The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

[Eric Tipton]

From the "World Turn'd Upside Down" Blog
March 18, 2016



This post is in response to an article that has been making the rounds on Facebook. This article entitled "Join or Die," or ones like it surface every few years and bemoan the end of reenacting. The article is well written, enjoyable and a great insight into the hobby but it has people crying yet again that the sky is falling. The End is Near!!!

There are always lots of reasons given for the decline. Some say it's video games and computers and young kids just aren't into reenacting anymore so there are no reenactors taking the place of the reenactors retiring. Others claim it's the Mainsteam vs. Hardcore authenticity debate: The crotchety stitch Nazis can't have fun while there are Yahoos in theater costumes playing coyboys ruining their experience and vice versa. Still more claim that group and event politics have people running to the door and a new hobby. The recession, people work on weekends now, the new authentic items are too costly, flags and guns are too controversial and the list of causes goes on and on.

But here's the thing. There hasn't been a decline. Reenacting is as hot as ever. Computer games like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed and movies and shows from Fury to Downtown Abbey have people donning the clothes of the past like never before.

So What is Causing This Supposed Decline?

The luxury of choice and skewed data. From the beginning all the way to the early 2000s reenactors were limited. There were a few big events each year and anyone who was anyone attended. It's these big events where people are drawing reenactor numbers from. Back then, reenacting primarily meant Civil War Reenacting or Revolutionary War reenacting.

But in the 2000s, the internet really took hold. People started hearing about smaller, alternative events that were only known to locals before the internet. The internet also fostered communities of reenactors interested in reenacting new and different things. There are now reenacting groups reenacting any conceivable conflict, including WWI, the French Revolution, Viking Wars, Korea and even Vietnam, sorry Dad.

There are so many event options and so many time periods to reenact now that the numbers are not less they are just spread out. The new reenactor typically reenacts more than one time period and the new complaint is of conflicting events. They want to be at all of them but there aren't enough weekends in a year.

For instance, the weekend of the Civil War Neshaminy event this year, a reenactor in the PA region can also attend Kerr Park's WWII event, Fort Frederick's 18th Century Market Faire, the Civil War living history at Gettysburg, and more. You can attend a reenactment somewhere on the eastern seaboard every weekend of the year and many of those weekends you will find conflicting events.

Where's the Proof it's Booming?

Commercial enterprises are manufacturing for reenactors and history minded. You can now buy an array of commercial sewing patterns designed by reenactors for reenactors. Stores like Joann Fabrics have also started stocking historical items like corset coutil and false whalebone. The number of historical video and computer games are soaring as are historical films. In case you were wondering in 2015 alone there were at least these war films released:

A War
9.April
Little Boy
An Act of War
The Last Rescue
Eye in the Sky
Land of Mine
Karbala
Hyena Road
The Midwife
13 Minutes
Brothers of War
1944
Beasts of No Nation
Battalion
Battle for Sevastopol

Historical clothing and facial hair has made it into mainstream fashion which has prompted the reenactor game "Reenactor or Hipster." Reenactments are featured on popular TV shows and it's near impossible to meet someone who doesn't know at least one reenactor. The internet is full of resources for reenactors by reenactors and articles about reenacting. There are so many new and good sutlers and vendors. There are tons of online social groups based around reenacting. As I'm typing this Facebook has alerted me that 82,523 people talking about "Reenactments." But the most compelling evidence is just looking at event calendars. It's truly a good time to be a reenactor!

Reenacting is Changing

That being said, just because the hobby is thriving doesn't mean we aren't losing reenactors or that reenacting isn't changing. A lot of Civil War reenactors claim that new people just don't want to join anymore but the fact of the matter is most young people are opting for the more popular WWII. Obviously reenactor numbers fluctuate around war anniversaries and popular culture and the Civil War time period has seen a drop lately.

