Overlooked in the reenacting world

[CJDaley]

Every Day Life

Believe it or not, my pet peeve has nothing to do with hand sewn buttonholes, better patterns or authentic fabric, it is that most reenactors have very little base knowledge of civilian life.

Fact: 100% of Civil War soldiers were civilians first.

Before picking up a musket as a Civil War living historian I worked for several years at a 19th century living history museum. I interpreted the life of a pre-Civil War civilian. Spending those years researching every day life, reading pre-war newspapers, practicing trades, working on farms, feeding livestock and leisure activities gave me a base of knowledge that many of my fellow re-enactors didn't have at the time.

Of course, quiting your job and working at a 19th century living history museum may not be the most practical thing in the world simply to gain a better base of knowledge for your hobby, but there are several ways to make up for this.

Chris' 3 easy tips to better learning about 19th century life.

1) Read microfilm once a month. Head to your local library once a month. Find a local newspaper on micro-film and read one day's newspaper. Read it from cover to cover. Read the ads, the obits, the editorials...everything. Reading one pre-war newspaper per month will soon give you an invaluable base of knowledge.

2) Volunteer at museums twice a year. While you don't have to get a full time job at a living history museum, you can volunteer at one. Learn a trade, learn to farm, interpret a homestead, feed a pig. Anytime spent as a volunteer at a living history museum will not only help out that museum, but will give you an invaluable base of information. Don't think there is one in your area? Think again, try visiting the American Living History, Farm and Agriculture Museum's website to find one near you: http://www.alhfam.org Most importantly, please listen to the employees of the museum, don't just walk in there and tell them what you know as a reenactor, find out what they know.

3) Read The Expansion of Everyday Life, 1860-1876 Read this book. It's the Clif Notes to life in the mid-19th Century.

http://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Everyday-Life-1860-1876/dp/1557285969/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1

There are other books in this series as well, but this one will give allow you to focus on 'our' time period.

Being a better civilian means we'll be a better soldier. You don't have to go out and buy a top hat and frock to understand how much a loaf of bread costs in 1855.

[YoungCampaigner]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Hello All,

These are the problems I have noticed:

1.) There are currently too many Confederates and not enough Yankees. (I know that
this is more of a problem at mainstream events but it still exists in all parts of the
hobby.)

2.) More attention needs to be given to period hairstyles.

3.) More importance needs to be placed on field music (recognition of bugle calls,
drum calls, etc.)

4.) Most people need to brush up on millitary courtesy and rank recognition.

[Pvt Peck]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

I really like what Chris Daley posted above. All the good kit, all the attention to detail in material culture, is just icing on the cake. Before you ice it, you must first make the cake itself and that is where your foundational research comes into play. We should all be more familiar with domestic animals, we should know the price of bread, we should know the names of the different types of carrige you would see on the street etc.. etc.. The newspaper reading is a GREAT idea, and boy can it be an eye opener. Chris you nailed, great suggestions. What I see as over represented in the hobby, actually in our society as a whole, is to much icing, not enough cake.

Edward Parrott

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Food for thought: given that most reenactors of whatever "quality" are somewhat deficient in their portrayal (including me), I'll suggest that the areas that most need improvement by individuals are the things they portray most often. For example, if you portray a soldier, you need to prioritize how soldiers did things. While I fully agree that everyone of the Civil War era know an awful lot about "civilian life", as great as it is to improve one's knowledge of, say, period farming techniques or blacksmithing, if those aren't what you spend most of your time doing in reenacting, then I believe that the typical reenactor should be concentrating his/her main improvement efforts on the things they actually use at events and what they should be doing at events.

There's no substitute for a complete, well-rounded, reenactor knowledgable in various areas. Until we can get there more consistently, however, we should each be prioritizing our personal areas of improvement to get the most improvement in the things we do (or should do) the most.

Just one person's opinion.

[Alamo Guard]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Somewhat mentioned here but in another light. Soldiers reading period correct books. Alot of the classics we call are classics arent classics to the folks back then. Every schoolboy back then knew about Ivanhoe but how many of you have ever sat around the campfire idscussing the dusky maiden from the story?
Another thing is period correct food as in what we eat today verus back then. One company The South Carolina Seed Company does sell period correct seeds for alot of the crops that were grown back then. There are field peas of todya verus what they eat back then. Lastly, yellow cornmeal was mostly animal feed, its white corn meal for every day living.......

[Old Reb]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Period trash.

[Duff]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Mabye a solution to pre-war jobs could lie in the job you have now. Greg posted a booklet of with a list of period jobs in it. Many of the jobs we have now are the same as the ones back then. Granted, the specifics have changed in the last 140+ years, and new jobs have emerged and old ones have died out, but many of the skills needed are the same. Lets take a teacher as an example. The way peaple are educated has changed greatly since the civil war, but the basic idea and many of the skills needed are the same. This expirience in modern teaching will make it easier for a reenactor to portray a period teacher.

Other jobs are not so specific. A modern bartender or waiter/waitress would make a good tavern keeper. I personaly work at an ice skating rink. I work in a pro shop and shapen skates. In other words, I sell goods and sharpen things. I could be someone who works in a shop or someone who sparpens tools or something of that nature.

I could go on for hours about the similaritys of jobs. I'm basicly saying use the skills you already have. You already have expirience in the field. If you hate your job, portray a soldier that hates his civilian job. It always eaisier to just be a yourself living in a different time period than invent a new personality. Doing this will make your impression seem more "real".


This kinda reminds me of the "modern soldiers=better reenactors" thread we had going a while ago. Its essencialy the same idea.

[CJDaley]

Re: Overlooked in the reenacting world

Food for thought: given that most reenactors of whatever "quality" are somewhat deficient in their portrayal (including me), I'll suggest that the areas that most need improvement by individuals are the things they portray most often. For example, if you portray a soldier, you need to prioritize how soldiers did things. While I fully agree that everyone of the Civil War era know an awful lot about "civilian life", as great as it is to improve one's knowledge of, say, period farming techniques or blacksmithing, if those aren't what you spend most of your time doing in reenacting, then I believe that the typical reenactor should be concentrating his/her main improvement efforts on the things they actually use at events and what they should be doing at events.

There's no substitute for a complete, well-rounded, reenactor knowledgable in various areas. Until we can get there more consistently, however, we should each be prioritizing our personal areas of improvement to get the most improvement in the things we do (or should do) the most.

Just one person's opinion.

I agree and my post wasn't meant to divert attention. My suggestions were:

1. One day a month you read a newspaper.
2. Two days a year you volunteer at a museum.
3. You read one (1) book.

Doing those three things in addition to your regular research into the life of a soldier shouldn't be that much of a burden.