Must haves in a haversack ?

18thmississippi

Corporal
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Location
confederacy
cw0214_01_enlarge.jpg


Just seeing what everyone carriers in their haversack just to better myself and those around me. I personally always carry lighter knot, sargents tool, a good sharp knife, and most of gun cleaning tools and minor first aide supply just in case something happens on The field. Anyone have something else they carry?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What Grayrock said. The salty grease from the bacon/salt pork is just no good on metal, and I've not found a way to prevent it from getting over everything. Putting the meat at the bottom and less leaky stuff like hardtack at the top helps a little, but it's kinda hopeless.
 
Seriously? A sergeant's tool? First aid items? Haversacks are for rations. They're not intended to be glorified man bags.

- S.S. Mucket
What he said. Three days' rations is a lot of stuff, and even if you start off Friday with 1/3 gone because you only have to eat through Sunday, that's still a lot of hardtack, especially. Seems it's the most bulky. Heaven forbid you forage a potato or two. Where do you put two or three pounds of hardtack plus a pound or two of meat, if there's anything else in your haversack?
 
Haversacks are for personal items. I also use it to hide personal modern items from the public, unless I'm in a full immersion event, which I don't bring anything to be as immersive as possible. I keep food, my phone (IMPORTANT FOR EMERGENCIES), water bottles in case there is no source of water (your safety and other's are the main priority), and maybe an old period book if you are a lonely runt like myself at camp.
 
I run on both sides of the fence about my haversack. When campaigning, it's full of food only, the purpose for which real soldiers carried them.

At mainstream events, it holds my hard case with my modern glasses inside; a little plastic bottle of eye drops, maybe my turned-off cell phone, and not much else. The haversack is mostly for looks at mainstream events, with just a couple of hours for the battle away from camp. I never put plastic water bottles in there, I use my canteen. I may put in an extra one or two arsenal packs of cartridges-to give to others usually-and a tin of priming caps.

I never put my wallet or car keys in my haversack. They always remain in my trouser pocket. If I'm taken off in an ambulance, who knows if anyone would send my haversack with me. And I'm so paranoid about losing keys that I often use a safety pin to pin the keyring in my pocket.

I always carry a big cotton checked handkerchief for all sorts of uses, and that always is in a trouser pocket, not the haversack.
 
In my haversack, I am able to take: food for three days, a pocket Bible, Jaw Harp, Harmonica, spoon, Period Correct Newspaper, a Buckeye (from my tree at home.....for good luck and to ward off Rheumatism!), housewife and Cigar tin (which usually ends up in my vest pocket!), tin of daily medication (for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.....not Period Correct, but necessary to stay alive)....I use my haversack as a pillow when I bed down for the night.....At 1 145th event and 4 150th events, I managed to survive for 4 or 5 days with the food that I was able to carry in my haversack.
For me, if I can't carry all my gear in one trip from my car (including bedroll), then I don't need it! :smile:
 
Coffee, sugar, salt, spoon, knife, fork. broken pieces of hard tack. matches. a soldier's manual. food. at a good event you might find socks a rag and such. seen a scarf and gloves in there. it does make a good pillow. and i walked around double checking my keys all day too.
 
In the space between the haversack and the inner bag, I store my car key, Driver's license, insurance card, and some modern cash. In the inner bag, canteen half, cup, spoon, fork, and rations.
 
I recommend a free EBook written by a ex-soldier based upon what he learned about hiking and camping during the War Between the States [WBTS]. He describes the lessons he learned during the WBTS on camping.... including what to put in your haversack.

"How to Camp Out" by John Mead Gould free from Amazon.com. It comes as a Kindle format .... and free Kindle reading software is available from Amazon for Windows computers.
 
Last edited:
I recommend a free EBook written by a ex-soldier based upon what he learned about hiking and camping during the War Between the States [WBTS]. He describes the lessons he learned during the WBTS on camping.... including what to put in your haversack.

"How to Camp Out" by John Mead Gould free from Amazon.com. It comes as a Kindle format .... and free Kindle reading software is available from Amazon for Windows computers.
:thumbsup: thanks for the tip.
 
There's a Krystal's down the road from me, finally tried them not too long ago. They were just ok, nothing beats an original in my opinion, but as you mentioned, White Castle is all I knew up North.

I do think it'd be amusing to see Civil War soldiers carry either in their haversack's, just to see how many would break ranks in the middle of a battle to find the nearest bathroom after consuming them, haha.
 
I was always one of the hardcores in dress and attitude. but when it came to food and drink...i'm on vacation ok. starve for a few events where its the fellas..but i'm not starving every event...rofl.
 
Back
Top