Re-enacting-many questions from afar

Re-enacting-many questions from afar 

THere are a variety of types of events running the gamut from outstanding quality to absolute farce.  There are a lot of questions and not a lot of time for me to try to answer them this morn.  I will post the rules for one quality event and you can look at that for an idea of how things should be done.

Recon 3: Federal basic impressions
These standards represent the minimum acceptable. Individual organizations are researching their historical unit impressions and may have slightly different details. For this reason, you should check the links to your battalion or separate company as they appear.

The average Civil War reenactor's impression has improved materially in the last four years. More people than ever have the right stuff. That clears away a great deal of troublesome underbrush for this event.
It's our desire as event organizers to focus on operations, to get folks into a 19th Century military mindset without obsessing on material details. Our assumption is that everyone can now meet these impression standards without kicking up a lot of dust. We can move on to concern ourselves with trying to understand how these guys got from point a to point b, carried out their missions and kept everyone fed, supplied, and most importantly, capable of doing the job they
were expected to do.
Again, consistent with both previous events by the Civil War Living History Institute and with other events in recent years that have focused on depicting history, there is emphasis on regimental
appearance. The impression standards are tiered -- preferred, accepted, reluctantly accepted, banned. The "banned" items will fall into two categories:

1. Things that are anachronistic for May 1864.
2. Things that are inappropriate for the desired look, which is standard federal volunteer infantry on campaign in May 1864. This category includes the inappropriate, by 19th Century standards, use of items found in the 19th Century -- bandannas around the head or neck, prominent display of Masonic or other similar items, excessive tentage or baggage, etc.
This set of event standards is the "default" set, the event standards. Groups depicting some of the designated regiments for this event may opt for more stringent standards, but no one may have less strict standards.

Something different this time: Please note that this set of event standards also includes a "skill
set" -- period skills the reenactor is expected to bring so that we may all get the most out of this event. Those lacking these period skills should contact Bill Watson at wjwatson@ptdprolog.net to see about the possibility of a pre-event workshop to learn them.

Inspection at registration: No participant will be allowed on site until his weapon and his impression have been inspected and approved by event staff or by event staff designees from the individual regiments. There will be an inspection checklist that parallels this set of standards, and a chit will be issued when the inspection is successfully concluded. The chit is the participant's event pass. Anyone going offsite after being inspected will have to be reinspected before being allowed back on. Inspection will be for the listed items, but the event organizers reserve the right to reject any items deemed contrary to the event's intended purpose. If you aren't sure, CHECK FIRST:

wjwatson@ptdprolog.net

The short-list basics -- participants should have:

* sack coat
* sky blue trousers
* forage cap (small number of slouch hats OK)
* issue shirt or properly constructed civilian shirt
* wool or cotton socks
* properly constructed waistcoat (optional)
* tarred black haversack
* smoothside or bullseye canteen with webbed or leather strap
* waist belt with leather keeper or no keeper
* stitched, two rivet or seven-rivet bayonet scabbard
* federal cap pouch
* 1851 cartridge box and cross strap with breast plate
* shoes or properly constructed boots
* double bag soft knapsack / blanket roll OK
* gum blanket or poncho or oilcloth
* wool blanket
* shelter halves
* Springfield 1861/1863 or Enfield 1853
* Any modern medicine you require (but please keep it in a period sack).

Banned:
* Alcohol
* Lanterns
* Furniture of any kind
* Wedge tents
* Modern eyewear
* Iron grates/Tripods
* Pony tails
* Food, both modern and period. Rations will be issued. (Those with medically necessary dietary restrictions are exempt from this, but the food MUST be packaged in period-correct fashion. Essential medicines should be handled the same way.)
* Baseball shaped brims on forage caps
* Any Corps Badge or insignia besides the Second Division, Sixth Corps (a white Greek cross).
* Dead animal parts
* Modern clothing or modern items of any type, including eyeglasses.
* Bandanas
* Masonic or ethnic or religious ornamentation
* Wrought or cast-iron cookware.

THE DETAILS

Headgear
Enlisted -Forage caps are preferred for both regiments, but civilian hats MAY be worn if you also carry your forage cap, which will be used for any formations. Forage caps of heavy weight wool are strongly discouraged as being not only bad reproductions but conducive to overheating.
Officers - Officer's Forage Cap or Kepi, or civilian Hat.

Coat
Enlisted
1. Fatigue blouse, lined from US arsenal or contract pattern, of correct weight wool flannel
2. Fatigue blouse, unlined, with all seams flat felled, of correct weight wool flannel.
("Sutler row" fatigue blouses of heavy wool are strongly discouraged as being not only poor reproductions, but also conducive to overheating.)
Officer
1. Single breasted frock coat, complete with rank insignia.
2. Commercially bought blouse (an officer's "sack coat"), complete with rank insignia, either shoulder or collar rank. Collar rank was more common late in the war than it was earlier.

Trousers
Enlisted
1. Sky Blue US issue foot trousers, worn at the natural waist.
Officer
1. Dark Blue trousers with correct trim
2. Enlisted Sky Blue trousers

Footwear enlisted and commissioned
US Issue shoes, private purchase boots are also permitted. Private purchase shoes for officers are also permitted.

Shirt
Enlisted
1. US issue shirt, highly recommended.
2. Civilian pattern shirt of documented pattern
Officer
1. Private Purchase Shirt

Accouterments
-Blanket roll of US issue or contractor variant is acceptable.
-1853 US issue knapsack is acceptable, BUT without ANY regimental lettering. If your knapsack has your home unit's identification on it, you have a choice: Go with a blanket roll instead, or cover up the designation with water-soluble black "poster paint." It is available at any artist supply store and it is easily removed after the event. This is one of those "uniformity" issues.
-US issue ground cloth, small grommets preferred.
-US issue shelter half.
-US issue 1855 Cartridge box/cap pouch. Cartridge box sling does not have to have a breast plate.
-Sewn, 2- or 7- rivet bayonet scabbard.
-Bullseye OR smoothside canteen, with brown/gray jean cloth cover preferred over light or dark blue, or none at all. Leather US issue strap OR proper fabric strap. Canteen stopper should be attached with a loop of hemp or linen twine, not chain.
-US issue tarred haversack only ("tarred" means the black is applied as a covering, rather than the dyed cloth used in some cheap reproductions.)

Cookware
US or civilian tin cup, plate and eating utensils, canteen halves are also acceptable.

Weapons
1861/63s Springfields and1853 Enfields are preferred, smoothbores are reluctantly accepted if that is all you have. All must have bayonets. All weapons will be inspected before participants will be allowed on site, and must be in top operating order.

Skill sets
Participants should bring the following minimum skills to the event as part of their "kit":
1. The ability to bivouac -- to sleep reasonably comfortably without much tentage. We are portraying armies on the move.
2. The ability to prepare a ration issue of meat, hardtack and foraged items, and to work together with messmates to more efficiently get rations prepared.
3. A working knowledge of Casey's Tactics appropriate to your rank. Please note that we will be stacking arms frequently and that there is simply no reason not to know that and other basics before you get to the event.
4. A working knowledge of sentinel duty -- not camp guards, but at-the-business-end picketing.
5. A willingness to adapt a 19th Century approach to duty and comradeship for the duration of the event. Hardships are to be overcome -- if feeding, maneuvering and fighting a brigade was easy,
we wouldn't bother with this.

This articel came from my forum