes off, six of us are going to go down.” This is kind of cool and nice to see. A recent article also discussed the fact that taking prisoners is under represented in our hobby and has encouraged reenactors to surrender, and also explained what to do with prisoners once you’ve taken them.
Me and the 69th New York stand over battle casualties
Do battles have a plan? (Also “how do you know who won?)
When we go into battle we stay in formation with the rest of our unit. This means that we are being commanded by an officer (normally), who gets orders from the person above them, who gets orders from the person above them, who went to a meeting before the battle and discussed the details of the battle. Often if we’re reenacting a real battle the organizers try to follow the original battle plan as best as possible but this doesn’t always work (when you’re not in the real military, command structure kind of breaks down easily).
Is that a real gun?
Why yes it is. I own a reproduction of a model 1858 Springfield rifled musket. With the exception of some modern markings on the barrel, including the serial number, it is identical to an original weapon. While it is not an original weapon from the Civil War it can fire the same ammunition as the originals. Additionally due to the fact that Civil War weapons had interchangeable parts, I should be able to replace any part of my musket with an original part, once again this doesn’t always work in practice but it’s a nice idea.
My 1858 Springfield Reproduction
An original 1858 Springfield
What does it shoot?
Well, original 1858 Springfields fired a 58 caliber Minnie ball, a conical round with three groves. This was set within a paper cartridge along with gun powder. The paper cartridge was torn open using the front teeth and then contents poured down the barrel and then rammed down. What do I fire? The same exact thing, except without the Minnie ball. I pour down the same amount of powder as the original paper tubes contained.
Left: A reproduction paper cartridge Right: An original 58 Caliber Minnie Ball
Where do you do reenact?
That depends on the type of event. Most reenactments take place in areas where the Civil War was actually fought, that means Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia to name a few. Most large reenactments that commemorate a real battle are held on a farm near the battle site. Living histories on the other hand are often sponsored by a historic site which may or may not have actually been involved in the war, but was usually around in the mid-19th Century.
A Living History at Fort Larned National Historic Site, Kansas
Do women reenact?
This is a matter that has stirred a lot of debate amongst reenactors. There were a small number of women during the war who dressed as men in order to enlist. Some women who prefer to reenact as soldiers portray these women. The problem is that these women, for the most part, passed as men. Many of the female reenactors can not pass as men to save their lives which can create problems. I used to reenact with a group whose ranks were about 40% female. Most women though chose to portray the more traditional roles of women during the Civil War, as officer’s wives, members of soldiers’ aid societies, nurses and laundresses.
Frances Clayton a Female Civil War Soldier
Did you really sleep out here last night?
Of course I did, that’s my blanket right over there. I can’t tell you how many times at reenactments I’ve been asked this question (at the first reenactment I went to as a child I remember my Dad asking a reenactor that question). Generally yes we spend the night out.
Our Campsite at Nashamity Reenactment
Why?
This is the biggest question and the entire point of this blog. The answer is too long for this single post, but rather is something that I’ll continue to discus in the future.
I’m happy to answer other questions about reenacting so feel free to email me
* In this case an “impression” is the uniform, gear, food and supplies needed to portray a soldier from a specific unit at a specific time. For instance the impression for a soldier in the 69th New York in 1861 would be different than that same soldier in 1862, which would be different from a soldier in a different unit at the exact same time.
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