Ground cloth usage

[Secesh]

I've been toying with this thought for awhile...If not mistaken, Federal and Confederate infantryman were issued one groundcloth / poncho, but I wonder how many of us modern reenactors adhere to that, or actually use 2? Thoughts??

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Ground cloth usage

Hi,

I have always use one groundcloth, mainly because of the weight. Is is possible that a soldier could have carried 2, yes. But I know I would not. I would also think that it would be more likely that they would carry a groundcloth, shelter half, and blanket; then carry 2 groundcloths and a blanket. Just my 2 cents.

[AZReenactor]

Re: Ground cloth usage

Tom, from many accounts, all to frequently, even one is an unlikely item of issue.

When I do carry a groundsheet, shelter half, or rubber blanket, I generally only carry one. Nonetheless when it comes time to sleep, I usually have use of two, if not three of these items. The key today, just as back then, is to partner up and share resources in order to make them go further.

One of the best examples in recent years was BGR where the SA platoon was able to pool resources and construct a rather comfortable shebang for more than a dozen fellows.

[ajroscoe]

Re: Ground cloth usage

I have always only used one for my impression. I don't even own a shelter half. I mostly carry a gum blanket, blanket, and if it is really cold out, overcoat. Of course all of that is scenario specific for whatever event/unit I'm in. I have to agree that the best thing to do is simply buddy up and get close to your comrades.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Ground cloth usage

I've been toying with this thought for awhile...If not mistaken, Federal and Confederate infantryman were issued one groundcloth / poncho, but I wonder how many of us modern reenactors adhere to that, or actually use 2? Thoughts??

Perhaps the question would be better focused on primary/secondary sources of what the original soldiers (1861-1865) practices were.

As a group, we weekend warriors collectively tend to have little tolerance for exposure to the elements; hot, cold, rain, snow, ice...etc. As such, the collective mentality tends to practice overburdening ourselves with much more than the original men had, and bailing when times get rough.

As this is in the Authenticity Discussion, let's please focus some documentation on what WAS DONE...and not what is currently done today...otherwise I'd recommend the Mods close this down.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Ground cloth usage

The challenge here is coming up with documentation, and if you dig around a little bit in the previous threads on this very subject, there is a good chance you'll find an applicable CW era quote or two. On a more modern practical application note, as you've read in both The Long Walk and Out of Old Capitol Prison AARs, a pair of resourceful men with minimal equipment can stay somewhat comfortable, if only on this side of "not entirely miserable." "Man against the elements" is a theme older than Homer the blind poet.

[Secesh]

Re: Ground cloth usage

I think you didn't read the true nature of my question, which is how many of us are adhering to what was actually done...

[DougCooper]

Re: Ground cloth usage

I have a letter from Wilbur Duffy, the Capt of Co I 1st Minnesota, from late Sep 1863. They were sent on a recon in force from Culpepper to the Rapidan over a 6 day period and were told to go in "light marching order" which as Duffy explains it meant "no blankets." He does not say no ground sheet or shelter half. I would love to know what they did carry for a week on the road.

[lukegilly13]

Re: Ground cloth usage

A man who refers to himself as "Le Zouave" at Camp Lee on July 7, 1861 speaks of his sightings of soldiers caught in the rain. He says: "The regiment seemed lugubrious; but the “Zou Zaus,” equal to any emergency, hastily unslung the Reith knapsack, restrapped the interior bundle to the shoulder, donned the oil cloth, and prevented an exterior defiant to Iris, the goddess of cloud and shower."
Taken from the Richmond Wig July 7, 1861

http://www.mdgorman.com/Written_Accounts/Whig/1861/richmond_whig_721861.htm

So, even pre-war to early war it sounds as if only 1 cloth was issued. Now, the size,shape,detail, etc of these cloths are another topic.
"I think you didn't read the true nature of my question, which is how many of us are adhering to what was actually done..."
To address the question, I've seen both.....It's a little more dynamic than one or two however...I've made and sold a few at the 6'x3' size....and had several requests for a 6'6" x 4'6"....it could be that one is enough if it is large enough to roll up in.

