NF "Clowns & Cannons, The American Circus During the Civil War"

Non-Fiction

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
I have always loved going to the circus. As a young child thought many times of having a dog act in one. It seemed romantic and so adventurous to me.

I wondered about circuses during the Civil war. Did the show still go on?

This book, "Clowns & Cannons, The American Circus During the Civil War", by William L. Slout, is the story of the survival of the American circus during one of the most perilous periods in our nation's history. The events encompass the Civil War years from 1860 through 1865, a period of transition for these traveling exhibitions.

By the mid-century the physical size of circuses, both in terms of equipment and personnel, had begun to level off, and the "modus operandi" of the shows had begun to show distinct similarities. Performances were now fixed and varied little from town to town and show to show. The number of proprietors in the business reached its peak at the beginning of this period, and would remain stable for another decade.

There were just a handful of large shows, no more than a dozen, with another dozen or so companies operating in the mid-ranges. Horses were the major expense of nineteenth century circuses, requiring constant care to keep them going. Each show also featured fifteen or twenty human performers, including equestrians, gymnasts, leapers, tumblers, vaulters, posturers, clowns, contortionists, tight-rope walkers, jugglers, wild beasts handlers and tamers, and sideshowmen.

The 1860s were a time of survival for circuses. They had previously traveled the whole of the country. By 1860 only two managements, Robinson & Lake and Dan Rice's Great Show ventured into the South.

Mr Slout in this book tells how circuses survived, about performers who enlisted for the war and the many hardships and triumphs of the circuses during these war years. This book is a must read for circus fans and those interested in this part of life during the Civil War.
 
When saw thread on lions, tigers and bears thought of circus during this period in history. I am sure some went to them and saw the "wild beasts" as they were called. This a book to read if you enjoy history of the circus.
I wondered about that, thank you for the post bump. I saw R.B.B.&B many, many years ago in Denver as a boy on my birthday, even then it was still a spectacle to behold.
 
Dan Rice, who may have been the model for Uncle Sam, lived in Girard Pennsylvania. He paid for the Civil War monument in the middle of town.
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And Barnum and Bailey wintered in the rolling farmland of Virginia call Bailey´s Crossroads. Also the site of the November 20, 1861 grand review of the Army of the Potomac. You wouldn´t know it now by the appearance of Bailey´s Crossroads, which is highly developed.
 
During the lead up to the Battle of Nashville a circus advertised in the Daily Union Banner. You can read the elaborate 1/2 page ads via th Library of Congress website. The show ran three times / day right up until Thomas’ attack. Hood’s men shivering in their frozen trenches would have heard the calliope on the cold December air.

An elaborately decorated ice cream parlor also had its grand opening. I can’t imagine what Hood’s men felt when they read the pages of ads in the papers traded through the lines.
 
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