EVENT SCHEDULE

August 18-20 Wheeler County, GA

Drill/Fishing/Live Fire Encampment

September Let's talk about September as

there is Battle for the Bridge, Tunnel Hill

and Chancelorsville.

October 7-8 Andersonville Encampment

October 13-15 Jonesboro Living History

October 20-21 Pickett's Mill, Candlelight

Living History

October 27-29 Loudoun County, Virginia

Preservation March

November 10-12 Lafayette, GA Mahan's

Outpost

Members need to contact Jerry

Gouge regarding their desire to participate

in the above listed events. We need to

begin registering now. Some of the events

require a registration fee. Let's register as

a group for each of these events rather

than have individuals sending in their

monies. Contact Jerry Gouge at 800-824-

8083 days, 843-757-3689 evenings or at

[email protected]. Information

regarding future events will be published in

the future newsletters.

PROPOSED CANDIDATES

If anyone has a man they feel would

fit into what we are trying to accomplish,

feel free to mention his name to Jerry

Gouge who will publish his candidacy in the

next newsletter.

Proposed Candidates

Shane Karney

Ron Kelly

Jeff Jue

If you feel that these men do not fit with

our group call me. If I do not receive 2

negative votes for any of them then they

will be mailed invitations around the end of

July.

Outstanding Invitations

Peter Bonner

Mark Pollard

KENNESAW MTN

All of the feedback received to-date

has been positive. Everyone seemed to

enjoy themselves immensely. The food

was good, the drill was both well managed

and informative, the comradery was great.

The 1st Georgia State Line were excellent

host and Robby Mitchell and George Eason

did a great job in leading us through our

paces. I was greatly impressed when we

built the breastworks in such a short period

of time. We moved this huge tree as a

group, one that I thought immovable,

teamwork.

Those attending were: George

Eason, Rod Glock, Jerry Gouge, Ron

Green, Chuck Haskell, Dutch Henderson,

Andrew Jerram, Paul Jerram, Richard

Kelly, LeBron Matthews, Robby Mitchell,

Hunter Poythress and Mark Taylor.

FROM THE RANKS

There are many of us in the 1st

Georgia Regulars who hold senior positions

in other commands. At Kennesaw on

Friday night there were seven of us under

a shebang who all hold rank at the sergeant

or higher level. All seven were in the

ranks for the weekend serving as privates.

There was a lot of experience in that group

and there is a lot of experience in the

Regulars.

We must be constantly vigilant and

avoid all attempts at expressing ourselves

or voicing opinions while in front of the

public. When you are serving as a private

act as a private. Be quiet in the ranks and

do not attempt to influence the manner of

the drill or interfere in any way. Let the

officer and NCOs in charge do their job.

Let them make mistakes if necessary. The

time for discussion is back in camp, not in

front of the public. Basically be

professional.

FOOTPRINTS

Jerry Gouge has multiple copies

of Footprints of a Regiment by William

Andrews, 1st Sgt. Co. M, this is the

history of the 1st Georgia Regulars, if

you have not read it and would like to

borrow a copy get in touch with him.

If you have a borrowed book out on

loan please return it as soon as possible

so that others can borrow it.

MAHAN'S OUTPOST

We have paid for 15 slots for the

Mahan's event. So far I have received

payment from Rod Glock, Jerry Gouge,

Andrew Jerram, Paul Jerram, Jamie King,

and LeBron Matthews. That means there

are 9 open slots. I have word from a

number of you who have said that they are

going but I have not received your $5 yet.

Some of you have not committed yet as

you are not sure you have the proper

Federal gear. If you want to go we will

get you the equipment, do not let that put

you off. Let us help you.

Canteens of the Army of

Northern Virginia

Research Article submitted by Bret

Sumner, 4th Virginia

SWB Uniform and Standards Committee

Federal Canteens [1]

As we all know, the Federal army

was perhaps the most efficient

quartermaster for the Army of Northern

Virginia. There are numerous first person

accounts of Confederate soldiers utilizing

federal equipment, taken after a battle

from yanks who no longer needed it. I

recently read a first person account about

a Confederate private who, while a battle

was still raging, rushed in front of his own

line to obtain the haversack of a dead

federal soldier. (Several of us may

remember the SWB's very own Sgt. "Dusty"

Chapman of the 27th VA - doing something

similar this year during the Wilderness

Campaign at Sanders Field - to obtain

some yankee brogans!).

There were two basic patterns of

canteens issued to the Federal army during

the War Between the States: (1) the

"smoothside" pattern (aka 1858 pattern);

and (2) corrugated canteens (aka "bullseye"

canteens; aka 1862 pattern).

