Impressions A little reenacting humor

[frontrank2]

 

[frontrank2]

Or " is that fire real?"

 

[Pollaco]

He'd make a good target wouldn't he?

 

[lupaglupa]

It really is astounding how badly informed people are about history.

 

[frontrank2]

Another favorite is aren't those uniforms hot?

 

[Tennessee Union Gal]

It really is astounding how badly informed people are about history.

So many people just don't care. If it happened before they were born, it isn't important. It is sad that a hundred years ago when people got most of their knowledge from books, people were much better educated about history than they are now, with access to information that was unimaginable a century ago.

Don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I'm sure re enactors get hilarious questions.

 

[unionblue]

I always enjoyed giving my Civil War presentations to grade and high schools. The faces some would make when describing how hardtack could be infested with worms or how sometimes salt pork would be eaten raw on the march!

I also gave examples of women's clothing for the girls and just how limited their rights and actions were during the mid-19th century.

Hygiene and bathing were another topic of interest.

Boy, the stares and dropped jaws I would get!

 

[Johnny Shafto]

When visiting Mount Vernon we had engaged a reenactor in casual conversation. He asked where we were from? Oklahoma we replied. A puzzled look came over his face and he said…"I'm sorry but I'm unfamiliar with this place. Where is this Oklermoma?" It took us a moment to absorb the context then we started laughing. Staying in character he never cracked a smile and even seemed slightly annoyed as if we were making fun of his query. It was perfect. We broke the ice by asking where he was from and he was off and running.

 

[Claude Bauer]

As someone who does Rev War reenacting too, I've never had someone ask if I was Union or Confederate, but as a Continental Army musician, we are constantly mistaken for British soldiers, especially at Mt. Vernon. So I created this Facebook meme a few years ago.

 

[Nathan Towne]

I always enjoyed giving my Civil War presentations to grade and high schools. The faces some would make when describing how hardtack could be infested with worms or how sometimes salt pork would be eaten raw on the march!

I also gave examples of women's clothing for the girls and just how limited their rights and actions were during the mid-19th century.

Hygiene and bathing were another topic of interest.

Boy, the stares and dropped jaws I would get!

If you have never read George Rable's Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! I would highly recommend it for its coverage of camp and Army life. Kent Masterson Brown's Retreat from Gettysburg is outstanding in helping one understand what life was like, as well. Plenty of others, as well, but those two stand out for some of the scenes/quotes contained in them which have always stuck with me.

 

[Michael W.]

I was doing a living history presentation many years ago for an overnight campout with some boys from my church and one of them honestly asked me, "Did you really serve in the Civil War?" No joke.

 

[7thWisconsin]

I was doing a living history presentation many years ago for an overnight campout with some boys from my church and one of them honestly asked me, "Did you really serve in the Civil War?" No joke.

Someone asked me that when I was a teenager! I´ve also heard a lot of ¨thank you for your service¨ lately. Now, in my case, that´s appropriate and OK, but I didn´t serve in the uniform I happen to be wearing that weekend!

 

[R. Porter]

Weren't there some militia uniforms during the Civil War based on uniforms from the Revolution? It seems like context would have a major part tp play in deciding whether or not you respond with an eye-roll.

 

[Claude Bauer]

The faces some would make when describing how hardtack could be infested with worms or how sometimes salt pork would be eaten raw on the march!

I read once that hard tack bisquits were sometimes referred to as "worm castles" by the troops. Sounds delightful...

 

[bayonet]

Someone asked me that when I was a teenager! I´ve also heard a lot of ¨thank you for your service¨ lately. Now, in my case, that´s appropriate and OK, but I didn´t serve in the uniform I happen to be wearing that weekend!

When Folks say that to me I gently remind them that "Thank you for your service" is for those that never made it home alive or came home disfigured, wheelchair bound, missing limps, etc.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

When Folks say that to me I gently remind them that "Thank you for your service" is for those that never made it home alive or came home disfigured, wheelchair bound, missing limps, etc.

I respect your opinion, but I don't see things quite that narrowly. "Thank you for your service" means exactly that: Thank you for serving your country. It's especially apt for those unfortunates you mentioned, but my understanding is that it applies to all those who gave up years of their lives in military service. I'm sure that's what most people mean when they acknowledge a veteran. When we were inducted we all ran the risk of "coming home disfigured, wheelchair bound, missing limbs, etc." Veterans (and I am one) are being thanked for protecting others. George Orwell perhaps said it best;

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men [and now women] stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

 

[bayonet]

I respect your opinion, but I don't see things quite that narrowly. "Thank you for your service" means exactly that: Thank you for serving your country. It's especially apt for those unfortunates you mentioned, but my understanding is that it applies to all those who gave up years of their lives in military service. I'm sure that's what most people mean when they acknowledge a veteran. When we were inducted we all ran the risk of "coming home disfigured, wheelchair bound, missing limbs, etc." Veterans (and I am one) are being thanked for protecting others. George Orwell perhaps said it best;

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men [and now women] stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Well if you say so but when you really get down to it you (and me) had a job, you got paid for that job, you got feed for free (our mess hall was one of the greatest, probably because of all we went thru), you got free medical care, you get discounts from many (for a life time), you have the GI Bill for college (except those poor saps that joined during the Carter Administration for he did away with the GI Bill), you can add your years to the pension on other non-military jobs. That a deal!!!
So speaking of the ACW who gave more? The front line Reb or Yank or the "REMF, In the Rear with the Gear' Clerk or Supply Troop 50-100 miles behind the lines!

 

[7thWisconsin]

When Folks say that to me I gently remind them that "Thank you for your service" is for those that never made it home alive or came home disfigured, wheelchair bound, missing limps, etc.

I feel like it´s a little awkward, but I just smile and say ¨thank you.¨ Although I never experienced what the returning Vietnam veterans did, I did once have a teenager call me a ¨baby killer¨ and it was common for a certain college clique to call the ROTC students ¨H***** Jugend.¨ I understand the current practice as a something of a corrective.

 

[TallTallMan]

I was doing a living history presentation many years ago for an overnight campout with some boys from my church and one of them honestly asked me, "Did you really serve in the Civil War?" No joke.

Someone asked me that when I was a teenager! I´ve also heard a lot of ¨thank you for your service¨ lately. Now, in my case, that´s appropriate and OK, but I didn´t serve in the uniform I happen to be wearing that weekend!

I'd say, "Yep! Never knew what McNamara wanted!"

 

[frontrank2]

I read once that hard tack bisquits were sometimes referred to as "worm castles" by the troops. Sounds delightful...

Reminds me of a story that I read many years ago.
First soldier: When I was eating my hardtack this morning, I bit into something soft
Second soldier: Was it a worm?
First soldier: No.....it was a nail!