Reenacting does have its problems and a lot of these problems do cause numbers to drop at certain events or from certain organizations. These problems would take another blog post. Yes, reenactors do leave the hobby. Yes, we should be concerned that people do. There are all sorts of problems in the hobby but too many of the issues come down to people being ugly to other people. The hobby isn't going anywhere but good people are. Instead of worrying about reenacting dying, we should worry about making reenactments a place people want to be.

Click Here to Read the Article on the "World Turn'd Upside Down" Blog

[Stephen Lunsford]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

AMEN!!! Well said!

[Silas]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

You mean I shouldn't believe everything I read on Facebook?

[thomas aagaard]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

The situation here in Denmark is the same...
ACW reenactment is a tiny, tiny hobby... but when you look at the medieval and viking age events there is a market like every two weeks from early May to the end of august... in a country with about 5.5 million citizens...
It show the interest in history.

Two of the mentioned war movies are danish... in a country that until 15 years ago had not been properly at war since 1864.
The movie 9.April is about the German occupation of denmark in 1940... something they did in a few hours... so I am not counting that one...
And naturally our involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan got something to do with it... with "A war" being about Afghanistan... ("A War" is really worth watching btw...)

Last year a new "historical convention" was held in Copenhagen...
Museums, publishers, reenactment groups have stands... 4 stages where both well known writes, the groups and others held different presentations... It had about 10.000 visitors last year... and it will be repeated this year in a few weeks.

For a number of years we had an event on "culture night" a yearly event on the Friday in week 41.
This was at Třjhuset. (The royal arsenalmuseum, that have the US uniforms from the danish exchange)
Last time we did it we had a total of 6000 spectators over our 3 "shows"... pretty good for a hobby made up of less than 100 people. (but a lot of work...so we didn't do it last year)

So lots of stuff happening... just not that much of ACW...

[Mike Castello]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I feel that one of the primary reasons that there aren't the same numbers at the "big" events is the economy. If you have the choice of driving 12 hours (and paying for all that gas) or attending a living history/smaller event closer to home, often times economics dictates that decision. I honestly think it's good for reenacting as a whole, as "hardcore" reenactors are appearing at more and more events, spreading the good word of authenticity far and wide.

Mike Lafferty

[7thIllPvt]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

Great post, very god read.


Chad Nasworthy

[KPavia]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I've gotten into WWII reenacting these past few years and the price for the generic US WWII clothing is at about the same price as authentic Civil War clothing. An M1 Garand costs as much as any musket and the price is only going higher as the surplus supply dries up. The group that I'm a part of in California portrays the 101st Airborne and so in my experience, the price for an US airborne impression costs about as much as an authentic Civil War impression. The big benefit is that original US web gear is easy to get and it's cheap.

To do WWII German is even more expensive as far as uniforms go and getting a K98k even more expensive, unless it's a Russian capture.

Also, a WWII tactical event is WAY MORE FUN than a Civil War tactical event. It's a kin to playing airsoft or paint ball except you have the honor system governing who gets hit and it incorporates more modern combat tactics that kids these days think they're familiar with because of video games.

And on top of that, the registration fees for events are way more expensive than Civil War events. And black powder blanks for muskets are cheaper than buying .30-06 blanks for an M1. So with regards to price overall, I'd say if a person was to pick an era to reenact between WWII and Civil War and would only pick one impression, I'd say that Civil War comes out the cheapest.

I agree with the premise of the original post. Reenacting is not going anywhere. And I would say Civil War reenacting isn't going anywhere. It's just not as popular as WWII. As a millenial, what I see driving people of my generation and younger to other eras is media exposure. For WWII you have Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Saving Private Ryan just to name a few big movie hits. Then you have video games set in WWII that gets kids interested in that time period to begin with. When was the last time you saw a Civil War movie in the same vein as Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers? Or how many online multiplayer games are set in the Civil War period? There are plenty set in WWII. So I think we'll continue to see other eras grow and attract young kids who are generally interested in reenacting, especially WWII, because of its exposure in media and the familiarity of it. The CW period just doesn't have that over WWII.

[BritReenactor]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

For my part, while I find this very reassuring the situation across the pond is that things are a bit sticky. And in the vein of the Battle of the Imjin River, that means its all going pretty badly. In my society membership has been declining faily linearly since I joined four years ago (no correlation I assure you). We've got our first big event in early May, but there are only really three big events in the Civil War calendar this season, with a few smaller ones sprinkled in. Our biggest event - one we've held for nearly forty years - was cancelled recently, while two major multi-period events have gone as well.

Other periods have been having the same sort of problems: coming off the back of Waterloo 200 two major Napoleonic Wars events have been cancelled, including the largest in Western Europe, on account of a lack of funding. From what I've heard everything seems in decline: aging reenactors aren't coming, dragging down attendance; there are fewer tactical events because nobody is willing to put them on. Shaky economic recovery could be the cause - as an expensive hobby people who want to join or come back could be staying away for fear of the cost - but I'm starting to worry if in fact the hobby, or at least the period, is declining in interest towards the point where it will simply fade out altogether.

[Eric Tipton]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I have been thinking recently that c/p/h reenacting, specifically, is actually growing. We are getting overall numbers like we used to get in the mid-2000's right now. There are some EBUFU efforts on the horizon that I see growing the current numbers we are putting together. What do you guys think?

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I think people want more out of their hobby for the time/effort/money/distance expended.

Personally, I think we could do even more great things with better unity in our own ranks. Lots of contributing factors as to why that likely will not happen, but in the main, the hobby isn't dying a slow death, despite the rumors.

[Ken Cornett]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

Well, I am certain that of my last 4-5 c/p/h events I have seen more young guns than I have in recent years. I'm tired of hearing the hobby is dying and I have said many times that it is cyclical. As the recruiting "officer" for Mess No.1 so to speak, we have picked up four new good guys the past two years. I expect more to come. What I do think is these younger fellas are by-passing mainstream groups more often and jumping into the deeper part of learning the hobby. At least I hope so.

[BritReenactor]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

What I do think is these younger fellas are by-passing mainstream groups more often and jumping into the deeper part of learning the hobby. At least I hope so.

I'm going into my fourth season, and I'm now going to events as a campaigner rather than a camper on a regular basis rather than as an occasional event. I've got a friend on his second season who's already jumping into it, and I've got a third friend who I'm trying to bring in. All of us are under 20. I'd definitely say the younger recruits are aiming to be more progressive, especially compared to the heavy campers who are uniformly older and much more sedate than us.

[Sheafferhistorian]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

Gettysburg 125 was much bigger than Gettysburg 150-- This is the logic used to argue the hobby is dying.

I prefer to think it is evolving. Gettysburg 125 was bigger, but it was a zoo. The participants at 150 were better equipped and historically more knowledgeable. The living history was refined- aging like a fine wine, perhaps?

Just a few thoughts I had.


Gordon Sheaffer

[MANavy]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I have been away from reenacting for four years and made a comeback this year. I was amazed how much the hobby has grown here in Sweden meanwhile. Also it it now more common that civil war reenactors from different European countries travel to the US and to each others events in Europé, bolstering the ranks further. So I think reenacting is on the rise at least in Northern Europe.

Mattias Hansson
3rd North Carolina State Troops (SWE)

[den.bolda]

Re: The End of Reenacting is Near!!!

I started reenacting in 1993, left ACW for a few years to do other time periods and active duty. Returned about 2007.
The biggest difference is the quantity and quality. Communication in 1993 was by word of mouth or mailers. Communication today is instantaneous with text, email, facebook, and forums like this.

