By 1st Sgt Koepp

     I feel too many reenactors focus too narrowly on either soldier impressions or generic civilian impressions.  It's easy to get lost studying accurate uniforms, perfect drill, and even correct dresses and all their accoutrements.  This can leave an impression unfortunately two dimensional and leaves out much of the impression's back story.  There was a broad common knowledge about tools, cooking, making, cleaning, working, and all sorts of everyday life that is easily lost with a narrow soldier impression.  Enlistment papers are a wealth of information about soldier careers that not enough people dive into.  In Co. D, we had dozens of different professions like blacksmith, scholar, pharmacist, lumbermen, farmer, laborer, and many more.  Each year, more of us are pushing ourselves into learning the careers and common knowledge our soldiers had.           Knowledge can be regional as well.  Company D had soldiers from several port cities in Maine where maritime culture would have been well known of if not directly participated in.  So, our knowledge of ropes, rigging, ships, fishing, and cooking with seafood would have been common knowledge.  A familiarity with the lumber and lime trade would also have been well known.  This is why we push ourselves to learn specific and regional cultural knowledge.  We encourage you to do the same to add depth and immersion to your impression.  Ask yourself where your unit came from, what industries were common, what sort of unique cultural knowledge, practices, and slang were common to that region and build from there.
     For these reasons, I've picked up rope work this year.  I don't plan on becoming an encyclopedia of knots, but I've pushed myself to learn useful knots that likely would have been well known, as well as some maritime related rope craft.  This year, I've also started carrying a marlinespike pocket knife which I've found accurate for my impression and exceptionally useful around camp.  I've taught myself the very useful midshipmen's knot for tightening and securing tent ropes without a slip and several more I've committed to memory.  In this picture, you see my first handmade fids.  Fids are usually used for stretching rope for splicing but are useful in many of the same ways as a marlinespike.  I made these out of oak on my lathe in about ten minutes each.  I got the idea from watching the videos of legendary rope craftsman, Miko Snellman on YouTube.  I used these fids (one is for Pvt. Soderling) to make the rope brushes.
     This, off season, I encourage you to learn more about the trades and cultural knowledge of the unit you portray.  If you portray a lumberman, can you cut down a tree traditionally or be conversationally proficient explaining it?  If you were a tobacco farmer, do you grow a tobacco plant or two and know how to pick it, stick it, and cure it?  If your unit was famous (or infamous) for gambling, how many popular CW card games can you play? Be curious and best of luck of your research journey!

By 1st Sgt. Koepp

     In my ongoing efforts to bring more accuracy to reenacting seating, I recently purchased two BJ Harrison folding chairs from Ebay for only $120 shipping included.  This style of folding chair was common during the war, though I don't have any provenance placing these exact chairs during the conflict.  I wanted to show my restoration process to provide a resource for other people considering taking on a project like this.  My philosophy of restoration is to put antiques back into service and enjoy them as they would have been.
     After quite a bit of research and inquiries by Mrs. 1st Sgt, we learned no one reproduces period style rug squares to replace the original seat.  Not having the time to get into making my own, custom-sized hook rugs, I decided on leather.  Stylistically, I'm a sucker for leather and wood.  With that decision being made, I began the restoration process.
     Being an experienced woodworker, I know that shellac dissolves in alcohol.  Using only paper towels, 000 steel wool, and denatured alcohol, I removed the original shellac.  At no point did I use sandpaper.  By gently removing the old shellac, the 150 year old tool marks revealed themselves.  The perfect spacing of the marks indicates that these pieces were made on a lathe with a replicating jig.  An amateur attacking this project with sandpaper would have removed this important element of the chair's history without even knowing it!  Once cleaned, I put the screws in my bucket of Evaporust to remove all the rust without having to abrade them.  I left them overnight and wiped them dry the next day.
     With the wood and hardware prepped, I began the leather work.  Using the remnant of the original seat, I recreated the pattern on my piece of 7-9 oz vegetable tanned leather I got from Tandy.  To reinforce the holes for the screws, I used 1/4" eyelets which you can buy affordably on Amazon.  I then beveled the top edges, wet them, and used a burnisher to put a slick, professional finish on all of the edges.  I then gloved up and put on two coats of Fiebing's black dye. I let the seat dry over night and oiled with some Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP and buffed with a horse hair brush.
     For wood finishing, I chose a tung oil finish.  I'm a big fan of tung oil in general but I also wanted to nourish the 150 year old white oak with a good oil.  The other added benefit of tung oil, is that you can reapply in the future if you need to with very little prep.
     Once everything was dry, it was time for assembly.  Before running the screws home, I dipped them in my "Lacker for Small Arms."  I'm very happy with the end result and look forward to completing the second chair.  They are very comfortable chairs and hold me easily and I'm no small guy.  I look forward to eventually getting around recreating these from scratch on my lathe someday.  If you have any questions, be sure to let us know either on the blog or on our Facebook page.  Also, if you happen to need a scan of the brand sticker for this type of chair, let me know and I can post it online.  Both chairs were stamped with B.J. Harrison but only one was issued with a sticker.
     

