The Young Campaigner

Getting Authentic Gear Without Breaking the Bank

If you have ever looked at nice authentic gear from a sutler like The Trans-Mississippi Depot or Jersey Skillet Licker, you'll notice that it is really expensive. Although the price of high-quality is steep, it really is worth it sometimes. "What if I can't afford that nice stuff?", you might ask yourself. Well, here is a little guide for those of us (like me) who can't always afford gear from authentic sutlers.

1.) Go for scratch-and-dent items. Every sutler always has dented cup or a faded shirt that everybody always just overlooks. That is the kind of stuff that you want to look for! The more beat up it is, the more authentic it is. Plus, most sutlers will give you a discount on an item like that because of its "defect". Used clothes are also cheaper than new ones and they generally have that worn look that you want.

I got this shirt for half price just because the shoulders were faded.

2.) Learn how to sew. I can't tell you how valuable this piece of advice is. If you have a parent who sews, get them to teach you how. Once you learn the basics, you can do all kinds of things to save yourself money. Buy cheaper uniforms and re-do the topstitching yourself. It can even be cheaper in the long run to make your own garments rather than paying the hefty prices for hand-sewn clothes at sutlers. Just remember that your parents can be a big help on this one. Don't try and pull of an entirely hand-sewn coat the first day that you learn how to sew. Start small and get an adult to help you.

3.) Buy machine-sewn garments when it is appropriate. Reenactors often forget that sewing machines were around at the time of the Civil War. They were mostly only used in larger factories and depots (that puts most of them north of the Mason-Dixon Line) because they were expensive. Don't think that all of your coats MUST be hand sewn. Especially on the Union side, many of the depot garments were sewn on a machine. Plus, machine-sewn stuff is a heck of a lot cheaper for those of us who can't sew. Note: Remember that the machine-stitches of the time were much wider than they are now. Try and get uniforms that don't have that ultramodern tiny stitch in them.

4.) Start with the basics. When you are just getting started with reenacting, you don't need gaiters, overcoats, vests, cravats, winter gloves, pocket watches, and all of that other unnecissary junk that just weighs you down when you go to events. Stick with what you really need and get all of that cool stuff later.

How To Choose A Good Impression

What is an impression anyway?  For those of you who are veteran reenactors, that may sound like a dumb question.  An impression is the character that you "play" in reenacting.  It can be as involved as you want.  You don't have to choose an alias for yourself and all of that unless you want to.  Your impression is simply the period, social class, level of education, rank, and so-on that you choose to portray.  The best way to get started in finding a good impression for yourself is to "translate" yourself to the past. 

Basically, that means that you ask the question, "If I lived 146 years ago, what would I be like?" 
Try following the flowchart below to figure out a basic idea of the kind of impression appropriate for you.  (Click on the image to enlarge it)

View this image

Remember that the results that you got from the flow chart are just ideas and reccomendations for your impression.

So, you have a basic idea for your impression; now what do you do with it?  Let's take a look at each of the possible results that you could have gotten. 

If you got "field musician" as your impression, you have really done well.  Being a field musician is a very important and rewarding impression.  If you want to be a musician, the first thing that you should do is buy a good instrument.  For a Union musician, drums with eagles painted on them are very authentic.  The U.S. government ordered over 32,000 drums for the millitary over the course of the war.  Many of them were eagle drums.  If you are a Confederate drummer, drums with simple painted designs or tack designs are authentic.  If you play the fife in either army, spend the money in a nice maple or rosewood fife.  A nice bugle also really helps a bugler's sound and look.  Union musicians should wear a roundabout with no musician's stripes or a frock coat with musician's stripes on it.  Confederate musicians can get away with just about any Confederate garb.  If you wear a frock coat, it should have musician's stripes on it also.

Anyone who got "Under age Enlistee" should first check with their unit's rules and regulations to make sure that they will be allowed to carry a weapon on the field.  Some units will let you carry a weapon in the field but not fire it.  Remember that you will not be able to participate out on the field in some events.  Just be sure to check all of the regulations before you spend too much money on a weapon.  There were hundreds of soldiers in both armies who enlisted under the official age.  Many young men would write the number 18 on the sole of their shoe so that they could say that they were "over 18".  You should dress like all of the other musketmen in your unit if you wish to have this impression.

Anyone who got "Refugee" or "Camp Follower" as their result should concentrate on getting a really good civillian impression.  Refugees were civilians who were forced out of their homes by the army.  Whenever the army passed through an area, thousands of refugees followed the army.  They traveled in whole families, just trying to keep alive.  Camp followers were families who had a loved one in the army.  They followed the army, often sharing a tent with their loved one and tried to make money by mending and washing clothes, selling food, and other schemes.  Try for a ragged civilian look.  Note: There is existing photographic evidence of young male camp followers "dressing up" in tiny military uniforms.

The last impression that you could have come up with is "Female Spy".  There were many spies on both sides during the Civil War.  Many of them were children.  Young girls would carry messages inside dolls and in other clever places. Young boys also make exellent signalists in a signal corpsunit or runners out on the battlefield.

Just remember, when chosing an impression, always do your research first and then buy all of your gear.  Also, you should be creative.  The impressions given here are very common.  Think outside the box.  If you hear about something, try and incorporate it into your impression.  Goodbye and good luck