"Smoothside" canteens were

manufactured by a variety of Federal

contractors and were issued or produced

from the federal depots in New York,

Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

The "Pattern of 1858" was described as a

"oblate spheroid tinned sheet iron" canteen,

which in modern parlance, translates to

"smoothside." The corrugated canteens

were first produced around July of 1862 by

the Philadelphia Depot. Corrugated

canteens generally had either 5, 7, or 11

rings on the sides, as opposed to being

smoothside, hence the modern parlance

"bullseye" canteen.

The New York Depot issued only

the smoothside canteen (1858 Pattern), it

did not have manufacturing capability and

therefore only received and shipped lots of

"complete" canteens received from its

contractors. New York Depot canteens had

the following characteristics:

1. The "body" of the canteen was made of

"oblate spheroid tinned sheet iron"

(translation = smoothside tin).

2. A spout of white metal (not tin),

occasionally mounted on the canteen with

large spout "shoulder" reinforcement that

bulged out from the

canteen.

3. The Stopper (cork with wire loop) was

attached with a jack chain, with a hole

punched in a tin strap keeper to hold the

chain.

4. New York Depot canteens had leather

slings until mid-1862, and then cotton,

linen, or cloth slings thereafter.

5. Most canteen covers were made of

course gray wool jean cloth. Some of this

jean cloth may have been dyed with

logwood, which would have faded

with exposure to the sun into a brownish

color.

The Philadelphia Depot issued

smoothside canteens until July, 1862 and

thereafter issued the "bullseye" pattern

canteen. The bullseye pattern

canteen had the following characteristics:

1. Corrugated sides with generally either 5

or 7 rings. 11-ring varieties were also

produced.

2. A spout of white metal (not tin).

3. The Stopper was attached with a string

or cord. No hole was punched into the tin

strap holder. Note: Only the New York

Depot produced jack chains for canteens.

Also, jack chains were not produced by any

Confederate state - jack chain

manufacturers were only located in the

North.

4. Leather slings - until approximately,

July 1862. By mid-1862, canteen straps

were made of one-inch white cotton herring

bone webbing.

5. Canteen covers were made of either (1)

cheap kersey; (2) cheap sky-blue or gray

satinet; (3) any other material available,

such as material from old blankets,

discarded overcoats, and upholstery

material.

General Characteristics of Federal

Canteens:

Canteen Slings:

Up until mid-1862, most federal

canteen sling was made of leather, with a

tin buckle and protector (which was a "lip"

of leather underneath the tin buckle,

apparently made to protect the uniform or

clothing from rust or staining). After

mid-1862, all federal depots manufactured

canteen slings were made of cotton, linen,

or cloth. The cloth straps had folded and

machine-sewn edges, or "four-panel, double

chevron" weave one-inch wide web. In

regard to non-leather canteen slings, its

interesting to note that numerous surviving

originals indicate that the soldiers modified

their canteen slings by shortening them and

then re-stitching the ends together. This

personal modification makes sense -

individual soldiers modified their slings to

fit their size, in an effort to keep their

canteen riding high on their body to avoid

the canteen banging against their legs or

hip.

Stopper Attachment:

As mentioned above, only the New

York Depot produced canteens with jack

chain stopper (cork) attachments.

Generally, all other Federal depots

attached the canteen stopper with

approximately 20 inches of stout cotton or

linen cord. The cord was tied in a loop and

passed through itself, first through the

stopper loop, and then through the sling

keeper loop.

Canteen Covers:

As mentioned above, the most

common material used for canteen covers

was cheap, course grey jean cloth or wool.

This material would oxidize with time and

develop into almost a "camel" color brown.

Other types of tan, brown, or gray jean

cloth were also used for covers.

Importantly, federal canteens with sky blue

covers were extremely rare, and dark blue

wool covers were non-existent.

Unfortunately, there is a prevalence of dark

blue or sky blue canteen covers in

re-enacting today. Dark blue wool was not

used for canteen covers because it was

fairly expensive and usually reserved for

the making of frock coats and sack coats.

Jean cloth was very inexpensive, yet

durable, material - and therefore more

practical for the construction of canteen

covers.

Confederate Canteens

I did not have time to conduct much

research regarding the issuance of canteens

produced by the Southern States and issued

to the Army of Northern Virginia. I have

not yet found any real documentation or

reliable secondary source material.

Obviously, there was a wide variety of

canteens worn by Confederate soldiers,

including a variety of wooden canteens

(most prominent in the Western Theatre),

tin drum canteens (please consult Echos of

Glory for representative examples), and

Federal canteens. I do know that

Confederate produced tin drum canteens

were issued to many ANV regiments in

1861 and early 1862. For example, I know

that some companies of the 4th Virginia

had tin drum canteens at First Manassas.

