Campaigner Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

[County Militia]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

In case of wet socks or other small clothing articles:

If nobody is using the fire, lay your socks or clothing article next to the fire. Close enough that it warms and is able to dry, but far enough away that it cannot catch fire. If your fire has one of those metal rods suspended over it used for hanging pots etc., lay your socks on the edges of the pole. This "roasts" the socks and dries them in less than an hour. And, if it's cold outside, the socks are very warm when you put them back on. A big plus in winter campaigning.

[coffee boiler]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Rice and grits are light to carry, take up little room and can be very filling.

Pack some rope and a housewife. There is no end to the usefulness of these two items.

Pour hot water in your canteen at night and put it by your feet.

When a budy slips out of first person, remind him that he must still be suffering from that concussion... this will bring him back to his senses.

[Kykeydet12]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

hireddutchcutthroat:
this is kinda off subject I was born in 1989 .

here's some tip's for bugalers and other musicians out there:
-Buy a brush for the end of a ramrod and use it to clean out the lead pipe on your bugle or cornet. get the brush to the closest size of the tube, if the brush is to big it will damage the inside of the lead pipe if it is to small it won't get any crudd out.

- a friend of mine is a drummer he always loosens the rope on his drum during the night and in the morning re-tightens them to get a perfect tune. The reason for this is that if during the night it get's moist the head of the drumm might split or something like that , I'm not sure if it works but that's just what he does.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

hireddutchcutthroat:
this is kinda off subject I was born in 1989 .

GAWH!? :cry_smile

Now I feel old!

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

If your fire has one of those metal rods suspended over it for hanging pots etc., lay your socks on the edges of the pole.

Jack,

This sounds like something done at mainstream events, not on a campaign.

Here's a tip:
Pay attention to your officer/NCO during formation, learn the drill, and be sharp and crisp. Quiet in the ranks....

[Kykeydet12]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Hired dutchcutthroat;
you sound like my mom :p lol

By the way : if your drying out your socks over a fire, you are running a danger of burning your socks. if youy do wait until your fire has burned down to a small fire , I like to do this before i go to bed when i'm about to let the fire burn down for the night. this way I can go to bed eith warm socks and sleep much better.

-anothere thing is that something that most people make the mistake of is that they layer themselves to much , putting a union suit , jacket , great coat, and then covering them selves with several blankets, to avoud this i only wear a pair of flannel drawers, and a warm wool shirt. if you layer to much your body heat will get caught close to your body ands won't spread to your blankets and won't make that much use during the night.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Hired dutchcutthroat;
you sound like my mom :p lol

By the way : if your drying out your socks over a fire, you are running a danger of burning your socks. if youy do wait until your fire has burned down to a small fire , I like to do this before i go to bed when i'm about to let the fire burn down for the night. this way I can go to bed eith warm socks and sleep much better.

-anothere thing is that something that most people make the mistake of is that they layer themselves to much , putting a union suit , jacket , great coat, and then covering them selves with several blankets, to avoud this i only wear a pair of flannel drawers, and a warm wool shirt. if you layer to much your body heat will get caught close to your body ands won't spread to your blankets and won't make that much use during the night.

I dont know if unionsuits are correct for our period. You should just stick to what was know to be issued to a soldier in your Army/theater/time period. And do what Aaron said, his advice is golden.

[smithjub]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Don't forget a reflector if its really cold. Just put a log or a pile of rocks on the opposite side of the fire. Sounds silly but it works

If your firewood is wet, stacking extra wood around your fire pit will not only reflect the heat as mentioned above, but it will also dry out the wet wood which can then be used on the fire much more successfully than just throwing on a wet log. Just throw in a heated and dried log when you need to replenish the fire and fill its spot in the fireside wall with another wet log. Repeating this process will insure that you always have nice dry wood for your fire, even in rainy conditions.

[SCTiger]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Comrades:

So far I have gathered a few maybe 7-8 "tips" that might be useful but, the rest of the posts have been so useless that they have choked up what could have been a productive thread. If you are writing endless drivel with no basis in actual known campaign experience or from research matrerials, then it's a fabricated reenactorism, I was just waiting for someone to suggest new tips on strapping your canteen half plate to their canteen.

Rob Young welcome to the c/p/h hobby, sit back and read for the next six months and give your fingers a rest. Thats my tip.

[rogue]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Learn when enough is enough.
We are living in the year 2004. We are engaged in a hobby, not a true life and death struggle. I did the 125th Gettysburg when it was hot enough to cook eggs with no pan or fire, and we accepted chunks of ice and ice-water from spectators as people we keeling over from the heat. At the fridgid 125th Franklin in a bitter cold April a man died on the next company street over, really died, from hypothermia, no pretend.
Many of the threads above tell how to stay warm in cold weather and the like, but just recall as we go into another season, it is 2004 and we are human, not super-human by labeling ourselves hardcore, progressive or whatever.
I have been in this game since the 1960's and too many of my old pards now have arthritis and/or are hard of hearing as we felt in our youth we could rise above any obstacle that reenactijng could put before us.
Have fun, learn, bond, but also be careful out there, learn when enough is enough.
Steve Sullivan
various units, currently 46th Illinois
N-SSA

[marine05]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Advice from Sgt Henry Taylor, 1st Minnesota Volunteers, spring 1863 just prior to embarking in the Antietam/Sharpsburg Campaign:

"Carry as light a load as possible but be sure to have at least one blanket, one shirt, two pairs of socks, needle and thread, and writing material in your knapsack. One or two small books will not come amiss. More fear is felt going into action than after you get in. Artillery is more frightful than destructive except at short range, where grape and cannister is thrown. Infantry are apt to fire too high. Cavalry can do nothing with Infantry, if they stand firm. Infantry seldom cross bayonets-one side or the other will give way in case of a charge before the parties meet. Always have water in your canteen when you go into action. Wounded men must have water. Use cold water in dressing a fresh wound. Treat prisoners of war kindly. Pickets should not fire on one another. Always be ready for battle when you are near the enemy. Letters from friends are a great source of enjoyment to the soldier. It pays to fix up a comfortable bed or shanty for a few days. As a general thing, soldiers are very profane-the influence of women is taken away to a great extent. War should never be resorted to, but as a last extremity. It costs but little to keep a brief diary."

Most soldiers today would say much the same things.

YOS,

DJM

[texandrummer61]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

- a friend of mine is a drummer he always loosens the rope on his drum during the night and in the morning re-tightens them to get a perfect tune. The reason for this is that if during the night it get's moist the head of the drumm might split or something like that , I'm not sure if it works but that's just what he does.[/QUOTE]

That's always a good idea. The drum head does'nt split, it just sounds really
bad in the morning. I always loosen the ropes when I'm not playing.

Ian Broadhead

[coastaltrash]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

Don't eat butter thinking that it's eggs. Do not fear the red liquid dripping from the roof either.

[Bent Rabbit]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

When spooning with three or more pards, remind them that YOU were on the end last night and tonight it's their turn... :wink_smil

[Milliron]

Re: Campaigners tips, tricks, and techniches

One of the better tricks I've seen for drawing out that pesky Enfield ramrod when your cleaning patch gets stuck in the field is to wedge the exposed end of the ramrod in the "L" of your bayonet socket and rotate the bayonet against the ramrod while drawing it upward. Works every time and doesn't wreck the end of your ramrod.

My .02