A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

"I have said it a 1000 times that this article(and the Hardcracker Handbook) should be handed to every new reenactor-which we did in the 90's, before everyone got so "cyber-lazy"."

Yeah, mostly agreed... I'd counteroffer that there are some great resources online for the authentically-minded as well as some out-of-date written material out there from back in the day when those books were still known as "cutting edge" research information. There are a few dated references in Cal's article (such as the hat brass issue) that can be well-documented into the later stages of the war. Cal's article is in a very good spirit regarding the mainstream reenactor's mostly-incorrect habits, though. Look upon this as a general primer for authenticity... we must learn the incorrectness of our ways in order to correct them...

Just because technology has caught-up with the research-end of the hobby doesn't mean it is all bad. Like with college-level research on the internet, great care must be taken to completely understand the intent of the resource one is studying and quoting from.

My 2 cents- Johnny Lloyd ;)

[Old Reb]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Cal sighting or was it a haint? Either the flesh and bone Cal was present along Wilson's Creek recently or his spirit. Harrison Holloway claims it was a haint that looked like Cal, but since Cal seems to be amongst the living, I believe it was him in a flesh body. Holler can describe this haint sighting if he wishes to defend his claim.

[plankholder]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Good to see an old throwback from the days when you had to actually use a book(remember them?) to research instead of "Googling" something and having it spoon fed to you. The Hardcracker Handbook is to this day one of my most prized publications. I am sure that Cal is flattered that his words can spark 5 pages on a forum from nearly 20 years in the past. Great article, but keep in mind that is geared more towards the beginner or mainstreamer, where this forum caters to the more progressive side. I have said it a 1000 times that this article(and the Hardcracker Handbook) should be handed to every new reenactor-which we did in the 90's, before everyone got so "cyber-lazy". Thanks for reposting this.

[sf46]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Looks to be a lot of very good and useful advice in there.

[Charlie Newman]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Thanks for who all posted.This has helped my impression by a big margin.

[3rdbattvet2002]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Amen brother!!

[DougCooper]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Reenacting is more than a hobby. Pastimes such as stamp collecting, building model airplanes, or tending a garden are ends unto themselves, and carry no particular higher connotations. But ours is a greater calling, and involves a responsibility to accurately recreate some of the darkest, most important days of our nation's past. Therefore, we have an obligation to do it right, and to the best of our abilities. We owe this to history, to the memory of those we represent, to our fellow Americans - and to ourselves!

Cal Kinzer

Can we post this on the home page of the A/C forum? It is the ultimate mission statement for what we do...or should be doing.

[Raven]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Sure thing

[paulcalloway]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Dear Friends:
Why bring it back now, Paul? Is it a SLOW NEWS DAY?

Just noticed this. Cal, I posted this in 2004 when we rebuilt the site after a massive crash... it had been posted here prior to that. If we no longer have your permission to host this, let me know and we'll take it down. But I didn't just recently post this as your reply suggests.

[JimKindred]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Try using more than one photo example to make your point.

[Raven]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Not to be a flame-bait, but on the part about the thing that "short hair was most common", take a look at the famous picture of the three captured soldiers at Gettysburg:

He appears to have long hair but has slicked it back.
Nice post by the way!

[Cal Kinzer]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Dear Friends:

Well, I reckon it is about my turn to chime in here. I never cease to be amazed at how this OLD article, written almost twenty years ago, seems to get dusted off and resurrected from time to time. Why bring it back now, Paul? Is it a SLOW NEWS DAY?

By the way, it is indeed true that I am STILL ALIVE. I just thought everyone would like to know that! As to the charge that I am a bit "quirky" - well, I guess I shall have to plead guilty on that one - to which everyone who knows me, especially my wife, will certainly attest!

Seriously though, I do not necessarily hold with everything I wrote way back then, any more than anyone else probably would the views they held that long ago. There has been a lot of research done since, and our take on what is or is not authentic has changed a quite a lot - as it should! If my views and personal impression had progressed that little over such a long period of time, then I would be a pretty poor reenactor.