I also recently examined an extremely

detailed inventory of quartermaster and

ordnance records for the 4th Texas Vol.

Infantry - Hood's Texans (Longstreet's

Corps) and, interestingly, there are no

records for the issuance of canteens after

December 31, 1862. (I am in the process

of writing another article to discuss and

analyze these quartermaster records - they

are amazing).

Based upon examination of pictures

of Confederate prisoners (i.e. the famous

picture of Spotsylvania prisoners at "The

Punch Bowl" and the picture of prisoners

at White House Landing), it seems that

many of the Confederates with federal

canteens did not have any cover on them

whatsoever. It may be inferred from these

pictures that Confederate soldiers would

have "canabalized" their canteen covers in

order to use the materials for patching

worn clothing.

General Recommendations for

Fine-Tuning your impression:

(Remember - these recommendations are

just well-meaning advice from a pard, - and

should not be taken as directive or

mandatory requirement.)

1. Disregard sky blue or dark blue wool

canteen covers and replace with grey wool

or grey or brown jean cloth.

2. For late war impressions, the absence

of canteen covers and the utilization of

cloth or linen slings, as opposed to leather

slings would make sense.

3. Only smoothside (New York Depot)

canteens should have jack chain stopper

attachments. All other canteens should

have cord/string attaching the cork to the

canteen or no attachment at all.

4. Non-leather canteen slings should be

shortened to "ride high" on your body -

resting just above your hip. Extra holes can

be punched in leather slings to allow for

further shortening.

5. If you are doing an 1861-62 impression

and have a leather sling, you may wish to

consider purchasing a correctly construct

sling that has a "protector" (leather lip)

underneath the tin buckle. (Unfortunately,

there are very few people who make

correct reproductions - see below)

Modern Sutlers - Sources for Correct

Canteens:

1. Confederate Wooden Canteens: The best

source is Fort Branch Supply Co. - the

owner, Ken Bucher, makes an exact

reproduction of a Gardner pattern

Confederate wooden canteen, made of

juniper. This reproduction canteen is

copied from an original issued out of the

Raleigh Depot in North Carolina. Every

detail of this original canteen is

reproduced, including the depot stamp on

the sling, coopering the staves, applying the

banding, and sealing the inside with bees'

wax. These canteens are so authentic that

the National Park system and several

antique dealers requested that the

reproduction canteens be signed and

numbered to prevent one from being

passed off as an original. The cost is

$64.95 (which includes shipping). Contact

Information: Fort Branch Supply Co., P.O.

Box 190 Windsor, NC 27983; Phone: (919)

794-5400; e-mail: [email protected]

2. Federal Smoothside or Bullseye

Canteens: The most correct source is C&D

Jarnigan - yes, I said Jarnigan. However,

when ordering be sure to request a tin (not

stainless steel) canteen, with a canvas

sling and no cover. Jarnigan only offers

sky blue or dark blue canteen covers.

Contact: C&D Jarnigan - phone: (601)

287-4977; e-mail [email protected];

web-site: www.jarniginco.com

3. Correct Canteen Covers: Charlie Childs

offers a simple canteen cover kit

for $6.00. Contact: County Cloth, 13797-C

Georgetown St. NE, Paris, Ohio 44669;

phone: (330) 862-3307. You can choose the

material from his current selection of jean

and then he will send you a kit, with the

necessary markings and directions to assist

you in sewing the cover. Making your own

canteen cover is relatively simple and I

would be more than willing to assist (I

have no sewing ability to speak of, and I

still managed to make two decent canteen

covers).

In addition, I am hoping to obtain

some logwood dyed grey jean cloth in the

next couple of weeks, and I may be

offering canteen covers for sale at Cedar

Creek. My covers will be hand stitched and

I will hand-stitch the upper-half of the

cover at the event, as well as re-stitch your

cloth sling if necessary (for a modest fee or

a moderate amount of high quality liquor).

4. Correct Canteen Slings:

a. Cotton Web Straps: Leighton Young,

1601 Wingate Way Dunwoody

"Discipline Has Everything To Do With

Success."

Preliminary Notes on Martial Practice

(or the lack thereof) in Modern

Reenacting

By Robert A. Braun

Consider veteran soldiers during the War

of the Rebellion.

Not the survivors of one battle, but

veterans of many campaigns, marches,

skirmishes, foraging expeditions, and

pitched combats. How did these veterans

carry themselves? What was the "attitude"

of such soldiers 135 years ago? How much

has our modern assumptions colored the

reality of discipline within veteran

regiments? Or do we "know a veteran when

we see one?"

