Impressions A Good Impression Begins at Home

Back when I was heavy into reenacting during the 125th cycle, on the way to an event, I tried to get more into the "mood" of the period by listening to tapes (no cds then) of period martial music (drums fifes, etc) and music of the time. I'd try to read source accounts for the week prior and period newspapers to try to pick up on the speech and vernacular.

As for bathing, I'm sure there were those who avoided ablutions, but from what I've read, they generally did attempt to deal with hygiene when possible so deliberately going stinky might be an anomaly for camp life. Of one example in Four Years Under Marse Robert, Stiles relates a time when he and another soldier were down in a river bathing and washing clothes at the same time. Stiles says that while washing clothes and themselves, they were discussing religous matters regarding eternity and destination. The fellow he was with was having a hard time with his faith given what they'd been through. Stiles relates that he later spoke with the soldier and inquired again about how he felt and got a positive response. A good thing too, the soldier took a round shot to the head in the next engagement. But the impression I came away with in the account was that bathing was not avoided when in camp. Stiles is another source reflecting on the intellectual side of life then. He was a Harvard man, going into law when the war started and he left NY to enlist in the forces of his home state, VA. He enlisted as a private and ended the War as a major. Much of what he writes about is camp life in various aspects. As an educated man, he is a wealth of information regarding the intellectual life of the Confederate soldier. He points out that of the battery he was with, many were college and university educated and the intellectual "scene" was every bit as lively as any campus.

To make your impression more believable, read up from first person sources wherever possible, especially about camp life as they spent far more time in camp than fighting. Research can be quite entertaining. If your impression is of a person with some education, reading was very popular. Gambling was widespread and it wasn't just cards or dice. There was betting on cockroach (and lice) races. I've read of scholarly debates among educated soldiers over the merits of very mundane subjects like how to fry chicken. I'm sure you'll find the debate as much fun to engage in as for the spectators to watch. I read of another event where a pet chicken had died and was given a full military funeral just prior to the pan. Imagine putting that one on for a group of spectators and it would be entirely in character. So use your imagination with respect to period and I'd say you may well recreating the camp activities of bored soldiers.

One further comment, the guys we used to call the "hyper authentics" would go to great lengths to defarb and go period, but what I saw them doing didn't square with first person source materials. They may have looked the part in their kit, but the person wasn't believable because of their actions in first person. Just like war today, the WBTS was long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of terror. We tend to lose sight of the boredom and focus on the terror side and forget that those guys were just as human as we are and they made the best of the situation they were in.
 
Great thread!
I did not know about reenactments until two years ago and as a foreigner I will always be only audience, but you do such a great job!!
They are not us, and we are not them, as you so eloquently put it. We could never fully appreciate what it was like to live back then, unless someone perfects time travel. I

With your reenacting you bring them near to former ignorants like me, and as it was a reenactor who through his performance first sparked my interest in your Civil War, I can only say thank you to all of you who do the good work. You don't guard the ashes you pass on the fire!
 
Back when I was heavy into reenacting during the 125th cycle, on the way to an event, I tried to get more into the "mood" of the period by listening to tapes (no cds then) of period martial music (drums fifes, etc) and music of the time. I'd try to read source accounts for the week prior and period newspapers to try to pick up on the speech and vernacular.

As for bathing, I'm sure there were those who avoided ablutions, but from what I've read, they generally did attempt to deal with hygiene when possible so deliberately going stinky might be an anomaly for camp life. Of one example in Four Years Under Marse Robert, Stiles relates a time when he and another soldier were down in a river bathing and washing clothes at the same time. Stiles says that while washing clothes and themselves, they were discussing religous matters regarding eternity and destination. The fellow he was with was having a hard time with his faith given what they'd been through. Stiles relates that he later spoke with the soldier and inquired again about how he felt and got a positive response. A good thing too, the soldier took a round shot to the head in the next engagement. But the impression I came away with in the account was that bathing was not avoided when in camp. Stiles is another source reflecting on the intellectual side of life then. He was a Harvard man, going into law when the war started and he left NY to enlist in the forces of his home state, VA. He enlisted as a private and ended the War as a major. Much of what he writes about is camp life in various aspects. As an educated man, he is a wealth of information regarding the intellectual life of the Confederate soldier. He points out that of the battery he was with, many were college and university educated and the intellectual "scene" was every bit as lively as any campus.

