Sew over your buttonholes: I don't know of any of us yet who purchase our gear with hand sewn buttonholes. A very quick and inexpensive way to improve the look of your sack coat or frock is to hand sew over the buttonholes. Look at a machine done buttonhole. It will look like a slit because the machine makes the end squared off. A hand sewn hole will be rounded on the ends. The slight difference is very noticeable as far as ten or fifteen feet away to me when a jacket is undone. I'll teach the proper way to sew these at a meeting this winter. The proper threads are:

For frock coats: Early war - silk thread (I'm still working on a source) late war - cotton thread (Charlie Childs or Textile Reproductions)

For Sack coats: All times - Logwood dyed linen (blue thread that oxidizes brown - Textile Reproductions)

Textile Reproduction is becoming hard to order from. They don't want more retail clients. Fortunately, I got in before the cut off. We can order thread as a group through me, if necessary. Logwood is $16.50 per spool, so I think it best if we all kick in for a spool or two. Let's talk about it at a meeting.

Socks: I've seen a lot this summer to makes me want to change out all my pairs throughout the course of the next year. The rag wool socks many of us have (myself included) are not authentic. Knits are appropriate. Cotton socks are very acceptable as well as wool. I'm ordering socks from Gloria Kirschensteiner. Her work is excellent. Socks sell for $20.00 a pair. Email me for her address. Also, I'm looking at getting back to spinning wool so there may be a chance of some hand-spun, hand-knit socks in the near future.

For cotton socks contact Mikey Black. He has been making them for years for re-enactors and his name is well known among the nit-pickers. His cotton socks cost $8.00 per pair, plus $2.00 for shipping and handling. I've never heard of any complaints on his delivery time. Email me for his address as well.

Lose the hat insignia: In looking through the "Echoes of Glory" and other books, I've found that most of the soldiers who had pictures taken in the field didn't have hat insignia. Two reasons come to mind. First, the hat was one issue item, the decorations were separate. You would be issued a hat or cap and the brass wouldn't necessarily come with it. Second, would you want shiny pieces of brass on your hat when you went into combat? I doubt many of them did either.

Speaking of "Echoes of Glory:" Buy them. The three volume set in the soft cover can now be bought for around $25.00 at most major book sellers. Great addition to any Civil War library. These books are packed full of original photos and photos of original equipment. Great for checking gear against originals.

Roll proper rounds and arsenal pack them: With Scott DeVeau making the papers for the unit, this is simple and easy. Not everyone will see your rounds, but you will make a lasting impression on those who do. This especially applies to the arsenal packs. I once had another re-enactor come up to me after a scenario and thank me for giving him a look into the past. I thanked him and sheepishly asked what I had done. During the middle of the scenario, the top of my cartridge boxes ran out of ammunition and in the middle of a heavy fire fight, I had to bring up more ammo. The man told me the look on my face and the way I was shaking while I did it made the scenario for him. It gave him a look into the past. Cool for him, more authentic for me, it's an easier way to handle ammo in a knapsack, arsenal packing is a winner in every direction. I don't understand why I ever skipped that step.

Be sure to pack the 12 caps on one end in a cartridge tube. Never again will you wonder where the cap for the next round is coming from. If we can implement this on a unit level, it will eliminate the need for us to have to pass a tin of caps (which I always feel is like passing out rolls of toy caps when I was a kid).

If you don't know how to arsenal pack, don't worry. There are several of us who are willing and able to teach you and help you build the simple jig that makes the job easier. Just come to a powder party sometime. Often Scott Cummings and I end up doing nothing but arsenal packing. I rather enjoy it.

Drill well: This is probably the best way to cheaply improve your impression. This idea goes back to our last discussion. Soldiers weren't in the war individually, they're in it together for the long haul. Only through the unity of a military command can an army prevail. As enlisted men and junior officers, our job is to know the skills necessary to quickly and efficiently execute the orders given to us. Drill prepares us to do that. The Army of the Potomac had almost nine months to prepare. We have only a few days in the winter and several hours at each event. Please attend as many as you can. Your pards need you and you need the work.

Practice School of the Soldier on your own. All you need is yourself, your rifle and a manual or, better yet, a video (pardon the shameless advertisement - buy from Cummings). Your knowledge and ability coming into a drill will allow Jim and Scott (as our guest instructor) to get more done.

You can reach me on email at [email protected]

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