A simple experiment might expose

this last point. In which of the two sample

companies would you expect to find

veteran soldiers?

EXAMPLE 1.

At the command "Fall in!" the grizzled

sergeant fishes for his roll book in his

blouse. Corporals mark the company line as

soldiers, singularly and in small groups,

slowly amble towards the company line.

Talking and laughing, some with blouses

unbuttoned and trouser cuffs stuffed into

their socks, they shuffle and elbow into

their place in ranks. One man puffs on the

stub of a cigar; another drags his united

shoelaces through the mud of the company

street. Heads turn each which way as the

last of the soldiers comes into line. Some

rifle-muskets are carried at the shoulder;

others at the position of "Order, Arms."

Two men in the rear rank laugh

uncontrollably at some jest, while others

finish buckling their accouterment. At the

sergeant's command "Attention, Company!"

the company line bends and waivers as

some men continue to talk, while others

keep their pieces at an "order, Arms." The

First Corporal yells for the men to "Shut

up!" The sergeant again calls "Attention

Company" then, "Right Dress." The

company shuffles this way and that, with

corporals laboring to align the left of the

line with the right. A file-closer yells for

the man with the cigar to "Put that thing

out!" The smoker shouts a curse at the file-

closer as he crushes the cigar remnants into

the mud. The sergeant calls "Support

Arms," then "Attention to roll call."

EXAMPLE 2.

At the command "Fall in!" the grizzled

sergeant fishes for his roll book in his

blouse. Corporals mark the company line as

soldiers move at the double quick for their

places in line. Blouses buttoned, trousers

trim, and accouterment strapped, each man

arrives at his place in silence. Except for

an occasional tug at the blouse to ensure it

is smooth at the beltline, or a slight

adjustment to the hat, each stands at

"Attention" and at "Shoulder Arms."

Corporals and file-closers make

adjustments in low voices to ensure the

ranks are straight and square. When the

corporals look straight ahead, the Sergeant

knows the company is ready for the roll.

The sergeant calls "Support Arms," then

"Attention to roll call."

Which did you pick? Interestingly

enough* these examples, drawn from recent

reenacting experience, depict TWO self-

described "veteran" companies!

Then, as now, no one wants to

belong to a slip-shod, ramshackle

organization. Consequently, many of today's

Civil War reenacting groups adopt the

name, uniform and traditions of what I

term "prestige" regiments. Such prestige

regiments originally gained their

reputations for hard fighting or marching

by actually performing well and (for the

most part) surviving well under fire. All

too often, the people who don the uniform

and bear the name of these regiments bear

little resemblance to the soldiers of the

original organization. Why?

The answer is stunningly simple:

they have not learned the very basics

regarding what it took to be the soldiers

they are supposed to portray.

Naturally, there will be many that

will object to my strong assessment.

Among the objectors will be people that

claim a studied approach to their adopted

regiment. And among these are folks in

uniform who simply ignore or refuse to

salute officers, who render anachronistic

salutes (when they bother to salute at all),

who regularly abuse and backtalk corporals

and sergeants, and whose dialog is liberally

peppered with anachronistic phrases like

"Fire in th' hole!" and "Don't call me 'sir.' I

am a sergeant; I work for a living."

The key word that separates the

civilian world from the military world is

"discipline." Too many of today's reenacting

organizations look like backwoods

volunteer militia instead of the rough-cut

veteran troops they aspire to portray. One

manual of the period instructed new

soldiers: "Discipline has everything to do

with success. Anthony Wayne, with his two

Pennsylvania brigades, was considered

equal, in combat, to twice his force of the

enemy because his discipline was so rigid.

*Severe discipline enforced may be the

means of bringing a victory, where a lax

discipline would surely bring defeat and

disgrace." (1)

Discipline, coupled with the

"process" of veteranization was readily

evident to soldiers of the Civil War period.

Witness the new 124th New York Infantry

as they first encountered the veteran 86th

New York Infantry on brigade parade: "The

line of the 86th New York was not half so

long [as ours], having suffered severely

under McClellan in the Peninsular

campaign; but when its little companies of

tanned veterans, in their faded, dingy

looking blue, formed on their tattered,

weather-stained colors dressed to a perfect

line, with the slightest perceptible turn of

their heads, and brought their guns to an

order with a single thud we were ready to

doff our caps, as in the presence of our

superiors." How many of today's reenactors

take off their caps or hats when in the

presence of an officer? (2)