To make your impression more believable, read up from first person sources wherever possible, especially about camp life as they spent far more time in camp than fighting. Research can be quite entertaining. If your impression is of a person with some education, reading was very popular. Gambling was widespread and it wasn't just cards or dice. There was betting on cockroach (and lice) races. I've read of scholarly debates among educated soldiers over the merits of very mundane subjects like how to fry chicken. I'm sure you'll find the debate as much fun to engage in as for the spectators to watch. I read of another event where a pet chicken had died and was given a full military funeral just prior to the pan. Imagine putting that one on for a group of spectators and it would be entirely in character. So use your imagination with respect to period and I'd say you may well recreating the camp activities of bored soldiers.

One further comment, the guys we used to call the "hyper authentics" would go to great lengths to defarb and go period, but what I saw them doing didn't square with first person source materials. They may have looked the part in their kit, but the person wasn't believable because of their actions in first person. Just like war today, the WBTS was long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of terror. We tend to lose sight of the boredom and focus on the terror side and forget that those guys were just as human as we are and they made the best of the situation they were in.

Hah my comment (like a good number on here) was tongue in cheek. Thanks for the background info and agreed camp life was quite fascinating back then.
 
It's a very good thread, Drake. I don't think you'll disagree with Johan's assertion that a good impression begins with research. I think you are just stating a compelling case for some LIVING research.
 
On the subject of research, I was fortunate to have been able to read some original correspondence between soldiers and civilians. In this case, an eligible young lady was corresponding with several soldiers at once, each soldier unaware of the others and all were in courtship mode. Her father was very unhappy with this, but seemed to be unable to stop it. Each letter from the front was a love letter, but one in particular was especially poignant. This soldier had great handwriting, was educated and quite the gentleman. His last letter was tattered from much handling, his handwriting really bad, and I'm sure she read this one over and over. This soldier had been severely wounded 20 Feb 1864 at the Battle of Olustee and had to have an arm amputated. His letter is apologetic for the bad handwriting as his arm was now gone and he was writing left handed, and for the blood that had stained the edge of the paper. He asked if he could see her when he was able to travel and would she please write as soon as possible. She never saw him again because enclosed in the letter was his obituary dated in March of 1864 as having died from wounds. You won't see this in any published work. If you're ever in a situation to read original source material, DO IT! It will only help your impression and give insight into the mindset of the soldiery.

Check this one out-
There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread
As he tramps from the rock to the fountain,
And he thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed,
Far away in the cot on the mountain.
His musket falls slack; his face, dark and grim,
Grows gentle with memories tender,
As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep,
For their mother,—may Heaven defend her!
Hark! was it the night wind that rustled the leaves?
Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing?
It looked like a rifle—"Ha! Mary, good-by!"
And the life-blood is ebbing and plashing.
All quiet along the Potomac to-night,—
No sound save the rush of the river;
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead,—
The picket's off duty forever.


The unit I was in was pretty authentic for a mid War, NC regiment. Many people think of the typical Confederate soldier as wearing butternut (mainly Army of Tennessee and points west of Appalachia) or dressed pretty much in rags. Research can reveal otherwise. At the Siege of Petersburg, Gov. Zebulon Vance of NC is reputed to have supplied every NC soldier he could find with a new uniform and the ones left over were given to cut off orphan regiments from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisianna. He supposedly said that he wouldn't supply any Virginia or South Carolina units. Something else to take into an NC impression depending on time and place. Uniform color is another subject that has to be carefully researched. Unless I know the person making claims about uniforms has done research into the exact thing they're talking about, well, let's just say I remain skeptical. The dyes used back then often didn't age or weather well and who knows what the textile has been through in the past 150 years. Sometimes, you can only tell the original color from the inside of seams that were no visible. We pretty much drew the line on authenticity at diet and encouraged members to defarb as practical. The diet thing was mainly for health as we didn't want to experience dysentery or any other deleterious effects from food. Those who want to eat hard tack, rotten salt beef or wormy corn, go ahead. Don't come ask me for toilet paper.