[AZReenactor]

Re: Ground cloth usage

Luke, the way I read that, it sounds like the may have ended up wearing the special Reith Knapsacks themselves as protection from the rain. That would seem a most expedient solution for a column of soldiers not equipped for the sudden deluge.

[lukegilly13]

Re: Ground cloth usage

Troy,
I have never interpreted it that way until you said that. I agree with you...the fellow is talking about the oil cloth that is part of the knapsack. Thanks for the above post...i've never seen such a good description of the Reith.
To correct my above post....I think it more likely that folks improvised that carried two cloths.

[Jam3853]

Re: Ground cloth usage

"I think you didn't read the true nature of my question, which is how many of us are adhering to what was actually done..."

If we are not adhering to what was done, than would that not make us as reenactors less authentic? Or in the most part not campaigner?

Luke great response as to the usage of oil cloths… that was a really interesting read in your post.

[tater_cuffie]

Re: Ground cloth usage

I only carry one, and one blanket as well. You don't really need one for summer events but you might want one for Spring, Fall, and Winter. You can use it anyway you want really.. or need. So I think it always a good thing to have.
my 2 cents

[Silas]

Re: Ground cloth usage

Try this link : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...489#post126489 which refers to an old thread on the forum. I've included a link to the O.R.'s about real time application of the experiment with knapsacks. Much discussion in the quartermaster reports about overcoats and blankets. I only saw a few references to "rubber" blankets. (Several thousand were replaced after Chancellorsville in one corps alone.) Could be that the word, blanket, was sometimes used interchangeably to mean wool or rubber blankets.

Draw your own conclusions about what men did or didn't do. From the combo plate of knapsack, wool blanket, rubber blanket, overcoat and shelter half, some folks chose a few of the items on the menu to carry while others chose different combinations from the same menu.

[OldKingCrow]

Poncho / Gum Blanket Reference:

“P r aps ye kin tell a feller what this is” Si said to y as the orderly handed him a piece of rubber cloth six feet long by four feet wide with a slit eighteen inches in length running crosswise in the center. Si thought there was no end to the curious things he was getting for his outfit. “That's a poncho” replied Shorty. “What makes em call it that V what's it fer I reck n they calls it a poncho cause that's its name” said Shorty. “Ye don t want ter stick up yer nose at it nuther fer it ll come bout s handy to ye s anything ye ll git It's mighty good ter spread on the ground under yer blanket when ye goes ter bed Ye know wet won t soak through Injy rubber n it ll help pervent ye ketchin the rumaticks Sides that when ye have ter lie down n the mud it keeps yer blanket clean Then when ye re marchin in the rain it beats n umbreller all holler Ye jest take it this way” Shorty proceeded to illustrate his lecture on the value of the article by thrusting his head through the slit. The poncho fell loosely around him from his shoulders extending as far down as the knees before and behind and covering him as a mantle not wholly unlike that fantastic achievement of the modern dressmaker the Mother Hubbard. With the gum side outward it gave promise of excellent protection from rain. Then Si put it on and promenaded around as proud as a peacock. He could hardly find words strong enough to express his admiration for a government that had provided so bountifully for him. “I don t keer f it rains pitchforks” he said “s long s I ve got this thing”.

Every hour Si felt more and more glad that he had enlisted he was going to have such a nice time of it. Shorty did not exaggerate the value of this item in the soldier's wardrobe. Its official name was the poncho but this word had no meaning to the boys few of whom were supplied with dictionaries and they always called it the gum blanket. The specific purposes for which it was made were those described by Shorty but it had many other uses. It was convenient to wrap around a quarter of pork or mutton which it was desired to smuggle into camp. It was provided with a flap and buttons to close the aperture in the center and was handy to carry upon the shoulder half a bushel or so of apples or sweet potatoes. About half the ponchos after they had been in service a few months had checker boards penciled or painted on them and the other half had the necessary squares and figures for chuck a luck sweat Honest John and other fascinating games that tended o impoverish those who were addicted to them.

Corporal Si Klegg and His "Pard" By WILBUR F HINMAN, Lieutenant Colonel 65th Regiment Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry