Reliving the Civil War
A Reenactor’s Handbook

by R. Lee Hadden

Front Cover:

This is a great book for somebody who is interested in participating in with a Civil War re-enactment group. This book was published in 1996 and is a revised and updated edition published by Stackpole Books. The soft cover book measures 6 inches by 9 inches and contains 253 pages. The cover is securely attached. The pages show no signs of rips. The cover shows minor signs of wear. Exceptions noted, the overall condition of this book is near very good.


Title Page


Title Page - Verso

Contents:

    Acknowledgements
    Introduction
  1. Reenactment, Living History, and Teaching History
  2. Reenactment for Infantrymen
  3. Camp Life
  4. Civilian Reenacting
  5. Reenacting Etiquette
  6. Health and Comfort
  7. Hosting a Civil War Reenactment
  8. Trends in Reenactment

    9. Appendix A: National Park Service Safety and Standards
    Appendix B: Antietam National Battlefield Rules and Regulations for the Volunteer Living History Groups
    Appendix C: Antietam National Battlefield Park Military Living History Uniform Guidelines
    Appendix D: Antietam National Battlefield Rifle-Musket Misfire Plan
    Appendix E: Gettysburg Re-enactment Regulations, 1988
    Appendix F: U.S. Infantry Tactics
    Appendix G: Reenactors and Taxes
    Appendix H: Civil War and Reenactment Organizations
    Appendix I: Reenacting Periodicals
    Notes
    Glossary
    Bibliography by Chapter


“Order arms” Stand with your feet at a 45 degree angle, heels together, hold your left little finger along the seam of your pants, and place your musket along the right side of your body.


Various positions and weapons


Left: Various items original used by soldiers and re-enactors.
Right: Specialist reenactors know their personas and can accurately describe how their equipment was used. Some specialists spend quite a bit of money to obtain various items, as did the reenactors who won this quartermaster tent above, the telegraph, below, and, following page, the medical equipment.

Excerpt - Introduction:
This book is written for newcomers to the hobby of living history and Civil War reenactment. Much of the information in this book will be helpful to anyone starting out in reenacting from any time period. In scope, the book is aimed at portrayal of Civil War infantrymen and their civilian dependents. My experience of a dozen years has been as an infantry private, so I have only peripheral information about Civil War-period navy, marines, cavalry, and artillery. I also have little advice to give to officers in the field of reenacting…
End excerpt


Top Left: Medical equipment of 1861. A specialist is explaining various types and uses of antique medical equipment, typical of a Civil War surgeon’s kit.

Bottom Left: Laundresses were authorized in both Union and Confederate regiments. A simple dress and a few pieces of equipment were all that are needed to begin an authentic impression.

Right: These “camp dresses,” minus the hoops and ornate trim, are more practical when worn around camps, tent stakes, and fire pits. Plain clothes like these are typical of poorer women, small-time farmers, and refugees. The women’s full bonnets are the most common headdress worn by women and girls of the Civil War era.


Top Left: This humble dog tent can be used by two or more comrades. Each section would be carried by one man during the day, then buttoned together at night.

Bottom Left: The wall tent is most often used as an officers’ tent, but it can also be used as a field hospital or for storing supplies.

Top Right: The Sibley tent was named after Confederate Gen. Henry H. Sibley. General Sibley was a captain in the 1st U.S. 10Dragoons before the war, and he modeled this tent after the tepees of the Plains Indians. A Sibley tent could hold up to twenty men.

Bottom Right: Many small reenactments and living-history encampments take place at historic sites among unhistoric buildings. These reenactors are demonstrating in front of a museum while a reenactor at the podium interprets the action for the audience using a modern public-address system.


Various modes of dress for children during the Civil War.


This fairly prosperous family from Maryland wears typical civilian clothing of the late 1850s. The dress of the younger daughter, far left, is gathered at the waist and was most likely a hand-me-down from her older sister, middle. The mother’s dress shows an intricate pattern on the cloth and a plain jacket. The father and son are wearing plain, but serviceable, suits.

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