     I've been surfing the internet a lot this off season like many of us do and have seen so much garbage being sold as Civil War furniture, I thought I'd write about some quality options.  This first picture is a Tandy Leather stool kit.  The three legged stool was wildly popular during the Civil War and can be easily found in numerous photographs.  Sadly, this type of seat is possibly the rarest!  You can order this kit from their website or pick one up in their many stores across the U.S.  The kit includes the legs, the hardware, and great instructions.  If you know nothing about leather work this is a great beginner project.  I purchased the kit on sale for $35 and the leather for $40.  I asked the store employee what leather I needed and the amount I was handed would easily make 3 seat tops.  I used a leather punch I already had in the reenacting kit and assembled the seat in less than 30 minutes.  
     This is definitely a project worth taking on.  I saw one with a wool top on clearance at Pendleton for $295.  The wood and hardware were EXACTLY THE SAME!  Elsewhere these stools fetch top dollar.  If you want to upgrade the leg pivot hardware Lee-Valley has a high end version for $40.  Check it out HERE.  You could even use handles from shovels as a cheap alternative, too.  Of course, if you have some lathe skills you can turn your own legs.  Oh, and one last note you may want to know:  how much does this little stool hold?  Well, I'm a husky 1st Sgt and guessing I'm about 230 lbs, it holds my weight comfortably.

     This walnut stool I recently finished is based on the plan found in A.J. Hammler's Civil War Wood Working and was based off of an original.  I would say I have $50 in materials in this stool.  Granted, I have a lifetime of tools and experience that help, too.  I've seen less stylish versions online for around $195.  I have also seen abominations sell for $50 on Etsy or Ebay.  There is some real junk out there.  The really stand out feature of this stool is the fact it's not made out of pine.  It is rare to find anything at some events not made out of pine.  Woods like walnut, cherry, or hard maple really aren't that expensive, especially on small projects like this.  I recently bought an 8 foot board of walnut from Rockler for only $25.  The other thing to keep in mind when making camp furniture is to try to vary wood thicknesses if you can.  If you know someone with a power planer, become his or her new friend.  Likewise, you can break out the hand plane and scrub it down to thickness by hand.  It's a great work out!  
     In Company D, we're all about sharing information, so if you have any questions about making these, let us know.  Remember, the most authentic seat for a soldier will always be the seat of his or her pants.

Period correct cookware is pretty easy to organize.  The single biggest thing to avoid is speckled enamel ware shown below.  Some documentation suggests that it did exist during the time period though it was quite rare and very expensive.  Just about anything made of out cast iron is safe.  Items like dutch ovens, cast iron skillets, and pots are all period correct and no will call you out for branding commonly found on them.  When it comes to cups, plates, and bowls tin is always the safest way to go.  There are many vendors who sell tin ware reasonably.  However stainless steel items are much easier to come by for some people and if allowed to patina or cooked with over a fire, pass as tin to most people.  Mrs. Koepp, one of our civilians, recommends finding pie tins from antique stores and thrift shops.  Many of the older ones are made of tin and also come in stainless steel in shapes fairly common to period correct plate ware.