As a historical document, "Twelve Ways..." may have some relevance. At the time, it did seem to have helped nudge the hobby forward a little. If nothing else, perhaps it achieved its basic purpose, which was to encourage reenactors to begin thinking of authenticity as more than just buying higher quality reproductions, but rather the entire range of methods and applications involved in more accurately recreating the Civil War soldier.

But it should not be taken as state-of-the-art, especially with regard to what the members of the h/c/p side of the hobby and readers of this forum are doing today. You are achieving things that go far beyond anything of which we "old-timers" could have dreamed 20, 30 (or, in my case, nearly 40!) years ago. My hat is off to you!

I would like to thank those who jumped into the discussion in my defense. One of the most rewarding things about reenacting is the good friendships one makes, and the wonderful individuals you come to know and respect, - and who know and respect you. When fine men and topnotch historians like Nathan Hellwig, Frank Siltman and Joe Smotherman think enough of you to say what they did, that is no small thing, and a great honor!

For those who may be shy about contributing to the growth of authenticity, or who may be fearful of the criticism that will inevitably result, let me encourage you not to be overly concerned. In the old days, authentics fought against everything from two-banded muskets to modern tents to motorcycle boots. At every step of the way, they faced heated, and often unkind and unfair opposition from those who claimed that they were unreasonable and intolerant. But, over a long period of time, most among the silent majority came to see the truth of what they had to say, and gradually the cause of higher quality, and greater seriousness and professionalism, was moved forward - inch by inch!

Reenacting is more than a hobby. Pastimes such as stamp collecting, building model airplanes, or tending a garden are ends unto themselves, and carry no particular higher connotations. But ours is a greater calling, and involves a responsibility to accurately recreate some of the darkest, most important days of our nation's past. Therefore, we have an obligation to do it right, and to the best of our abilities. We owe this to history, to the memory of those we represent, to our fellow Americans - and to ourselves!

Cal Kinzer

[Gallinipper]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Joe, I see three Yanks and you all look like clothes thieves to me! :D

[PogueMahone]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Rich,

I'm the one buttoned up in the back. That is Jim Butler with his jacket open.

[PogueMahone]

Re: A Dozen Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Personal Impression: By Cal Kinzer

Tom,

"Quirky" is not something I've heard before to describe me, but I'll take it.

I'll second you on Jack King. For the 125th Manassas event, Jack convinced the 10 best, most authentic CS groups in the west/south to organize into a single battalion for the event, something that had never been done to my knowledge. We would portray the 7th Louisiana. We registered through Jack and each man got a canvas haversack, canvas gaitors, cotton havelock, Pelican belt buckle and a star/crescent badge. All the companies he had engaged at that time were wearing the same cadet grey jacket from Jarnagin. Each man wore Federal issue sky blue trowsers. As a battalion, we were uniform.

He put together a color guard with men from several of the larger companies and they carried two hand painted silk flags, a first national and a pelican. He recruited a full brass band to march with us for the entire event.

Jack organized an Amtrak special car that started out in the west, maybe even California, and picked up folks as it passed through the south, arriving at Manassas Junction the day or so before the event. Several of us drove up and met the train and the battalion camped in the park across the street from the train station. We had dress parade, guard mount and orders of the day. The next morning the battalion marched 9 miles to the event site, with the band playing Dixie as we marched away from the train station. Jack had even arranged for some church group to feed us lunch along the march route at a school. I recall filling my canteen from a shower head in the boy's locker room and then dipping my upper body into the freshly filled pool to cool off.

When the battalion arrived at the event site, we halted, all the officers brushed their uniforms, put on gloves, etc. Each man buttoned up tight and our lines were dressed. We marched into camp with the band in front playing The Marseilles and came over a rise to see the largest camp we'd ever seen and then to realize the entire camp had just seen the coolest battalion they'd ever seen. We were so uniform that for the rest of the weekend people would point and say "There's one of them fellers that marched in with the band and all that."

Good times. Good memories.

Jack broke new ground all the way around with that event.