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This is the first of a series of tips and hints for improving your authenticity and your Civil War soldier (or reenactor) impression. As you will notice from the First Sgt.'s letter you should all have your own gear by the end of your first season. I would put forth that as you consider what items to purchase you put some thought into what would be authentic, not just what will get me by. Have some pride in your presentation, honor our fallen comrades and try to be as authentic as you can afford. There are many inexpensive ways in which we can imporve our authenticity. These articles will touch on a few areas that are simple and relatively inexpensive.
First, and most important, HIT THE BOOKS! Most Civil War reenactors at least occasionally peruse books and articles about the momentous events of 1861-1865, and many read histories of that struggle frequently and deeply. However, as Living Historians, we should go far beyond merely studying the "big picture" of the War in books that detail the strategic movements of armies, major battles, and the legendary decisions of famed leaders such as Lee, Grant, Lincoln, and Davis. Instead, we must strive to learn everything we can about the day-to-day lives of the common soldiers who fought the conflict, and whom we are honored to portray. Every reenactor's bookshelf should contain, at a minimum, titles such as Bell Wiley's
Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, John Billings' Hardtack and Coffee, Sam Watkins'
Company Aytch,and Carlton McCarthy's Detailed Minutia of Soldier Life. All of these
works provide excellent insight into the motivations, thoughts, fears,ambitions, and desires of the average soldier, as well as intimate details of his life in camp, on the march, on furlough, in the hospital, and in battle. Additionally, there are numbers of wonderful books that apply to a specific impression . Since our impression is that of a member of the Army of Northern Virginia, consider reading J. Tracy Powers'
Lee's Miserables. It gives a terrific account of the life of late war ANV soldiers.
In addition to studying about the soldiers themselves, there are some
indispensable books that will enable us to increase our knowledge of their equipment, weapons, and uniforms. The most prominent example is the
Echoes of Glory series from Time-Life Books, which contains magnificent photographs of many surviving uniforms and equipment relics. Some of the textual material is in error, but overall it is nothing less than an invaluable reference. Additionally, the
Rebels and Yankees series edited by William C. Davis provides excellent information both on equipment and on the soldiers who used it. (Somebody once called it "Echoes of Glory Lite".) For Rebel uniforms, absolutely anything written by Les Jensen (the former curator of
the Museum of the Confederacy who first classified the typology of Confederate depot uniform jackets) is a gold mine. Mr. Jensen's trio of ground-breaking articles on
Confederate jackets can be found on the Company of Military Historians website at
http://company.military-historians.org/journal/confederate/confederate-1.htm . First published in 1989, these articles are still the best resource concerning Reb jackets. Les also wrote a wonderful book entitled
Johnny Reb: The Uniforms of the Confederate Army, 1861-1865 (G.I. Series) that every Confederate reenactor should study. It can be found for less than $15.00 at
http://www.amazon.com.
Veni Vidi Vici,
David Snow
1st LT 15th A.V.I. CO. G
CSA
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