Our modern extrapolations of what

veterans must have been like should be

compared to the evidence provided by

soldier reminiscences and the manuals of

the period. For those of us who believe the

cigar smoker in Example 1. is a study in

the cavalier "veteran" attitude, I would

invite one's attention to the manuals of the

period. In 1864, August Kautz wrote: "A

slovenly attitude, frequent changes of

position, or much gesticulation, is

exceedingly unmilitary and looks bad*"

Kautz also outlined the army's traditional

expectation for soldiers and their

relationship with non-commissioned

officers (sergeants and corporals): "Non-

commissioned officers are entitled to

implicit obedience from soldiers, and they

should be obeyed and respected by the

men; and when a non-commissioned officer

fails in obtaining this regard and obedience

from the men, he fails in his most essential

qualifications." In regiments where Kautz's

counsel was adopted, it was more than

probable that any veteran "swaggering" was

done out of ranks and off-duty. (3)

Does the scene portrayed in

Example 1 replay itself often during

today's reenactments? For that matter, how

realistic is Example 2?

The annoying "militia" jaunt used by

too many "wanna-be" veteran types in

modern reenacting is easily explained: the

hobby doesn't just lack the potential for

death from bullets, shells, bayonets, and

the omnipotent specter of disease (which

suits most of us just fine!) it also lacks an

ability for commissioned officers and non-

commissioned officers to mete out

discipline as required under the "Articles of

War."

Haven't read the Articles of War?

Don't worry* you have plenty of company.

The Articles of War were "an Act for

establishing Rules and Articles for the

Government of the Armies of the United

States." It provided the rules and the

consequences for soldiers who deviated

from the rules. They carried the same

function and weight as the "Uniform Code

of Military Justice" does for soldiers today.

A reading of the "Articles" should be

required for each reenactor who fancies

himself a "solder" if for no other reason

that the Articles of War was more likely

than not read to each Federal Civil War

soldier at least once during his term of

service. The reality of the Articles of War

goes a long way to supporting the

behaviors cited in Example 2.

Let us return to our company in

Example 1. Remember the man who

shouted a curse to the file closer, because

he was smoking in the ranks? How many

times have you seen that scene replayed on

the reenactment field? The truth is that our

cigar smoker very well may have

committed an infraction of Article Six of

the Articles of War, towit: "Any officer or

soldier who shall behave himself with

contempt or disrespect towards his

commanding officer, shall be punished

according to the nature of his offence, by

the judgement of a court-martial." Simply

put our profane cigar smoker could

technically be charged with an offense

under Article Six, and tried by court-

martial! (4)

Ridiculous, you would say! Why the

court-martials docket would be jammed

with such miscreants! There would be no

room to charge the real criminals! Further,

the cigar-smoker swore at a "file-closer,"

and not "his commanding officer!" So

"technically," there is no offense under

Article Six!

Well, how do we not know (aside

from the obvious danger of smoking

around gunpowder) that the Colonel or

captain of this particular company has not

already issued orders against smoking in

ranks? If this is so, we have grounds to

prefer charges under to Article Six. It is

also possible that a more realistic

sensibility could have intervened. Much

time and trouble would have been

consumed in preferring a charge and

specification for review by court-martial. If

on active campaign, a trial by court-martial

could be delayed for weeks or months.

Rather, the miscreant could have been

dealt with in other ways. One such method

was inclusion of the man's name on the

Black List. Whenever a particularly

disagreeable task presented itself, the

Black List provided the detail for the work.

Worse, being on the Black List did not

exempt the wrongdoer from other tours of

duty that might arise on the regular duty

roster! (5)

What about talking in the ranks?

Witness the remarks of Lieutenant Charles

B. Hayden, 2d Michigan Infantry, written in

early January, 1862: "Corpls. Ball &

Coleman will be reduced to the ranks to

morrow for long continued neglect &

ignorance of duty. They have done no one

very serious thing but have been deficient

in a number of small ones. They could not

desist from talking & laughing in the ranks

had to be spoken to every day or two about

standing at attention at roll call. These

things are not allowed in a private, & in a

non-commissioned officer, who is expected

to be perfection itself in all the minutiae of

military affairs, it cannot be endured.

*Again they had no control over their

squads. They were rolled & tumbled about

at the will of the men. Disobedience to

Corpls. Is the germ and fountainhead of

insubordination in the whole army." From

this account, we learn that "talking and

laughing in ranks" and neglecting to stand

at attention at roll call are "are not allowed

in a private!" For these and other

infractions, Hayden's captain two corporals

reduced two corporals to the ranks! So,

what penalty should be incurred by our

"cigar smoker" and the talkers in Example

1? (6)

As we have seen, today's problem

with a lack of discipline that otherwise

would have been demanded in an actual

Civil War regiment is derived from two

basic errors: a.) the notion that "veterans"

in the hobby acquire their status through

excellence in drill or their material

impression, not their attitude; and b.) "since

you really can't enforce federal authority

over me according to Articles of War, I'm

still free to pretty much do as I please."