I guess the thing that attracted me the most to reenacting/living history was the manner and method of research and the subject matter. History books go on and on about Gnl This and Col That, but what about the common guy who may well have just be trying to survive the mess and go home to his family? That's stuff that many can relate to and make the history come alive in a very different way.
 
poorjack said:
We pretty much drew the line on authenticity at diet and encouraged members to defarb as practical. The diet thing was mainly for health as we didn't want to experience dysentery or any other deleterious effects from food. Those who want to eat hard tack, rotten salt beef or wormy corn, go ahead. Don't come ask me for toilet paper.

It's a shame that many reenactors encourage others not to eat period food, as if all period food is unsafe. Not sure if that's what you're referring to, but I've met reenactors who are actually afraid of doing without a cooler or plastic bags, etc., so I'll just take this opportunity to rant about it. :D

For the sake of health, one can simply choose non-spoiled period food, especially because now we know why it spoils and can avoid that. Today we're not dealing with government contractors who skimp on salt in their pork barrels to get more profit, or canneries who can at 212 degrees.

I've been to many events where only period food was allowed. In my experience, cooking or eating modern food ruins the ambiance more than a slightly off-color dye, and understanding how to preserve food without refrigeration adds to one's understanding of the period.
 
I'm not referring to period correct cooking in my comments. What I am talking about is military campaign rations. The soldiery often supplemented their diet through foraging, but even then, the civilians still called it stealing. I'm sure that is frowned upon these days.

So when our unit did a camp or garrison impression, we set up a mess and cooked stuff that would have been known to people back then. Fried cornbread and pork is delicious. We were doing a living history garrison once and the number of spectators interested in cooking was enlightening. We had a ham shank and a pot bubbling over an open fire with beans, potatoes, peas, cabbage in a thick broth. Our "cook" was busy whacking up the ham shank when a spectator asked what kind of meat that was. Our cook, with big knife in hand and in his usual laconic manner replied, "don't go by Co K, they seem to be missing a mule and are rather upset." Best stew I ever had at a reenactment.

For living history events, I did make some hard tack that was picture perfect for the time, but like then, it was pretty much unpalatable without lots of help. So for those types of events, I had the stuff for the spectators to see, but stuff that didn't cause onset of dysentery was stashed out of sight for later in the evening.
 
I'm not referring to period correct cooking in my comments. What I am talking about is military campaign rations. The soldiery often supplemented their diet through foraging, but even then, the civilians still called it stealing. I'm sure that is frowned upon these days.

Well, there's nothing wrong with a diet of hardtack and salt pork for the average healthy person. Learning how to prepare it is part of the basic knowledge of soldiers, and adds to the experience rather than detracts from it, in my experience. I've been to many events where part of the provided military rations are given to the civilians and soldiers are required to find and steal it if they want variety to eat, and the civilians of course have to keep enough hidden to meet their needs or beg from the army. Or the other option, if the event doesn't provide that sort of accuracy, is to bring such stolen food at the start, as if it was taken just before the event began.

For living history events, I did make some hard tack that was picture perfect for the time, but like then, it was pretty much unpalatable without lots of help. So for those types of events, I had the stuff for the spectators to see, but stuff that didn't cause onset of dysentery was stashed out of sight for later in the evening.

Hard tack, salt pork or bacon manufactured under modern conditions and prepared with a modern understanding of cleanliness (wash hands after using the sinks, for example) do not cause dysentery. That's my point. It's an unreasonable fear.
 
Hah been reading a book on the life and times of the 7th SC Infantry, the regiment my great grandfather served in, and at one point they came upon a wandering :cow: and all (or many anyway) enjoyed a beef dinner that night. Didn't think about the irate farmer aspect :stomp:
 
Perhaps my constitution doesn't mesh well with hardtack and salt beef/pork as each time I made some up and tried it, it didn't go well from a digestive POV so my rations at that type of event usually consisted of some Granola bars (high falutin goober peas) stashed securely out of view.
 
