Phillipston, Mass. Renactment August 2018

[NH Civil War Gal]

I don't know how my husband and I ended hanging out with the Rebs all day, but we had a blast! All thanks to @captaindrew.

And there he is, second in on the left.

General Lee let me into his camp, but didn't divulge his strategy to me.

Two of @captaindrew's friends. And they tried to lead us to the "other side." And almost succeeded! They were great guys really.

Provost Guard to General Lee.

This old soldier was fabulous. He can't take to the field anymore, so he explained the battle as it went on. He was a wealth of amazing facts. My husband thanked him at the end of the day because it made the whole thing so much more meaningful to him.

I met these two lovely ladies dressed for the day and just enjoyed them so much.

 

[mofederal]

Great photos, thanks for posting them.

 

[captaindrew]

Nice photos @NH Civil War Gal so glad you guys made it and enjoyed the day, it was fun having you. Thanks for posting some pics.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'll post some more over the next couple of days. I'm finally getting the hang of how to do this.

 

[grace]

Thank you for sharing your photos! *instantly starts analyzing the ladies' dresses...

 

[Scott1967]

Hmm the immersion was broke when I looked at the well fed Rebels a lot of buttons popping their.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Very nice!

 

[Belle Montgomery]

Very nice! BTW...the Rebs are always the "cool" ones to hang out with!

 

[Waterloo50]

I don't know how my husband and I ended hanging out with the Rebs all day, but we had a blast! All thanks to @captaindrew.

View attachment 204308

And there he is, second in on the left.
View attachment 204309 View attachment 204310
General Lee let me into his camp, but didn't divulge his strategy to me.

View attachment 204311

Two of @captaindrew's friends. And they tried to lead us to the "other side." And almost succeeded! They were great guys really.

View attachment 204313
Provost Guard to General Lee.

View attachment 204314
This old soldier was fabulous. He can't take to the field anymore, so he explained the battle as it went on. He was a wealth of amazing facts. My husband thanked him at the end of the day because it made the whole thing so much more meaningful to him.

View attachment 204315
I met these two lovely ladies dressed for the day and just enjoyed them so much.

Great photos, thank you for taking the time to upload them. I have a question 'if you don't mind' about the badge that the guy in photo number 5 is wearing, (provost Guard) I don't know much about them, what did they do?

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'm sure others more knowledgeable will answer but this again is a fellow who is too old to take to the field, but still wants to reenact, so he and General Lee hang out together. If you notice, he has a fairly fine brass key chain that almost looks like a watch fob. It has a key that goes to the manacles he carries for handcuffing ruffians. I can't remember if the manacles he carries are authentic CW or period authentic, but they didn't look comfortable. I think the Provost Guard was an early form of the Military Police as we know them today, but I've never been in the service so I need others more knowledgeable to step up here. Calling @unionblue

 

[John Hartwell]

Great photos, thank you for taking the time to upload them. I have a question 'if you don't mind' about the badge that the guy in photo number 5 is wearing, (provost Guard) I don't know much about them, what did they do?

Military Police, prison guards, a wide range of law enforcement functions:

Good article:
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/civil-war/military-intelligence-the-civil-war-provost-guard/

Good thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/provost-guard.1115/

 

[Waterloo50]

Military Police, prison guards, a wide range of law enforcement functions:
Good article:
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/civil-war/military-intelligence-the-civil-war-provost-guard/

Thanks John, greatly appreciated.

 

[UCVRelics]

I don't know how my husband and I ended hanging out with the Rebs all day

That's because y'all have good taste

 

[Eleanor Rose]

These pics and descriptions are fabulous @NH Civil War Gal! I love seeing my buddy @captaindrew! Wish @Southern Unionist and I could have been there with you and your hubby! Please post some more!

 

[captaindrew]

These pics and descriptions are fabulous @NH Civil War Gal! I love seeing my buddy @captaindrew! Wish @Southern Unionist and I could have been there with you and your hubby! Please post some more!

You guys should take a ride down this way over the winter.

 

[unionblue]

I'm sure others more knowledgeable will answer but this again is a fellow who is too old to take to the field, but still wants to reenact, so he and General Lee hang out together. If you notice, he has a fairly fine brass key chain that almost looks like a watch fob. It has a key that goes to the manacles he carries for handcuffing ruffians. I can't remember if the manacles he carries are authentic CW or period authentic, but they didn't look comfortable. I think the Provost Guard was an early form of the Military Police as we know them today, but I've never been in the service so I need others more knowledgeable to step up here. Calling @unionblue

NH Civil War Gal,

I used to have reproduction manacles and leg irons when I reenacted. Do you know where the expression "turn key" came from as a nick name for prison guards? It comes from having to 'turn' the key in manacles in order to open or lock them.

You are correct, and I see others have told you, that the provo guards were an early form of military police. During the Battle of the Wilderness, a line of provo guards were deployed behind Union lines to prevent deserters from making their wat behind the lines for safety. The Provo's had been ordered to have any man falling back to "show blood" or be forced back into line.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

 

[Seduzal]

Thanks for sharing these photos.. looks like you had an amazing day.

 

[Mrs. V]

Thank you for sharing your photos! *instantly starts analyzing the ladies' dresses...

Ha! Me too..

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I don't know how my husband and I ended hanging out with the Rebs all day, but we had a blast! All thanks to @captaindrew.

And they tried to lead us to the "other side." And almost succeeded!

And this is why Captain Drew is in charge of recruiting .

That's because y'all have good taste

the Rebs are always the "cool" ones to hang out with!

In all seriousness, great photos @NH Civil War Gal !

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Here's some more of Phillipston, Mass. A few more Rebs and then the Union Boys

I'm not sure the one on the left trusted me in their camp!

They said this would have been typical of a small group of Confederate soldiers on the move - not always in the neat, tidy white tents. No glamping here.

This is Confederate and totally confuses me. Maybe @captaindrew can explain. I think it had something do with artillery?

More of Captain Drew's group. But I'm confused about the blue uniform. Would someone think he was Union?

Love this shot of the Provost Guard - he was very gracious to me.

This was actually a good saber fight. It was the chestnut horse's first battle ever. It shot into the road right after this shot, but came back in and continued. He did very well with all the gun shots and such.

This guy is so into his role that he has legally changed his name to Sam Grant. He does historic timeline talks at other events too.

Everyone has been very kind with the compliments but none of this would have been possible without the help of @LoriAnn and @Jimklag who gave me much needed advice a few months ago on cameras and helped me choose. It took a while for me to get into the swing of the whole thing, but now I'm finally getting comfortable with it. Thank you both so much.