The smoke of battle hangs low in front of you. There are shouts from all sides. The enemy is close. Suddenly, there is a crackle and a brief flash of light. Nobody goes down except for one man who is killed instantly. Have you ever been in this situation before? There is always one of those events where the only thing anybody has to say when they leave the field is, "Those Yanks just won't take hits!" or "The Rebs must think they are invincible!" What do you do when nobody is taking hits? Learn how and when to go down well.
One of the most annoying things at any event is when people just won't take hits. People die in battles. All I can say is that it is simply common sense. If the enemy is 50 feet away, you better be dropping like flies. Try to keep it realistic. Simply getting people to take the right ammount of hits is only half of the problem. Usually, the guys who do take hits represent the proportion of WIA (wounded in action) and KIA (killed in action).
In nearly all conflicts, there are more people wounded than killed. Not everybody who gets hit gets killed instantly. Almost any account of the Civil War will tell of the vast numbers of wounded men that lay on the field moaning and writhing in pain. In his book, "Drum Taps in Dixie", Delavan S. Miller says: "...the wounded from the front line kept coming to the rear, covered with blood and the smoke of battle." Wayland Fuller Dunaway wrote: "Shells burst among them so thick and fast that in a few minutes the field was literally strewn with dead and wounded." Why don't we represent scenes like this at reenactments?
Here are some statistics. Of all the casualties in the War Between the States, approximately 12,089 of them were caused by gunshot wounds to the head (the vast majority of them resulted in death). This may seam like a great number, but it is far less than the number of gunshot wounds to the extremities (arms and legs). 86,413 wounds were recieved in the lower extremities during the war, and 87,793 were recieved in the upper extremities. Injuries to the abdomen number only 8,438. It seems obvious that we should be taking more hits to the arms and legs than anywhere else.
So, stop just simply falling down and staying there. Crawl around, scream, clutch your "wounds", walk with a limp, and make a scene of yourself. You will add immensely to the authentic atmosphere of the scenario. Prearrange things with your friends. Have one of your pards take a hit and struggle to carry him off the field while he screams and limps. Get five or so of your friends to represent a group of unlucky soldiers who get hit with a canister round or an artillery shell by all falling at the same time.
Remember to factor in some physics in your hit taking. Shots to the head or other extremities would generally cause the extremity to be jerked back. However, a shot to the chest or abdomen from fairly close range could also cause someone to pitch forward very violently from the force of the impact. Grazes would usually not cause any more reaction than a common scratch or cut.
Remember that bullets commonly struck accoutrements as well. Clothing, belt buckles, blanket rolls, canteens, hats, drums, and haversacks were all in the line of fire, too. Try ducking, grabbing accoutrements and looking at them in a bewildered manner to examine the "bullethole", and even being knocked backwards by the impact of a ball striking your belt buckle or a cartridge box plate in order to represent this.
The key to taking hits well is being creative. Don't be like everyone else and just fall down immediately. Be realistic.
Source for statistics:
Civil War Medicine
by C. Keith Wilbur
All those years of mother telling you, "You should be seen and not heard" or, "Don't make a spectacle of yourself" just can't be shaken! LOL! What an interesting article! It makes sense.
Posted by: Sandy | February 21, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Thanks! I think the problem is a lot of people think that they are bad actors, so they refuse to do anything other than just fall down. Not everybody can act, but most people can limp and scream!
Posted by: william | February 22, 2008 at 04:01 PM
LOL! You are right about the limping and screaming.
Posted by: Sandy | February 23, 2008 at 12:32 PM
man what a great tip ijust started reenacting but the up coming event i will use this thanks
timmy
40th va cob
the "yankeeslayer"
Posted by: timothy king | February 24, 2008 at 09:26 AM
Thanks. It really works! It makes the battle so much more real.
Posted by: william | February 25, 2008 at 06:05 AM