Fortifications

[TheGrayGhost]

I've been to only one reenactment where I saw any attempt to construct field fortifications.....and it was very poor attempt- nothing more than piles of dirt.

How often is this done at reenactments?.....What have been the results?

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Tom Chance

[Lone_Rebel87]

Re: Fortifications

I've seen and heard of a few where they have trenches dug and fortified but I have never been to one that has more than the common split rail fence defenses. I would like to hit some that have the fortifications though.

Jordan Davis

[Jake Hill]

Re: Fortifications

At the Battle of Selma held in April. They have very good examples of fortifications. They are trenches with the planking and 3 or 4 redoubts. The fortification can hold about 10 full scale pieces with suppotring infantry. This event used to be big but had declined in particpants in the last few years. Chech a search engine and and type in Battle of Selma to find pics. I know Fowlers Alabama Battery have a few pics of the trenches and the 33rd Alabama might have a few. Hope this helps some.

[Lucky]

Re: Fortifications

[QUOTE=SOLJER 28TH AL]At the Battle of Selma held in April.


Nice fortications they are, but you can live in the original ones at Blakeley down in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Brian M. DesRochers

[Jake Hill]

Re: Fortifications

That is quite true. But a down side to that is they only have the event every other year or something of that nature. The rumor is that they are going to have in this coming April? Is this true or just getting my hopes up?

[Lucky]

Re: Fortifications

That is quite true. But a down side to that is they only have the event every other year or something of that nature. The rumor is that they are going to have in this coming April? Is this true or just getting my hopes up?

Correct.


Brian M. DesRochers

[Craig Solomon]

Re: Fortifications

At the Bentonville event in 2000 the Federals were marched out to the battlefield about an hour early on Sunday and told to dig in. A trench was dug and logs thrown up across the top within a fairly short period of time. In 1999 some of the Feds were also able to do the same thing at one of the scenarios at the Chickamauga event.

In terms of upcoming events, the Spring Hill/Franklin/Nashville event in October promises to have fortifications, plus the chance to do some work on them for the Franklin scenario, I believe.

So yes, it happens, and it's usually pretty interesting. Hope this helps.

--Craig Solomon
Tar Water Mess
G. H. Thomas's Invincibles

[Jeffrey Przewozniak]

Re: Fortifications

Eallo folks,

This may prove to be of some use.

http://civilwarfortifications.com/

Personally, I've seen some pretty poor excuses for fortifications at events, but seen others that were top notch. Like other aspects of authentic reenacting, it all depends on how much one wants to put in to it. I am in earnest,

[Greg Renault]

Re: Fortifications

Tom,

Pics from the nice earthworks provided at the Spotsylvania event this spring.

http://www.spotsylvania140th.com/photos.html

Greg Renault

[Lone_Rebel87]

Re: Fortifications

Awesome wetplate photo...like a leap back in time..bet it was a great event.

Jordan Davis

[Andrew Jarvi]

Re: Fortifications

Spotsylvania was not bad, the trenches made it everything it was otherwise it would have just been another farbfest. Falling in with the USV's and getting to portray the 3rd NJ "Jersey Blue" also made it more memorable.

Andrew Jarvi
5th USCT

[JACKSONVC]

Re: Fortifications

The best time at Spotsylvania was in the evenings. Authentics living in the trenches, bacon cooking, pipes lit, soldiers sleeping on the bare ground. Unfortunately, no photos of those memorable moments exist. Just seeing 40 Authentics huddled around little fires, each carring out some mundane task, set your mind back to '64.
Just goes to show you that even in the farbiest of worlds, Authentics can steal a little piece of heaven.

[TheGrayGhost]

Re: Fortifications

Thanks for the info......and now I have a followup question-

How many engineer renactors are out there-....staking out the work and setting the cuts and fills ?...

...-In other words doing it at the time of the event and using period equipment.

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Tom Chance

[BobSullivanPress]

Re: Fortifications

I know some guys that do 50th NY Engineers. I also know some guys that do Confederate engineers.

There are some problems in doing this stuff at events as it was done.

I think it would be difficult to tell a bunch of reenactors not in your own group to go perform manual labor for a few hours.

We generally don't have as many tools available to us as the armies did.

40 guys digging with 3 period shovels just doesn't get a few hundred yards of earthworks done the way 400 guys with 400 shovels did.

[TheGrayGhost]

Re: Fortifications

I was thinking of works more limited in scope such as a Redan, Redoubt, or Lunette and not the 1/4 mile long trenches.

These works can be 100' or less in width.

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Tom Chance