Local events in 1993 had streets of sutlers selling domestically reproduced goods, there were many ma & pa basement operations. Authenticity was sometimes (if not commonly) questionable. Local events might have a sutler today, but many of the 1993 sutlers are out of business for a number of reasons. There is a contemporary push for higher levels of authenticity, with people going as far as tanning their own leather for gear, carding and dying their own wool for clothing, etc. The higher level of authenticity for those without those skills carries a much higher price tag and can be discouraging. People manufacture their own high quality goods or pay handsomely for others to do so. When talking to people about the hobby, IMO, many folks begin the hobby with low quality/authenticity products and slowly enhance their impression with high quality replacements piece by piece. In 1993 "sutler row quality" was generally all that was available and was perfectly acceptable; but now sutler row quality can be perceived as the gateway drug to a more hardcore substance.

In 1993, the internet ACW reenacting community was nil. As previously mentioned, the internet had a profound impact on the hobby. In one hand, the internet has allowed reenactors to share data with ease. It allows us to share patters for reproductions, printable sundries, recipes, research findings, pictures of artifacts, etc. This information exchange has slingshotted holistic authenticity to a zenith. On the other hand, the internet offers new forms of entertainment that compete with more traditional activities. Arguably, the upcoming generation is addicted to technological entertainment. Netflix, video games, YouTube, and social media are easy forms of entertainment and don't require participants to shower, get dressed, or leave the house. Young people are increasingly becoming "home bodies" that don't join social clubs or organizations at the same rate of their forefathers. The internet, love it or hate it.

Online attitude. We all know how difficult it is to convince someone to spend thousands of dollars on a new hobby. It takes a lot of time to recruit fresh fish and guide them through purchasing. Sadly, some folks become smug after attaining what they believe to be the utmost in authenticity. I've recruited three people over that same number of years. These people invested in the hobby but then were snubbed by folks online for their lack of knowledge or resources. We've all seen the conversations, accusing people of being farb and lazy for not doing research. In reality, these people might make better choices with positive guidance. Our hobby is exciting! On more than one occasion I've personally come across entire groups of people that formed a unit together and said, "this is our first event!" Those "units" don't have experienced campaigners to help guide them in their authenticity. Four years ago I came across a group of men who FOUND an original Napoleon barrel, built a new carriage and limber, and formed a unit. The carriage was stained a dark color, they used modern horse tack, and their uniforms looked like polyester props from The Blue and the Gray miniseries. They went to two events, got hammered for being farbs at the second event, and never went to another event. Most experienced reenactors look at these groups and think, "Wow, what a bunch of farbs." Again, these folks would probably invest in more accurate impressions if they had guidance. This is where a strong website comes in handy for recruiting. Be encouraging and positive with new recruits, especially if they aren't in your unit. Fresh fish don't want to invest their resources into a hobby with people that make them feel bad about themselves. We've lost people before they've seen the elephant. Again, the internet, love it or hate it.

Small events. It seems like there has been a movement recently for high authenticity proponents to only attend exclusive high profile events. While these events are fun, they are not always recruiting opportunities. Small events attract local enthusiasts and provide an intimate setting for 1:1 recruitment dialogue. Libraries, museums, historic sites, and schools are great outreach opportunities. Nurturing these recruitment avenues can yield knowledgeable and enthusiastic recruits. Got nothing to do in February? Contact your library and do a PowerPoint with a table of manipulatives for people to handle/try on. Have another table for "hands off" learning (muskets).

There are some problems facing our hobby today, but there are ways to be proactive. First, learn a craft. You can supply yourself with campaigner quality gear if you can make it yourself. I'd recommend sewing, knitting, woodworking. More advanced skills may include leather working, metal work, and textile production. These skills can be taught to new recruits or you can help them make the gear. Have loaner gear around or help fresh fish acquire entry level quality (sutler row). Secondly, have a web presence. A website with unique assets can get a lot of foot traffic. Next, treat fresh fish with kid gloves. People are easily offended nowadays and people are reluctant to commit to a hobby of know-it-alls. Be kind and positive when pointing out inaccuracies of others. If you don't have anything nice to say, shut it. Finally, get out there and be seen. Local events are where you can go to meet recruits in your community who have similar interests. Find an existing event that you could jump into.