South of the Mason-Dixon Line, that’s certainly true. North of it, though, not so much. I was at several reenactments in which we had far more Union troops than Confederate. Some units, as noted above, will “galvanize” and wear the uniform of the opposite side, as may be needed for a better balance at any particular event. Usually all you need is a shell jacket of the foe - shirt, pants, boots and even hat could be worn by either side.
I never galvanized, as it happens - I don’t think my Union-blue ancestors would’ve approved, and I have too many issues of my own with the Confederacy. A Penna. friend of mine galvanized just once and found it surprisingly hard to shoot at troops carrying the Stars and Stripes, even “for pretend.”
There is a large American Civil War scene here; that, and the English Civil War are probably the two most popular (in numbers participating). Perhaps because both accept family participation (whether in the form of women dressing as men, or in womens’ roles)
All periods are catered for by someone, from Roman to WW2. http://www.soskan.co.uk/about_soskan.html
Probably because the sources are written in English, and it’s sufficiently close to modern time for attitudes, manners and clothing to be not wholly incomprehensible.
In the States, anyway, the Civil War also has special stature as a crusade for a true, unmitigated, high moral cause, not just over whether Us Guys or Them Guys would have their say over some piece of dirt, as is the case in most wars. Re-enactors speak of “seeing the elephant”, a popular term at the time, when the play-acting seems to disappear and they actually see themselves as part of the cause.
Plus, it was the first major war which depended on recognizably modern technology (mass production of weapons, railroads, telegraphs), involving major adjustments of societal attitudes about war, and that has an allure all its own.
I can see how the attraction of those things can exist for non-Americans as well.
Here’s some wonderful photos of a reenactment of the Seige of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War (the Russian name for WW2), courtesy of English Russia.
Back in 1976 the best Bess you could buy was a special model made in Japan and imported (I believe) by Turner Kirkland for Dixie Gun Works. The darn things were not just good looking but as well made as the originals. The absolute worse Bess was also Japanese in manufacture and had the breechplug held in by a cotter pin – no threads at all.
One of my Springfields is an original and a lot of my other arms are Navy Arms; lots of Italian if I read the proofmarks right and trust Val in what he said way back when. Navy Arms were fairly cheap back then; my first Bess was like $79 new and I sold it a couple years back for $400. I doubt though that that will be the case with todays bargain basement versions like the Discriminating General sells. I would be willing to discuss their wares but we would need a Pit thread to do it.
The best though - the real museum grade stuff - is still IMHO American and basically hand made. I love my Centermark fusils and I expect my heirs will make out on them once I’m gone. And the Jeager I had done by Col Phil is probably worth four times what I paid for it ten years back.
We may have killed each other at different times! Or fought side by side. My ancestry is basically Yakhirghiz – I can shoot at pretty much anyone!
There is an odd thing I have seen in ACW events; if you are going to get a basically racist anti-social CSA unit it will usually be from the “northern” states. I usually fielded with a Mississippi regt based in Mississippi and you would never meet a nicer group of people. One guy, African-American, wanted to field with them portraying a slave and after one campaign season he moved on to another group because the 2nd Mississippi guys “treated him too damn nice around the public”. I also went once, just once, with an Akron-based Alabama unit. Night came around and guys pulled off their shirts and the Hitler tattoos were on display and the talk just wasn’t something I liked. So I developed a cold and buggered out.
One of Norway’s many civil wars is commemorated each year not by reenacting a battle, but by retracing a famous ski journey over the mountains, complete with extra weight to simulate the infant crown prince who was being smuggled to safety. I’m not sure if that’s more or less weird than putting on costumes and pretending to shoot at one another, but I’m darn sure it’s more Norwegian.
If backcountry skiing isn’t your thing, you can also choose to participate in a mountain bike race or a cross-country foot race inspired by the same event. But the original Birkebeiner run was done on skis.
kopek, I know what you mean. I met many nice guys in gray and butternut, but there were also some who I suspect would, quite frankly, welcome the return of black slavery. I once saw T-shirts for sale at a big ACW reenactment event that showed Lincoln’s head with a crosshairs over it and the Virginia motto, “Sic semper tyrannis.” I wasn’t too surprised a few years later when Timothy McVeigh was arrested on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing wearing one of those damn shirts.
The link doesn’t show that for me.
And Mississippienne, your link appears broken. Maybe it’s just me.
