Specific interest question.

[redbob]

Artillery projectiles because:
1.They are easy to take care of.
2. They would be hard to steal.
3. They are even harder to break.
4. I was an artilleryman (cannoncocker) in the Marine Corps.

I use to collect British Sports Cars, but they were not #'s 1,2 or 3 by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[AUG]

Great thread. If I have one specific interest it would be unit histories, and studying the average soldier's experience in the ACW kind of goes along with that. As a kid I visited many of the major battlefield with my father and enjoyed hearing the stories of who fought where, each single regiment or brigade consisting of their own unique formation of men, all with their own personal experiences and backgrounds. I always have found that fascinating for some reason.

And of course I've always had an interest in Hood's Texas Brigade, so that led me to look into other units and it sort of went from there. Obviously troops from Texas are my main area of study, but I often find myself reading into units from other states as well, North and South, East and West. The fact that volunteer regiments were formed on a community basis with companies being recruited by the county is also very fascinating in my opinion. So many stories of various communities across the nation who's men and boys formed into a fighting unit and marched away, family and friends fighting side by side. I enjoy learning about who those men were, those who commanded them and what their experience was.

 

[LoriAnn]

well i do have a special interest in royal bavarian cavalry regiments - the sole reason for that is that my male family members made it their purpose in life to get shot off those regiments' horses whenever a chance arose

... and, btw i hate dogs (the feeling is mutual)

I'm "Like"ing the first part. As for the second, I protest. You just haven't met the right dog yet.

 

[Schwallanscher]

there's a german shepheard i really like - his name is commissar rex and he had his own tv-show. the thing i like most that he's got no chance to leave my tv

the fact is i'm canophob and they know it

 

[LoriAnn]

there's a german shepheard i really like - his name is commissar rex and he had his own tv-show. the thing i like most that he's got no chance to leave my tv

the fact is i'm canophob and they know it

Oh, I see. Of course. I hadn't considered that. Dopey me.

 

[E_just_E]

I have no ancestors who fought in the ACW, and did not study it as a student. My interest on the subject first came years ago when I read something (that I cannot remember) and was really intrigued by what I perceived as a total disregard for human life, so I really wanted to find out more. Thus a visit to Gettysburg a good 30 years ago (and I was living in the dead geographic middle of Iowa then.) Once there the whole visual of the memorials really struck me. So I wanted to learn more. And more. And that included one of the biggest disregards of human life, Pickett's Charge, so I zeroed in. And then I met one of the most intriguing personalities and I zoomed in and out and what looked like facts seemed stranger than fiction, so I started working on his biography. And that required way much more zooming in the specifics of the Gettysburg Campaign, expanding a lot on the Valley Campaign, touching on Cobbs' Legion, etc. Tangled mess I wanted to untangle and that required much closer examination to the records of what we have about the battle of Gettysburg, which took more than a few trips to Richmond plus pretty much examination of every nook and cranny of certain areas of the Pickett's Charge field. I am giving myself a couple more years to wrap that project up (and the rest of the work will be out west - NE, SD, WY.) Spending about 15 hrs a week on trains, planes, and automobiles, helps me keeping up with reading

 

[photoman475]

I started reenacting just about two years ago. I've always been a historian of sorts and have a piece of paper from a college to back that statement up-for what that is worth.

My specific interest in the 1862 Sioux Uprising grew when I discovered that my wife may have distant relatives who died during that uprising. Since my unit, Company D of the 5th Minnesota, fought in this uprising at Fort Abercrombie, D.T., that was enough to get me started in researching this area, and then from that, the Western Theater in general, since the 5th Minnesota always fought in the West.

 

[18thmississippi]

Having been a member of the forum for a while now, I have noticed that there are a great many people who hold vast amounts of knowledge and a genuine interest in a particular/specific area of the civil war. My apologies for commenting on member @rebelatsea but he for example, has studied CSN Iron Clads for the past 30 years and I'm quite impressed with that, that to me shows someone with a real passion for history.

So, here is my question(s), I would genuinely like to know who has and why they have chosen to dedicate their time to a specific subject. What is it about your chosen area that holds your fascination?

