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Raiding McConnelsville
July 9-10, 2011 This event is one that the 1st Tennessee goes to with mixed feelings. There are those of us that like the event, and those that don’t. It almost didn’t make it on our schedule this year, save for a barely large enough vote. I like this event. But it takes a lot…
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Cump’s Backyard
Lancaster Ohio, July 3-4, 2011 There doesn’t seem to be very many Confederate generals born in Ohio. But there are certainly lots of Union generals born here. Over the Fourth of July weekend, a small contingent of us spent time in a rather precarious territory in the heart of the home of one of the…
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Home of the Tomato
Reynoldsburg, June 25-26, 2011 I was told that Reynoldsburg has become one of the largest events in Ohio. I think it came as a surprise to some that there were enough Confederate companies to form a battalion. It was two years ago at this event that I decided to join the 1st Tennessee once and…
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Rescuing the Rescuer
This weekend was not a reenactment, but a rescue of sorts. A friend of Gary Shaw’s had in his barn loft a relic of the Civil War, and offered to allow us to display it during the Lancaster event over the 4th of July weekend. He told us it was an ambulance in the Civil…
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Pickerington with Cubs
I had forgotten just how short the attention span of some kids could be. This past weekend was a living history with several Cub Scout packs of the Pickerington, Ohio area. A small contingent of us from the 1st Tennessee held four half-hour sessions walking kids through the life of a soldier. A few of…
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In General Rosecrans stomping grounds
When you go to an event in the hometown of a Federal general, you’d expect to see a decent showing of Yankees. The first and biggest mistake of the event held at Sunbury, Ohio–hometown of General William Rosecrans–was to schedule the event opposite two larger events (Conner Prairie, Indiana, and Sharon Woods in Sharonville, Ohio). …
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Analysis of Navy Arms Musket Caps
I recently visit a gun show in Columbus, Ohio and stumbled onto a vendor (The Ammo-Man, http://www.ermcollc.com/, out of East Rochester, Ohio) selling Navy Arms musket caps for $20 for a tin of 250 caps. Since this price is competitive with the RWS and CCI musket caps, I thought it prudent to test the caps…
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The 2011 Season
The 2011 season is upon us and I’m so looking forward to running around in wool on hot summer days and blowing powder. I had been hopeful of enjoying my first national event this year, since this would be the 150th year since the first year of the Civil War–which pretty much would have mean…
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Analysis of the new CCI 4-wing percussion caps for reenactors.
All the sutlers at the Jackson, Michigan event last year that had percussion caps for sale sold the German RWS caps for about $12 for a can of 100 caps. However, most of these sutlers also had the new CCI 4-wing percussion caps designed for reenactors at $10 for a can of 100—and one sutler…
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Painting your accouterments and Ground Cloth
I have Andrew Mott to thank for the following: Oilcloth and Painted Accoutermentsby Jack Cox “Painting” was a 1800’s method of waterproofing cloth for such items as knapsacks, haversacks, belts, cartridge boxes and ground cloths. Properly done, the fabric does become very waterproof, but retains its flexibility. There are many different recipes for both “period…