Uniforms Old Reenactors & Movie Extras in original uniforms?

RedRover · Thursday at 12:13 AM

Trooper D said:
Yep. I recall it being ok for the time period it was made. The one scene where the officer gets it in the forehead stands out. So does the yellow cuffs and collars of the Confederate Infantry.
Maybe its is time for another stab at it. Although reenacting is not as popular as it once was.
Cheers!

There's a new version in production presently.

Lampasas Bill · Thursday at 12:39 AM

In 1982 the miniseries The Blue and the Gray was filmed in northwestern Arkansas. The battle scenes were shot on the Prarie Grove battlefield, and I believe it was the first time large numbers of reenactors were used in a Civil War production. We, of course, brought our own firearms, but there were a number of extras armed with trapdoor Springfields provided by the studio. As they began to film the Bull Run sequences a problem arose: the studio armorer, according to union rules, was required to load every round fired, not realizing that the several-hundred reenactors would of needs be loading their own. This situation was new to Hollywood at the time, but after a conversation with the director, we were allowed to load our own while the armorer loaded the cartridge rifles, and the boys in blue went down to defeat at Bull Run one more time.

7thWisconsin · Thursday at 7:31 AM

RedRover said:
I doubt many of them noticed. Any more than most of the public... but even if they did, such flaws are cast in metal and carved in stone, so not much than can be done about it.

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No doubt, though, such monuments might have aided Bannerman's sales of "Civil War" uniforms, including the 5-button Span.-Am. war surplus blouses!

That said, I've seen comments by many veterans that the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, where the soldier wears MG belts bandolier fashion, he has them the wrong way, with the points up, (where they would stab his neck, etc.). But most of the veterans in my family, even where we viewed this monument in person, probably didn't particularly notice...

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But some HAVE!

Similarly, the Korean War monument has the G.I.s wearing their ponchos over their cartridge belts... A total "no-no." Korean War era officers noted that in training at West Point, at the monument to Major Dade's command massacred in Florida in 1835, it was noted to be of critical importance to make sure the ammo belts were worn outside of their rain coats to avoid disaster in an ambush, etc. like that which befell Dade's command...

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Gen. Ralph Puckett (MOH) recalled...

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I've seen the same commented upon by a field artillery officer in his memoir, seeing some infantry G.I.'s in 1950 one day with their ponchos over their cartridge belts, recalling the lesson of Major Dade, as generally instructed, he was surprised their officers or NCO's hadn't stopped them, so he took it upon himself to trouble them to get squared away.

In spite of this, reenactors are inclined to copy the monument...

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As one of my NCOs used to say: "Here's the thing, sir..." If you wear your load bearing gear over your poncho, it pretty much defeats the slight water repellent character of the poncho and you just get wet. There's the school solution, and there's what the guys who are there every day actually do. Soldiers do counterintuitive things all the time. If you ask a cadet in class "Which would you rather have: easy access to your ammo, or to stay dry?" The cadet will answer "Ammunition. Every time." If you ask Joe the same question, he'll say: "Stay dry. The rifle's loaded already, right?" :bounce:

Old Soldier · Thursday at 8:21 AM

captaindrew said:
There's just two sizes in the army.... too big and too small

FWTT - Fit Where They Touch. The regimental tailor made a packet out of it!!

Rob119 · 2026-08-31T16:46:11-0400

I have seen at least 3 maybe 4 original cavalry and one original artillery shell jackets for sale at shows or online with costume company marks in the sleeves over the past 40 years or so. It used to be common to see them. I have/had no idea if they were ever used in a movie or a show but CW surplus was being purchased for that purpose. Also I think in Red Badge of Courage they used a few 53 Enfields along with mostly Trapdoor Springfields.

Uniforms Old Reenactors & Movie Extras in original uniforms?

RedRover

1st Lieutenant

Lampasas Bill

First Sergeant

7thWisconsin

1st Lieutenant

Old Soldier

1st Lieutenant

Rob119

Cadet

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