Civil War Reenacting

[Talon_Karrde]

Hey Boys and Girls.  I thought i'd share this with you all.  I recently got into being a civil re-enactor.  here are some pix of me in full dress.  this was from the battle of New Market; may 15th 1864.  Hope you enjoy them. these pix are from the smaller battle on saturday.  I didnt get pix of the larger battle on sunday.  there was close to 600 reenactors at this event.












Edit by Brad - Adjusted the thread topic 

[JoshEEE]

There was an episode of CSI a few weeks ago that focused on one of those guys that had a cinched up waist.  Do you have any folks like that in your squad?

[Talon_Karrde]

There was an episode of CSI a few weeks ago that focused on one of those guys that had a cinched up waist.  Do you have any folks like that in your squad?

not sure what u mean by " cinched up waist"??

[Angry Ewok]

The gentleman wore a corset underneath his battlefield attire.

While we're on the topic of reenacting, would you happen to know where I might be able to find a reproduction Continental Army Regimental jacket?

[JoshEEE]

The gentleman wore a corset underneath his battlefield attire.

That's what it was.  His waist was like 19 inches around or something, it was gross.  Apparently this was something men did in those times?  I don't know.

[Jesse James]

I re-enacted, and honestly I've never heard of men wearing corsets during the period, at least not as anything "mainstream".

Most of the soldiers in the military on both sides were just as they are today...  Poor.  Affording something like that wouldn't have been in their budget...  Sounds like someone who just liked to wear ladies underwear, even in period clothing.

[Smartypants1635]

HMM not union uniform... CONFEDERATE. Nah I'm Just Jokin' with yah, so Is this reenactment stuff "fun" for lack of a better word,I guess interesting would be one since its pretty serious.

 It looks real cool, I've always loved War movies and hearing form vets telling stories about WW2 and Vietnam, So Civil war stuff would be just as cool, and this would be like living in a Story for a few moments of my life.

[Angry Ewok]

Yea, that CSI episode seemed to me to be implying that every-day guys wore corsets back in the day, but I discounted it as hollywood "shock factor" bull****, because that's what I think it is.

I have heard of aged Commanding officers (the rich guys) wearing girdles to appear more fit and thus adept to lead a unit, and that goes on to this very day - but the whole corset thing is silly. Corsets greatly restrict one's ability to move and breathe, and that's the last thing an offer needs to compete against, in addition to the enemy.

HMM not union uniform... CONFEDERATE.

Well not everybody gets to play the bad guys.

[Greg]

I didn't know that they had color pictures in 1864. 

On topic though, that looks like a lot of fun. I had a friend back when I lived in New York who was really into this sort of stuff, and I always thought it would be cool to do.

[Chris M]

That's a great looking uniform.  You are planning to roll around in it a bit aren't you to add a little "authenticity" to a poor Confederate soldier aren't you?

Being that I tend to follow WWII/modern military trends a bit more, what kind of weapon are you toting in those pictures?  Judging from the size of the rear site, I'm guessing an Enfield?

[Talon_Karrde]

That's a great looking uniform.  You are planning to roll around in it a bit aren't you to add a little "authenticity" to a poor Confederate soldier aren't you?

Being that I tend to follow WWII/modern military trends a bit more, what kind of weapon are you toting in those pictures?  Judging from the size of the rear site, I'm guessing an Enfield?

Ha! yeah we were talking about that at camp, how the other guys in the company "weathered" there uniforms.  The muskette I had to borrow, I will be getting mine in a couple of weeks.  I beleive its a 3 banded 38 Cal springfield.  I think the enfileds were mostly 2 bands; but dont quote me on that.  this was my second event (1st event was just tacticals) so there werent any spectators.  this event was a paid event and lots of folks showed. 

[Talon_Karrde]

The gentleman wore a corset underneath his battlefield attire.

While we're on the topic of reenacting, would you happen to know where I might be able to find a reproduction Continental Army Regimental jacket?

Continental? like early revolutionary war time period?  I would do a search on that, google most likley.  As far as i know there arent any folks in my unit that wear that thing.  None of our guys are that big, and they are pretty fit.

[Talon_Karrde]

HMM not union uniform... CONFEDERATE. Nah I'm Just Jokin' with yah, so Is this reenactment stuff "fun" for lack of a better word,I guess interesting would be one since its pretty serious.

 It looks real cool, I've always loved War movies and hearing form vets telling stories about WW2 and Vietnam, So Civil war stuff would be just as cool, and this would be like living in a Story for a few moments of my life.

Oh yeah, its definitely invigorating.  cappin black powder is awesome, the adrenalin rush is amazing!  they wore full wool uniforms, and we do also.  it gives you a really big perspective and an understanding of what it was like back then.  as to the CONFEDERATE remark, i guess it was the luck of the drawn.  they got to me 1st at a civil war wax museum.  besides, the Union is very picky about the unifoms your wear, i like the confeds because you can get away with just about anything.

[Talon_Karrde]

Thanks for the great response folks, i'm glad i posted this over here!

[Angry Ewok]

We're glad you posted it.

So, this is the big question on my mind - who won the skirmish, and were you a casualty?