Eating utensils would be expected to be made of tin, silver, or wood.  Forks were three tine and reproductions are quite cheap while originals can be found at antique stores for about $10-15 each.  Spoons tended to be on the larger size than what most of us have in our drawers now as were the "butter" knives.  Cheap silver plate silverware can be found usually in boxes at antique stores quite affordably and good be a good way to collect your spoons and knives though almost all the forks you'll find are four tine.  Wooden spoons can be found most places quite inexpensively and work fine as long as they are not made of exotic materials like bamboo.

A civilian lady could expect to have some porcelain china ware.  Items from the orient were quite celebrated and desired by most people.  So inexpensive china inspired glassware would be acceptable, as well. Tea and coffee were consumed by just about everyone.

Pitchers and wash basins were very common and could be found in many varieties.  With no running water the pitcher and basin was your bath.  When looking to purchase one, a good rule of thumb is to look for ones with less color and design.

Any student of the Civil War is all to familiar with this photo but for new civilians it has a wealth of information.  First you see a camp follower or washer woman and all her camp accouterments.  The man appears to be holding a butchering saw.  For the civilian you'll notice many great period correct items that can be replicated in your camp persona.

1. 2 pitchers.  One glass one appearing silver plated likely for drinking or washing.  
2. 2 Tin basins likely for washing since they appear blackened.
3. Enameled tin plates
4. Enameled tin cups and basins
5. wooden stool
6. tin spoon
7. hot coal iron under the stool
8. tin coffee pot on the far right
9. cast iron stove
10. wash tub
11. Large wooden trunk
12. and many more gems upon investigating.

James Townsend and Son is a great vendor for buying tin bowls, basins, and period correct cookware though be careful not to buy Revolutionary War only items.  Studying period photos available easily online can quickly guide you in how best to assemble your camp impression.  

This is a slideshow I'll be working on for a while but these images give a quick look into common types of period correct seating.  Unfortunately, much of the seating seen at reenactments is woefully incorrect for the time period such as wooden folding church or theater seats and the always terrible "mountain man" seat seen below.

For soldiers, the number one seat available was their hat.  The Victorian world did not believe sitting on bare earth to be healthy.  After that, soldiers usually found used ammunition or hardtack crates to sit on.  More common civilian folding stools or chairs or regular dining chairs would pop up only if the army was camped for any length of time.

Some chairs such as the five board bench or the one board bench can be easily made.  Just make sure if you make a bench, that you use cut nails!

It's easy to forget that elastic did exist during the war.  If you find a journal with an elastic band.  This add is from Harper's Weekly 1862.

MAGIC POCKET BOOKS, with elastic band, for the new Postage Currency, made and sold wholesale and retail by SNOW & HAPGOOD, Pathfinder Office, 22 Court Street, Boston, Mass. Agents wanted. Sample sent, post-paid, for 15 cents.

19th century sailor's food with food historian 
The Forecaster
Amy Anderson
Tuesday, February 17, 2009