While the latter observation may be

technically true, the goal of enlightened

reenactors has always been to strive for the

closer, purer experience of nineteenth

century soldiering. To choose some

soldiering experiences and conveniently

ignore other less-palatable experiences is to

deny the original goal. Does this mean that

if a modern reenacting private is yelled at

or forced to carry a log for talking in ranks

or being late for a formation, one should

take this in stride and meekly accept the

"punishment" as a matter of discipline

and*."authenticity?" How would you answer

this?

For those of us that are convinced

that a more disciplined, thoughtful,

attentive posture needs to be taken when

one dons a uniform to portray a

SOLDIER yet aren't quite sure how to

attain that status, The Military Handbook

and Soldiers Manual has some advice: "An

earnest desire to excel, a close attention to

duty, and thoughtful observation will

render you an expert, to be pointed out by

the captain as 'one of my best men.' A

soldier's profession can only be learned by

practice and observation. Many a man goes

through an entire season's campaign

without attaining the a knowledge beyond

the simplest exercise and maneuvers

because of indifference to duty, and

inattention." (7)

Finally, for those of us who remain

unconvinced that veteran soldiers,

WITHOUT BEING TOLD, kept themselves

and their accouterment and equipage in

good order, cleaned their persons when

they could, cleaned their rifle-muskets,

kept their brasses bright, their shoes tied

and blackened, in short* did everything that

some claim today they can do once they

"get home" from a reenactment the 1864

words of August Kautz, bears special

emphasis:

"A well-instructed and disciplined

infantryman is always preparing for duty.

His hours of leisure are devoted to

preparation. His clothing is prepared and

cleaned, his knapsack is always packed, his

arms and accouterment in order, and his

ammunition secure." (8)

The soldier accounts and manuals of

the period from 1861-1864 point to specific

behaviors that marked high quality troops.

Veteran troops of the Civil War era were

prone to all the usual diversions and

temptations of camp and garrison life.

They were more prone to excesses in the

field. They often wore their hats at a

jaunty angle and occasionally modified

their clothing to suit their taste. Moreover,

when it came to drill, formations and

regular duty, they were easily discernable

from the "fresh fish" and "100 days men" on

whom they heaped their "veteran" derision.

Veterans had proven their dependability,

and were often called upon repeatedly to

spearhead an attack, rescue a blunder, or

cover a retreat. This sturdiness,

dependability, and discipline made them

the envy of their division. We would do

well to emulate this example if we truly

strive to honor the sacrifice of our Civil

War ancestors.

Tyrannical, popinjay officers will be

my subjects in a future discourse.

NOTES:

(1) Louis Le Grand, The Military Handbook and

Soldiers Manual*, "Personal Hints to the

Volunteer," pp. 26-7

(2) Charles H. Weygant, History of the One

Hundred and Twenty Fourth Regiment,

N.Y.S.V., p. 36.

(3) August Kautz, Customs of Service for Non-

Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, Paras. 55,

309.

(4) Revised United States Army Regulations of

1861, "Articles of War," p. 486.

(5) John D. Billings, Hardtack and Coffee, p.

145.

(6) Stephen W. Sears, For Country, Cause &

Leader: The Civil War Journal of Charles B.

Hayden, p. 171.

(7) Louis Le Grand, The Military Handbook and

Soldiers Manual*, "Personal Hints to the

Volunteer," p. 26.

(8) August Kautz, Customs of Service for Non-

Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, Para. 147.

15 LOW EFFORT, ZERO COST

WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR

BATLEFIELD IMPRESSION

by Pvt. Glenn Milner

When you mention the ugly word

"authenticity" to some reenactors, the first

thing that pops into their head is dollar

signs and/or long hours of hand sewing. I

will try to show you in this article that it

doesn't have to be that way. As a matter of

fact, the first five and the last of these

items can be worked on half-way between

your ears while you recline in your favorite

chair consuming the beverage of your

choice. How's that for low effort?

Please allow me to say that the

author is making no claims of perfection. I

have done pretty much all of this stuff

wrong in the past at one time or another.

But, I'm trying to improve and that's all

I'm asking of you. Some reenactors call this

being "progressive" but it really doesn't

matter to me what you call it. As always,

keep in mind that recruits deserve, and

should be cut, a lot of slack in these and all

areas of reenacting.

Item #1 - Change your reenacting goal on

the battlefield.