With all the comments in the original post, something else must be remembered... not everyone, even in the South, was a farmer. There were plenty of Urban folk in the South.. not all city dwellers were in the North. A denizen of Savannah, Richmond, Milledgeville, New Orleans, Mobile, Montgomery, etc, would not know how to make sausage or butter, know how to hunt or track, be worried about knife or Candle making. After all, that's what all those shops were for! A simple parusal of period newspapers will turn up millners, hatters, men's and women's ready made clothing, china, dry goods, groceries, and just about all the modern conveniences that someone living in a city nowadays could expect to find. One of the men I portray on occasion, Charles H. Olmstead, did some hunting as a boy, but most of his time after graduating from GMI was spent in the counting house of Brigham, Kelley and Co. or down on the docks along the Savannah River inventorying goods that were purchased through his company... likewise a clerk in the customs house, a wheelwright, a slave trader on Savannah's Bay Lane, the Restaurateur, or Inn Keeper, Business owner, etc would not have the time or inclination for some of the activities listed... reading and playing games, yes.. but by the end of the workday, who had time for a hobby like candle making when you could just pop down to Broughton Street ( again using Savannah as an example, since I live there) when you need a bundle of candles (if you didnt have gas lights!)

Now, that said, I have learned some period past times for another one of my impressions.. I have learned decorative knot work, and learning embroidery, very common past times for sailors ( I do antebellum merchant seaman as well as USN and CSN impressions for work from time to time). One of the biggest things is just plain know your role. If your a famer, know about the crops and critters in your area and how to raise them.. if your a sailor, know a head from a mast head. if your a wheelwright, know how to make a wheel correctly.. its more than just the past times, know your prewar job so you can talk about it accurately.. and for goodness sake, leave the "Im illiterate" thing at the door... even the South there higher literacy rates than most mainstreamers try and pass off
 
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From the Savannah Daily Republican June 3, 1858;

SODA WATER

This delightful beverage may be obtained in it's pure state by calling at APOTHECARY'S HALL.

Where maybe found a choice collection of unadulterated SYRUPS, among which are the following
varieties:

Sassparilla, Sasafrass,
Strawberry, Raspberry,
Pine Apple, Lemon,
Orange, French Mead,
Vanilla, Spice,
Catawba, Cream,
Orgeat, Rose &c.

J.R. DeFord, Druggist
 
Well, there's a reason for the comments about the soldier's behaviour. Just add popskull, cornbread and cards and you have the makin's of a right good time. Alcoholism is nothing new and there was a range of beverages then as now and beer goes way way back.
 
Well, there's a reason for the comments about the soldier's behaviour. Just add popskull, cornbread and cards and you have the makin's of a right good time. Alcoholism is nothing new and there was a range of beverages then as now and beer goes way way back.

Beverages aside, the point is, that for some reason it is a thing among Cornfed reenactors that everyone is a farmer, when that just isnt the case. There were plenty of town and city dwellers who might be able to identify a plow but couldnt plow a straight furrow to save their life. The census records of any of the major Southern cities will show a variety of occupations, from lamp lighter to Banker. An example of a bunch of city boys is the 1st Georgia Volunteers (Mercer/Olmstead) The unit was comprised of the various militia Companies in the city, and for a small city like Savannah, they had enough to fill the regiment.. units like the DeKalb Rifles, Republican Blues (two companies at first) The Irish Jasper Greens, The German Volunteers, Phoenix Riflemen, the Savannah Volunteer Guard (the later two becoming numbered battalions) All of them were boys from the city.... to deny the service of Urbanite Southerners is bad history
 
Here is an example.. Savannah in 1871, it really hadn't changed much since the end of the war

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In 1860, Savannah was the 41st largest city in the United States, with 22,292. New Orleans was 6th with 168,675; Richmond, VA had 37, 910, Charleston SC had 40,522.... so just from these three cities, that is 269,399 Southerners in urban areas. At its maximum strength, had all the population of all these cities been eligible for military service it would have exceeded the 9o,ooo men of the ANV.

(source https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt)
 
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