Letters to the Front

[BritReenactor]

Dear all

I've been looking for a way to improve my impression (I'm a mainstreamer trying to break into the authentic circuit) and I thought that a good way to do so would be to produce a pack of 'letters from home' to go in my pack, along with a writing kit for my own replies. This fits my character as a student in peace time, which gives a reason for literacy, and is also a good conversation piece for the public to go in my knapsack, but I had some questions. Firstly, is this even appropriate? Would a soldier on the march carry with him his letters and a writing kit, or would they be thrown away to save weight? And what did the men of the time write with? I understand that penciled letters were something of a taboo, but I can't see anyone short of an officer carrying a pen and inkwell in with their kit.

Any advice on this, or any other little things in the same vein to put in my knapsack, would go a long way to helping make my impression that bit more authentic and would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

BritReenactor

[Jeremy Bevard]

Re: Letters to the Front

Carrying letters from home would be correct and I don’t believe they were tossed for weight. They would be sent home for safe keeping when a chance arose. I have read accounts of this and makes sense for the many surviving letter collections. I have also read many accounts where men lost their belongings/packs and in this mentioned the loss of letters.

If possible pen and ink would be the writing tools of choice. I have read primary accounts that apologize for having to use pencil. So, while ink was preferred/proper method a letter in pencil was better than no letter.

Many patents were filed for traveling writing kits and advertisements can be found in Harpers Weekly. Brooks and Hathaway being well known and reproduced today. Both come with traveling inkwells, which do work, owning both.

There are also wood traveling inkwells that are common to find on ebay or civil war shows. Another vendor sells reproductions of these. I have an original I have used many times and for Christmas was given a reproduction as a gift from a girlfriend that hates seeing me use original items.

[Jeremy Bevard]

Re: Letters to the Front

Since you also asked about other knapsack items. I carry a blanket, rubber blanket, shirt, socks, housewife, some rope, sleeping cap and my convenience bag*. Depending on the impression I might have a shelter half, writing kit or I might just have some paper folded up in a notebook with a broken pencil all in a pocket.

Colder weather some mittens or gloves and a scarf will get stuffed in. Sleeping cap will get changed for a warmer knit cap.


*small tin lantern, matches, foot/crotch powder in a tin, some medicine in a small period bottle, toothbrush, toothpowder in a small glass bottle, comb, fabric squares for…well you know, a snuff box that hold/hides drops and such to deal with any contact issues and sometimes a pocket mirror. Sounds like a lot but fits in a ticking poke sack in the knapsack.

[BritReenactor]

Re: Letters to the Front

Thankyou for the information. I've already got a good deal of the basic stuff in my knapsack. It's things like making up poke bags for medicine/hygiene stuff or getting a housewife that I still need to do.

It would strongly depend on the impression, I think, whether I would carry an ink well or not. My society does a fair few garrison events - they're only just starting to do campaign-themed events - and for those I'd use an inkwell since those events are a winter camp impression. However, in the field I still think a pencil is appropriate.

[FlatLandFed]

Re: Letters to the Front

Friend Oliver,
The only two letters I have that were written by my great uncle (Ohio cavalry regiment) to his family from the front are both in pencil. (As was the address on the envelope.)
I hope this will be of use to you.
Paul Hadley

[BritReenactor]

Re: Letters to the Front

Very much of use. Thanks Paul!

[Pelikan]

Re: Letters to the Front

There are quite a few threads on this topic with some good info from various research sources. Definitely not scolding with a "Use the dern search and git off my lawn!" :-) i just trust those threads more than my aging memory!

I'm building a company clerk impression and can go on and on about period pens, inks, pencils, papers, inkwells, envelopes, sealing wafers and all the other material goodies that go along with writing in the field.

Letters from home were saved and treasured as they always have for hundreds, thousands of years, even. But they also were tossed to lighten the load, or used in the sinks, or for starting a fire, etc. Your call.

Writing letters was certainly a regular activity in the field, by pen, by pencil, on varying kinds of paper. Modern copier paper is far too bright and white for period paper, which had much more rag in it than wood pulp, for example.

The type of handwriting varied also, depending on region, age of the writer, and education level. Copperplate, Spencerian, chickenscratch and every kind of script in between is seen. Unless the writer was an engineer, block letters were used very sparingly.

Hope this turns into a productive thread.

[Scott Sheets]

Re: Letters to the Front

Great information so far. I to have an original and reproduction wood inkwell. I pretty much only use it when I am doing a company clerk impression. Also a note on Spencerian script. Of you can write cursive to basically just need to learn the capital letters and impart a slant to the rest. Amazon has a great set of copy books to learn the style. It's not hard.

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: Letters to the Front

Small pen, travel inkwell, and paper are easily stowed. Plenty of vendors to choose from, to include the fine Button Baron. I think this largely comes down to personal preference for pencil over pen; both are certainly correct and many diaries were written with pencil notes that were later refined into more detailed descriptions. Hard Marching Every Day by Wilbur Fisk comes to mind, as an example.

A number of years ago I examined a set of original letters (on the CS side) that had correspondence from each party in the same letter. What I mean is, one person would write to the other on a piece of stationary and the other would reply to them on the same letter by writing in the space above the sender's original lines.

They did this to save paper and the respondent was able to write about subjects the originator had asked about in their letter. This was really unique and I have never seen any set of letters since written in this fashion. Incidentally, some of the exchanges were written in pen by one party and in pencil by the other in reply.

Go with what you feel is best for you. It is my opinion, and just that, that pen and ink would be reserved for more stable times to put pen to paper. Getting out your writing kit in a rifle pit or on picket/sentinel duty just isn't practical.

[F. J.]

School of the Clerk . . .

A great resource for information regarding period writing paraphernalia is Michael Schaffner’s 2007 Revised School of the Clerk, as well as the 2006 version. It primarily pertains to the duties of an Army clerk, but it should be required reading as it gives a good insight into the nuts and bolts of how both Armies operated on paper.

For a good source for period ink powder, pens, pencils, and travelling inkwells, take a gander at the Reading and Writing Goods section over at the Sutler of Fort Scott.