Your goal should be to look like a

period soldier, not other reenactors

including me. If you're not willing to do

this, you may as well stop reading this

article now and I'll see you in the field,

pard. Study photographs of real soldiers in

the field. It doesn't cost anything to look at

period photographs in a library book. Most

libraries will have the ten volume

Photographic History of the Civil War by

Francis T. Miller or a five volume reprint

of it.

Item #2 - Resist the 20th century urge to

"stand out" in the crowd.

A real Civil War soldier who "stood

out" within his unit on the battlefield

became an aiming point for the enemy.

Why do you think that it was so hazardous

to be a color bearer? Even across a field

choked with smoke, the flag could be

picked out and the enemy knew somebody

was most likely standing under it. Real

soldiers fighting with Napoleonic tactics

would not have issued "shoot me first"

invitations to an enemy firing at them. "By

the second year of the war, the veterans on

both sides had discarded the finery of the

early period, adopted very plain and

functional dress, and had settled down to

the grim business of survival." (3)

Item #3 - Change your attitude about drill.

Civil war soldiers drilled so much

that their response to commands became

automatic. To me, nothing is more

embarrassing than stumbling around on the

battlefield without knowing how to

properly respond to a command. Please

remember that our overall company drill

proficiency is determined by our most

poorly drilled private. I'm not talking about

mistakes or lapses because everybody

commits those. Heck, I forget my "number"

all the time. We can't invest the time in

drill that real soldiers did, but you should

want to drill all you can within your

physical limits.

Item #4 - Don't be so sensitive about taking

orders or being yelled at.

After all, we're reenacting a life-

and-death situation and some agitation is

certainly appropriate. Also, bear in mind

that our officers and NCO's are, just like

the real ones were, trying to be heard

above the noise. Additionally, the midst of

battle is not the time to dazzle your pards

with your near-photographic quality

knowledge of 1855 Hardee's, 1862

Hardee's, Casey's, Scott's or Gilham's drill

manuals. In battle, obey now and argue

later. After all, there's nothing an officer

likes more than a spirited camp debate

over the finer points of drill and tactics;

right?

Item #5 - Don't "ham it up" on the

battlefield.

I'm sorry, but I can't see how you're

honoring anybody with cartoon-style hits,

suicide charges (you may as well be

wearing a sign board saying "Civil War

soldiers were idiots") or acting bulletproof.

In front of the spectators, act like you're

under fire and concerned about your health.

The minimal effort thing to do is to take a

stone-cold dead hit and lay there until

"resurrect" is called. By the way, this is not

the time to roll up on one elbow and light

a cigarette or watch the action. If you must

have a smoke or watch the action, please

limp to the rear out of the immediate sight

of the spectators.

Item #6 - Lose most or all of your hat

brass.

The vast majority of period

photographs taken of private soldiers in the

field show no hat brass. This is especially

true for Confederates. Don't take my word

for it; look for hat brass in photos of

Confederate dead, Confederate prisoners or

the few field photos of live Confederates.

It's pretty scarce and the brass that you do

see is probably going to be on a captured

Federal forage cap. Go back and re-read

Item #2.

Item #7 - Don't load your hat up with

"stuff".

Please don't decorate your hat with

silly stuff like coon tails, coon "bones",

playing cards or various brass emblems

proclaiming this or that. Yes, there were

specific units who wore distinctive

decorations on their hats with the

Pennsylvania "Bucktails" being one of the

more well-known ones. However, we don't

portray the 42nd, 149th or 150th

Pennsylvania. As bad as I hate to admit it

because of the potential for abuse, some

sources indicate that a feather in your

Confederate slouch was an authentic

practice. (2) But, please re-read Item #2

before you "feather up".

Item #8 - Wear your waist belt in a period-

correct fashion.

Soldiers wore their waist belts (and

trouser waist bands) at the "natural waist"

as was the custom in the 1860's. Roughly

speaking, wearing your waist belt at the

natural waist means wearing it so your belt

plate is over your belly button. If you're

wearing your jacket or sack coat, you can

do this even if you have incorrect, modern-

cut trousers with no rise in the waistband.

I would also suggest that you shorten your

cartridge box belt accordingly. The higher

you wear your gear, the less uncomfortable

it will be especially if you're loaded down

with some marching to do. Does anyone

remember Raymond, MS?

Item #9 - Wear your haversack outside your

waist belt.