Kindest regards
Waterloo50

I take it upon myself as a duty to study it to keep the history "alive" for future generations. Personally I study abroad in the subject, the humble soldier, the equipment they had and how to reproduce them accurately (uniform making, wood working, etc.) and lastly General Jackson. I myself am a young man of the ripe age of 23, as a reenactor as well i see at events that im usually the only one my age there. of course you have one or two younger than me but rarely do i see poeple closer to my own age and that frightens me. whats to happen when the guys who are, in kind words closer to retirement than myself, are no longer there? Thats why i do it, plus its a love that has an eternal flame. (please excuse my terrible grammar)

 

[Tom Elmore]

The battle of Gettysburg. I was taken there at the age of seven by my parents, and was immediately fascinated by the quantity of marble monuments that cover the field. Because so many of the (200,000 or so) participants sought to record in minute detail the momentous deeds that occurred there, it planted the seeds of an insatiable curiosity in a young lad to seek answers as to why. Fifty years later, with new stories and aspects of that conflict still coming to light, that curiosity remains undiminished.

 

[Waterloo50]

I take it upon myself as a duty to study it to keep the history "alive" for future generations. Personally I study abroad in the subject, the humble soldier, the equipment they had and how to reproduce them accurately (uniform making, wood working, etc.) and lastly General Jackson. I myself am a young man of the ripe age of 23, as a reenactor as well i see at events that im usually the only one my age there. of course you have one or two younger than me but rarely do i see poeple closer to my own age and that frightens me. whats to happen when the guys who are, in kind words closer to retirement than myself, are no longer there? Thats why i do it, plus its a love that has an eternal flame. (please excuse my terrible grammar)

Times they are a changing, re-enactments are a great way to get involved with history but most kids these days only need to switch on the games console and go online if they want to experience an interactive battle situation, there's a massive selection of online period war games that youngsters can play, I often wonder if the interactive experience is in part responsible for the demise in the number of youngsters willing to take up re-enactments, lets face it, its probably cheaper to spend out on an online game than it is to pay for all the re-enactment gear. Just take a look at this game, re-enactment without the effort. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUluC6QHS7I

 

[Schwallanscher]

Times they are a changing, re-enactments are a great way to get involved with history but most kids these days only need to switch on the games console and go online if they want to experience an interactive battle situation, there's a massive selection of online period war games that youngsters can play, I often wonder if the interactive experience is in part responsible for the demise in the number of youngsters willing to take up re-enactments, lets face it, its probably cheaper to spend out on an online game than it is to pay for all the re-enactment gear. Just take a look at this game, re-enactment without the effort. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUluC6QHS7I

well, i'm definately no expert but isn't there way too much modern talk?

 

[Waterloo50]

well, i'm definately no expert but isn't there way too much modern talk?

Possibly but that's how it is these days, how do you encourage a younger generation to get involved with things like re-enactment groups, maybe re-enactment is the preserve of the older folks, many youngster have limited disposable income and in some cases even less free time.

 

[Schwallanscher]

'move it' vs ' company ... forward ... march *drummroll*' - are you kidden me?

 

[Waterloo50]

'move it' vs ' company ... forward ... march *drummroll*' - are you kidden me?

The game I just

'move it' vs ' company ... forward ... march *drummroll*' - are you kidden me?

I think the game is still being developed and one of the biggest criticisms is the language that is used, I always thought that 'Incoming' was a modern term.

 

[Schwallanscher]

incoming would have been the next one - you always start slowly, don't you?

 

[Waterloo50]

incoming would have been the next one - you always start slowly, don't you?

You have missed the point, its being developed as a team interactive game, the only language that the player will hear will be his team mates.

 

[Schwallanscher]

okay, but then it's still a horribly off-period teaser, isn't it

 

[Waterloo50]

okay, but then it's still a horribly off-period teaser, isn't it

Its a step in the right direction, the CW has been a bit neglected when it comes to online games. I prefer strategy games, things like Napoleon Total war and Ultimate General Gettysburg. I think most people would struggle to beat me on the Total war games but for some reason I get my backside kicked at Gettysburg.

 

[Schwallanscher]

whom are you playing? i've never tried it - is it round based?

how good are you in dünkirchen?

 

[Waterloo50]

whom are you playing? i've never tried it - is it round based?

how good are you in dünkirchen?

Ive played NTW online won quite a few Gettysburg is a standalone. Dunkirk, that's a hex board game isn't it.