FREEPORT — What type of food would 19th century sailors eat on a journey from Freeport to China? How different was their food from what officers ate? What, if anything, was considered a treat? How was food stored and kept fresh before refrigeration?
Food historian and author Sandy Oliver will answer those questions and more as part of the Freeport Historical Society's 40th anniversary series "Lessons from the Tam O'Shanter."
The presentation, called "Lobscouse for Dinner," will take place at the Freeport Community Center at 53 Depot Road on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.
Christina White, executive director of the historical society, said the five-part educational series is a response to the inquiries surrounding the painting of the 19th century ship the Tam O'Shanter. The cargo vessel traveled to ports in Bombay, Hong Kong and San Francisco, and was built at the Soule Brothers shipyard in South Freeport. White said the series will answer questions about food aboard the ship, sea songs and shanties that were sung, and letters exchanged between sailors and their families.
"Can you even imagine planning a trip for that many men, keeping them fed, let alone occasionally making them happy?" White said. "We all eat and take our food for granted. They couldn't."
In addition to hearing about types of food on the Tam O'Shanter, participants will have the opportunity to sample the fare. White said the food will be prepared by culinary students from Southern Maine Community College.
"I am excited to hear the presentation because Sandy has the historical expertise, and can make learning fun," she said.
Oliver, a resident of Islesboro and experienced food historian, said the food was not that bad on board a ship, although it was repetitive.
The sailors had some fresh food, but they were mostly interested in calories.
"There had to be rations for each person – water, salt pork, hard tack, some potatoes, cabbage, and once in a while turnips, onions and carrots," she said. "By the later 1800s, canned food was allotted and storage had improved the sailors' diet."
Oliver, a woman who grows her own food and butchers the pigs she raises, said her interest in food history was sparked by work at the Mystic Seaport Museum of America and the Sea in Connecticut. She developed a fireplace cooking program in an 1830s house, which led her from kitchens in houses to galleys on ships. In 1995 she wrote 'Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and Their Foods at Sea and Ashore in the 19th Century,' and a companion cookbook. She then wrote "The Food of Colonial and Federal America," and co-authored "Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving History and Recipes from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie."  She now writes a column for the Bangor Daily News, Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors magazine, Maine Food and Lifestyle and the Working Waterfront.
"What the men ate on vessels was not just a matter of food preservation and rations," Oliver said. "What really makes a difference on what you eat, is who you are."
Oliver said it was apparent who was eating a dish by the the way it looked. Sailors would eat hard tack, a biscuit made from flour, water and salt, and stews thickened with water. In contrast, captains and officers would eat freshly baked bread, meat from live chickens and pigs, and had supplements such as spices, flour, sugar, butter, canned milk and alcohol.
Lobscouse and duff, an offering at the presentation, are salt meat stew and steamed pudding with dried fruit. Oliver said both sailors and officers ate the dish, but the officer's dessert would be prepared with sugar, fruit and rum, while the sailors would have only molasses as a sweetener.
"People may be surprised about the difference between the hierarchy on these ships," she said. "It is something not matched elsewhere in society, except the military."

Amy Anderson can be reached at 781-3661, ext. 110, or aanderson@theforecaster.net.

Hello Jerad –

 Here is a short bibliography which might be helpful to your group.

General things on Maine maritime history:
            The Maritime History of Maine, William Hutchinson Rowe, 1948 and many later editions
            Coastal Maine: A Maritime History, Roger F. Duncan, 1992
            New England and the Sea, R.G. Albion, W.A. Baker, and B.W. Labaree, 1972

In general, there is very little published about the experience of seamen before the Civil War. There are a couple of works of fiction you will find helpful:
            Redburn, Herman Melville
            Two Years before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana

And non-fiction:
            Full Hold and Splendid Passage, Bill & Jean Bonyun, 1969 – romanticized, but okay
            Coasting Captain, Capt. Leonard S. Tawes, 1967 – not Maine, but good account 1868-1922
            Wake of the Coasters, John F. Leavitt, 1970 – late 19th century & later, but about small schooners like they had before the Civil War
            Square-Riggers on Schedule, Robert G. Albion, 1938 and later eds., Chapter 4, “Tough Men”
            Dogwatch and Liberty Days, Margaret S. Creighton, 1982, 19th century
            The Clipper Ship Era, Arthur H. Clark, 1912, Chapter VIII, The Clipper Ship Crews
            Goin’ Fishin’: The Story of the Deep-Sea Fishermen of New England, W. G. Pierce, 1934

 It is much easier to find books on the ships and their designs than it is to find info on the mariners, but this will get you started. Some of the books will have bibliographies to take you further, if you want.

 

Best regards,

Nathan Lipfert

 Nathan R. Lipfert, Senior Curator
Maine Maritime Museum
243 Washington Street
Bath, Maine 04530
207-443-1316, ext 328, fax 207-443-1665
www.mainemaritimemuseum.org
lipfert@maritimeme.org