The wearing of haversacks

underneath waist belts is a "reenactorism"

that seemingly will not die. I challenge you

to show me a period photograph or

eyewitness illustration showing this

practice. A soldier's accoutrements were

always put on first to make the soldier

ready for duty. Accoutrements consisted of

a cartridge box, a cap box, a bayonet with

scabbard and a waist belt. A haversack is

not an accoutrement and there are practical

reasons for not wearing it underneath the

waist belt. If the haversack is worn

correctly, a reenactor can drop his blanket

roll or knapsack at a short halt and swing

his haversack around to the front while

sitting on the ground and keeping his

accoutrements on. Another practical reason

for wearing your haversack correctly is that

it won't force you to wear it lower than

optimum for the load which leads me to

the next item.

Item #10 - Shorten the straps of your

haversack and canteen.

Again, the higher you wear your

gear, the less uncomfortable it will be. An

easily reversible way to try this is to

shorten them by tying knots in them. It

might take you several events and

adjustments to find your optimum. It's

documented that original Federal canteens

are often found with the common cotton

drill strap shortened by knotting. (1) Once

you decide your optimum "ride height" on

your haversack, it's probably more accurate

to shorten it by cutting and re-sewing the

strap. Keep in mind that sutlers sell these

items with extra-long straps to try to

accommodate as many different sized

people as they can.

Item #11 - Don't wear leggings or "gaiters".

Keep your gaiters to lend to recruits

to cover up modern footwear. Gaiters are

exactly like Item #7, silly hat decorations,

in that a very few specific units that we

don't portray wore them in the field. I can't

put it any better than "A typical soldier in

the field, after the first few months of the

war, wouldn't be caught dead with such a

silly and useless item." (3)

Item #12 - Don't wear sweat bands.

Please don't wear sweat bands even

those made from bandannas. The general

consensus is that this is a 20th century G.I.

practice probably originating with Vietnam

era veterans. Victorian men from the

1860's would have laughed themselves to

tears over some of the stuff reenactors

wear on their heads. If you're going to wear

a bandage around your head, at least put a

little fake blood on there so the spectators

will know it's a bandage.

Item #13 - Wear your blanket roll or

knapsack to the battle.

Except in specific cases where they

were ordered to do so, veteran soldiers

stopped dropping their rolls and knapsacks

before going into battle. Early in the war,

units frequently ended up miles from their

knapsack piles at the end of a day's battle.

They quickly learned the hard way that

they might not ever see them again even if

they were left under guard. If the knapsack

guards saw that a general retreat was

underway, they would set fire to the

knapsack piles and skeedaddle along with

everyone else. A single, rolled and end-tied

wool or gum blanket will really add to your

battlefield impression.

Item #14 - Don't wear your socks "bloused"

all the time.

This is not an incorrect practice, it's

just way overdone. Sock blousing is

documented to have been practiced by

some on both sides in the field. However,

I submit that there are far more period

photographs of Federals wearing their

trousers folded up or rolled up at the cuffs.

There are also a couple of practical reasons

for not doing it. Blousing will, eventually,

stretch and ruin your socks. Also, it lets

stuff get down into the top of your brogans

to irritate your ankles and feet. I'm just

suggesting that you might try folding or

rolling your cuffs every once in a while.

Item #15 - Don't despise reenactors who

talk about authenticity.

We're not trying to make your life

miserable. After all, the sun will probably

come up tomorrow even if you don't have

hand sewn button holes. We just feel that

the way to honor the soldiers is to act, look

and do like they did as closely as we know

how without being dangerous. And, "as

closely as we know how" changes over

time. Folks discover long-forgotten

artifacts, manuscripts and photographs all

the time which put us ever closer to

Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. I hope that

they would have approved.

References:

1. Coates, Earl J., "The Civil War Issue

Canteens: Patterns of 1858 and 1862",

Military Collector & Historian, Volume

XLVII: No. 3 (Fall 1995) This article

about Federal issue canteens is an

analysis based on surviving originals

with many from private collections.

2. Jensen, Leslie D., Johnny Reb: The

Uniform of the Confederate Army,

1861-1865, 1996, Stackpole Books. A

former curator at the Museum of the

Confederacy in Richmond, Les Jensen

invented the ten year old pattern

classification system of Confederate

depot jackets that you hear sutlers and

reenactors use and abuse all the time

(i.e. Richmond Depot Type II,

Richmond Depot Type III). In other

words, he's "the man" although he'll

modestly tell you in person that he's

not. By the way, this inexpensive little

paperback (about $13) is a great source

of expertly analyzed photographs of

Confederates both in the studio and in

the field.

3. Kinzer, Cal, "A Dozen Inexpensive Ways

to Improve Your Personal Impression"

currently residing on the Bullyboys'

website among others. Cal's article was

the inspiration for my little article.

Quotes are used by permission of the

author. Mr. Kinzer is an often published

veteran reenactor who's been writing

about authenticity in reenacting for 25

years including The Hardcracker

Handbook.