Prefrence

[bonniegreenflag]

Re: Prefrence

Karin-No problems, just being defensive. Thanks for the info, I will certainly make good use of it. I guess I could be 2nd generation Irish, my name certainly works. I could be very wrong, and just playing on sterio types, but wouldnt an Irishman have been more likely to vote for the democratic ticket in 1860-64? As far as my research goes, they seemed either unconcerned about or pro slavery. Of course, I may have just watched Glory a few too many times.

Andrew McQuillen

[bonniegreenflag]

Re: Prefrence

This is another preference question-Im always confused about route step. Is there a right way to do it? I guess it could just be as simple as it sounds...

[Johan Steele]

Re: Prefrence

A large chunk of Dyers is available online at: www.civilwararchive.com/regim.htm

"The Forgotten Arts & Crafts" by John Seymour is a good book to give you a good basic idea of what exactly is entailed w/ some of the 19th Century jobs. It should be available at your library, at Barnes & Noble or Borders. I think it runs about $25... I had to buy it because I was getting tired of borrowing the thing from the library.

"Hardtack & Coffee" as well as "All for Union" are good reads to get into the mindset of the CW Union soldier.

Look at every period photo you can, read everything that seems pertinent on this site and learn about the period, more than just the military aspects, learn the life.

www.usregulars.com/library.htm is an excellent site to learn a bit about the drill.

The Drill Network is a good site as well, though I've been swamped w/ porn pop ups off of several of the links lately. http://home.attnet/~Cap1MD/Drill.htm

http://struggleforstatehood.homestead.com/SandBC.html has some excellent articles on creating a persona.

There is so much more than just saying "I'm a Union soldier." There is your age, education level, family, experiances, job, friends, feelings toward politics just to name a few.

Learn the songs and slang of the period, it all helps to flesh your persona & make it believable.

My persona is actually a combination of two real men, one a failed Indian trader and another a dyed in the wool troublemaker and all around failure in life. THey turned out to be good soldiers though both had serious problems w/ liquor (including the trader being busted from Sgt to Private for stealing a hogshead of whiskey from the Col's tent and distributing it among the Regiment)

Apparently, a letter from home that informed him that fever had wiped out his family turned the troublemaker into a raving lunatic for a while but then he focused all of his efforts on fighting the CSA & turned into an exemplery soldier.

These were men who had real lives that were three dimensional, they were real and a two dimensional or extremely generic persona fails to do them justice. Research everything you can about the people of the time and enjoy yourself, it's a rewarding hobby when you can look at a statue of a CW soldier in your local cemetery and say thanks... and then do your best to keep the memory of those men alive.

Good Luck and welcome to a wonderful hobby.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Prefrence

Andrew

If you really want to portray an immigrant Irishman, I encourage you to read Doing Patty Right By Kevin O Bierne (Sorry if I spelt it wrong Kevin). Doing an immegrant impression is VERY difficult to do properly. I have from time to time portrayed a Scandinavian immigrant, and I can tell you it is really hard not to break Firper or worse become campy.

Good Luck, Welcome to the dark side.

[Johan Steele]

Re: Prefrence

Andrew, I find the Overcoat to be a vital piece of equipment, It's quite comfortable and through most of the year I can use it in place or as a supplement to my blanket & ground cloth. In a cold October or early Spring event it is a godsend... You'll appreciate the value when you have to do pickett or guard duty on a chill night.

I know of a couple fellas who pooled their resources and splt the cost of an overcoat. When one had to go on pickett or night watch he'd use it while the other slept under his buddies blanket as well as his and they swapped around who carried it. For what it's worth the overcoat seems to have been in ready supply as early as the Spring of 63 and I think (though I'm not certain) that the Irish Brigade had recently drew new issue of overcoats at the time of Fredricksburg.

[KarinTimour]

Re: Prefrence

Dear Andrew:

I'd like to echo what the others here have said -- part of the fun of this hobby is getting to "try on" and "change" impressions. When you are starting out, stick pretty closely to the truth of your real life. If you're a Democrat, then portray a Democrat, but if you're more Republican, you can talk in first person about how other Irishmen have turned their backs on you, sold out for the lies of the Democrats, etc.

But pick some givens and then form a "persona" around them. For instance, if you are a Democrat, are you a Douglas man? Do you think that Kansas and Nebraska should just vote themselves and decide themselves whether they are going to be free of slave states? Are you a Breckenridge or a Bell ("Constitutional Unionism") Democrat? What are your thoughts on Fremont, the Pathfinder? In in the 1860 election, the Democratic ticket got split so badly they didn't have a prayer of winning. Are you an Oldline Whig who wishes the Whigs could have held it together just a little longer? When (if) you study this election in school, the divisions seem rather academic and somewhat dry. But when I started trying to decide which of these guys most represented my views, it got a whole lot more interesting.

And then there is local Massachusetts politics, which could never be described as boring -- the Civil War Governor was John Andrews, a solid Republican, Lincoln supporter and successful lawyer. But guess who ran against him in the gubenatorial election of 1860? Benjamin "Beast" Butler! It gets better! Benjamin Butler was a delegate to the Democratic national Convention, voted to nominate Jefferson Davis for United States President, later threw his support to John Breckenridge of Kentucky and in the fall ran for the Governor of Massachusetts on the Southern Democratic ticket. Early in the war when Butler wanted to raise a regiment and leave the state, Governor Andrew was only too happy to commission him and ship him south.

There isn't a right or a wrong answer on all of these things -- start out with who you are now, and build around that. If you're a student, be a student, if you're an only child be an only child, etc., etc. Don't feel trapped by stereotypes of "what Irish are supposed to be." Keep in mind that in every group most members of that group vary from the "norm" in some important characteristics.

Afterall, you know that "all" Americans eat McDonalds five times a week, we all watch 12 hours of television a day, we drive two cars, have 2.1 children, are at least 30 lbs overweight, never vote, etc., etc. Some of this might be true of you, much of it is not -- let the same be true of your persona.

Hope that's helpful,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com