campaingn packing

[Paul L Muller]

Last season was my first season of going campaign style as csa cavalry. I did cut back two one pistol and did well at Twin Rivers going strictly off the saddle. My question is... what do more experianced troopers carry on their saddle and on their person? I am interested in foods also. plm

[Ken Knopp]

Re: campaingn packing

Paul,

That is a good question. In my opinion, we should alway try to limit ourselves to what "they" carried which varied greatly from next to nothing to a wide assortment of "needs" and "luxuries". This was also tempered by personal wealth, the period of the war, rate of supply, time of the year, access to captures and believe it or not, geographic location too.
What are true "needs" and what would be period "also haves"? Anyone want to open this up for discussion?

Ken R Knopp

[forrestcav]

Re: campaingn packing

prerolled pistol cartridges are the bee's knee's.I roll and bundle them and pull them in a small tim to protect from being crushed. It makes loading after dark (outpost) easier and eliminates two flaskes. Otherwise anything that doesn't need to be kept cool food wise. I premake cornbread and carry it in my haversack, along with my coffee, sugar, molasses, and rice for supper. I cheat and will repackage red beans and rice or dirty rice for my evening meal. Me and my pards (Dad and my son) live out of three haversacks all weekend.

[Jerry Ross]

Re: campaingn packing

Hello all,
All the horse I have seen at events don't need any extra rations, leave them behind. The less is more thing work here too. They will not melt from not having grain for two days. What most them need is to be ridden more often. Leave the shelter half behind unless it is going to rain. I would leave the nose bag too. Humm what else can I leave at home ?????Oh fenders ,saddlebags,crupper, lariat, picket pin,teddy bear,pillow, opps. What say you ?What could you leave behind?

[forrestcav]

Re: campaingn packing

Here Here on the feed ration Jerry. My old nag won't know what to do with grain. She doesn't get it at home and is fat as a pig. I use my feed bag to store other non food items. i haven't toted my saddle bags in years. We're like our horses and need to cut our rations too. Teddy Bear???? I would hate for you to leave that and be scared of the dark and the bogey man.

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: campaingn packing

I stuff my curry, housewife, a small bundle of hemp twine, lye soap, a couple rags and extra pair of socks and a saddlers repair kit in my bags...I also carry my lariat sans the pin. It makes a handy high-line for a horse or in a pinch strung between two trees with a gum thrown over it as a small crude shelter. Just some ideas. Z

[forrestcav]

Re: campaingn packing

soap??? whats that for? sounds about like what I stuff in my feed bag.
Lordy I don't miss that big camp chest and cooler I used to tote.

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: campaingn packing

I do try to attempt to wash my hands once a weekend... I usually try to pull the feedbag over one end of my blanket roll. I haven't grained a horse at an event since... okay, I can't remember. It does come in handy when scavenging stuff; I am one of the Federal bummers you know... ;)

[Old-South]

Re: campaingn packing

There seems to be a duplicate thread on the same subject, so I will post this again. This is a good thread I found. Not scripture but good suggestions.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?1398-Living-off-the-saddle

[Mark Choate]

Re: campaingn packing

Jeff,

Nice job of re-directing the thread to the earlier one.

There is so much info on this site and everyone please use the "search engine" before you create a new thread because chances are it has been hash out before. Plus, if it doesn't "scratch-your-itch" you can always revive it and roll all of that good info back out

regards,
Mark

[Outrider]

Re: campaingn packing

I am absolutley with Jerry on this.
My horse and I get by with very very little. In fact I have all but done away with even a haversack ..unless early war confederate or federal portrayal. I roll up what little I carry , rations, housewife, (yep even a bit of soap) inside a painted cloth blanket or a hand sewn wagon tarp that is about the size of a fly, if I even carry that ,depending on time and place being portrayed. Again, depending on the impression, I might pack things inside a grain bag or nosebag which very rarely ever has any feed in it and sometimes as Zack mentioned, a length of hemp rope to use in case I need it for the horse or to rig up a shelter with the tarp in only the ugliest of weathers.

I also do mounted civilian impressions where I obviously have much more leeway/luxury but that is irrelevant to this discussion.

Myself and others , have been trying to suggest for years ( mostly falling on deaf ears) that to improve a typical trooper's impression -especially Western Theater Cavalry , it is much more about doing away with things and leaving things behind than aquiring anything or what you think you need. Chances are good you dont. I have often heard "it is too expensive to do an "authentic" trooper impression"....Nope not once you learn you dont need much at all.

I still see a whole lot of fellas, even many who should know better by know, carrying way way too much stuff. I have seen a few who could barely even mount up with all the stuff they have strapped on the poor horse. That is neither good ,or necessary ,for the horse or the trooper.
As everything else I spew out though, that is just my opinion but it is at least one formed over many years of experience 'campaigning ' on horseback , learning by doing in the filed what works and what doesnt and trying to "get it right."

Now bad uniforms, gear, hats etc is another issue altogether... but I wont go there.

[Jerry Ross]

Re: campaingn packing

Patrick,
Amen brother! I want to mount up and get to the fighting or out as fast as possible. I don't want the saddle sliding off with all that junk as I try to get on with the horse spinning around. All of those extras catch my legs. Boys I have had all that stuff packed and have learned to do with out .

It is good to revisit these topics .I review with my student all the time ....

[forrestcav]

Re: campaingn packing

The haversacks are nice to keep my bed roll a bit cleaner. I suggest you lay everything out on the floor and look at every item and ask yourself did I use this last event. If the answer is NO then pull it off your saddle. Then step back and look again and decide is there anything else i can do without. One bed roll (blanket/ground cloth), one haversack, canteen, feedbag over the end of the bedroll if need be. Canvas and poncho's can be left in the "wagon" in case the weather turns, along with all the other "useless" camp gadgets.

[IowaYank]

Re: campaingn packing

I am in complete agreement with the things being said about packing light. I think one thing to keep in mind when deciding what to carry as well is the perspective of being a reenactor compared to being an actual soldier. As a reenactor, we too often pack for a weekend. We know we will only be out there for 2-3 days so we know what we can go without. I think we need to start packing for an event with the mindframe of a Civil War soldier. One who is not going out for only 2-3 days, but an indefinite amount of time. The things that we can surely do without for 2-3 days may be harder to do without if you are out there for an indefinite amount of time.

Just something to think about.
Dan

[Outrider]

Re: campaingn packing

Dan makes a good point. pack for the war and not the weekend which, actually, to me, is all the more reason to do without. For example, I trying alternative ways to pack what I needed without the haversack ever since Ken's research into Western unit inspection returns showed (correct me if I am wrong here Ken) that something like half the number of haversacks and canteens for the number of troopers which suggests to me that they paired down to the bare necessities either because they had to or they chose to. Either way, I would suggest they shared with file partners , friends etc much more than we probably can since we are not with each other as filemates etc etc everyday. Having said that I do know it is possible to do with out one and not suffer for lack of it. I should have mentioned I keep a couple poke sacks made by myself out of an old gumblanket to store my eatables in to everything clean and organized. I choose an old gumblanket for several uses as I believe it would be relatively easy to come by for a typical trooper that has been in a few engagements and along roads, camps and the like and also easy to sew in the field with just the contents of a small housewife. I did that too in about 15 minutes.