Being a Civilian

First off, quick notes- We are re-enacting the American Civil War, not the wild west. The Civil War (1861-1865) is known as the middle of the Victorian Era (1830-1901). When choosing a character or role, please keep the era in mind in regards to fashion, cloth patterns, mannerisms, and etiquette.  Re-enacting is a hobby, but also an historical presentation to the public. We want to try to be as accurate as we can be, but while having a good time involving family and friends.

Women and young ladies can portray refugees, nurses, laundresses, cooks, seamstresses, wives or sweethearts visiting their men folk in the army. Women can also go as spies, vivandieres, or disguise themselves as male soldiers in the ranks. It is just as important for us to portray civilian roles authentically as it is the military roles, so correct period dress will be equally important. You will want to dress your role. For example a refugee would not dress the same as a nurse or as a women visiting camp. To give those of you that aren’t sure what you want to do yet, a role to start with, I portray a refugee(the short version). The dresses that the crew has for you to borrow will fit into this impression.

Civil War refugees are not necessarily poor or shabbily dressed. They would have been as well dressed as possible. Refugees have left home for one reason or another; it could be that their house was burned, they were running before troops got there, or they were seeking protection.

The rest of this handbook is merely a guideline.  Most of history and re-enacting activities cannot be put in this handbook, but must be taught as a unit and as a way of life.

In my research I have found 5 tips for a beginning civilian reenactor

1.       Find a mentor…you already have that covered by joining our crew! Until you decide a direction you want to take you can watch and be incorporated into others portrayal for a few events. This is an easy way to learn the ropes.

2.       Keep it simple and straight forward… Before you spend money on clothing and gear, go to a couple of events in a simple role.

3.       Portray What You Know...If you have a skill you enjoy and would like to share with others, check out its history in connection to the Civil War. Do you like to knit? Knitting played a very important part as the ladies of the home front kept their needles busy to supply warm socks and gloves to their sons in the army. Many of today's children have never seen anyone knit. This persona would teach them that once upon a time socks did not come from Wal-Mart. This tip applies to everything from blacksmithing to quilting.

4.       Do Lots of Research...How can you live history if you don’t know it. Research is a treasure hunt. It's your job to dig up the gold that you will use to create your persona. Sure you can put on a slat bonnet, grab a basket and be a farmers daughter; but think how much more you can teach people if you can talk about farm animals, crops, the effects of the weather, the effects of insects on your crops, the effects of the economic times on your farm income. How much milk does it take to make a pound of butter? How much will that pound of butter sell for? How do you get that pound of butter to market? How do you keep it fresh without a refrigerator? How does a butter churn work and what is a butter mold? Do you get to keep the butter and egg money for yourself or does your skinflint father take it from you? The more background information you have on the character you portray, the more realistic and three-dimensional you will become in your role.

5.        Read About Social History...Many long time re-enactors are quick to make remarks that are stereotypical rather than true. A woman was not an old maid if she was unmarried at 18. Not everyone had or wanted a 17" waist. Not everyone was religious. Most people were literate and with much better vocabularies than we use today. Most women worked, farm, factory or cottage industry. People with slaves or servants were a minority of the population. The North/South was not a united front. Many Northerners did not support the war and worked to further the Southern cause. Not every Northerner supported or liked President Lincoln. Not every Southerner supported the Confederacy and were Northern sympathizers.  Sam Houston was even against Texas secession. Don't present your persona in a vacuum. Learn some of the social background of the mid Victorian era.

The goal of the living historian is to make the visitors feel as if they stepped back in time to the early 1860's, to do our best to give an immersion experience. In other words, to give the visitor (as well as ourselves) the feeling of connecting with their past in such a way they have never encountered...almost a time-travel experience for all involved.

The first and most basic step in completing this immersion excursion is to be vigilant in the accuracy of your appearance - clothing as well as your setting. If one does not look authentic, everything else is for naught. Remember, you yourself constitute a vital element of this atmosphere. You must do your utmost to ensure that your appearance, actions/mannerisms, and manner of speaking evokes the past. This tells so much of the story.

As for the site in which we are presenting ourselves as one from the past, we must remove those things that remind folks of the 21st century, whether the items are upon our person or within our site. This vigilance allows living historians to maintain the appropriate appearance for the era they represent, in this case, the early 1860's. One can do this in numerous ways, the most effective being to learn what is appropriate and what is not, not only in appearance but also in mannerisms. Later in this handbook you will find a copy of the period etiquette rules you will need the most. Remove non-period items from the visitor's (and your own) sight. Step to the edge of your site and look around. Do you see anything that might be considered farby? If so, how can you hide or disguise it? Sometimes it can be done as simply as covering a cooler with a cloth. The crew does a pretty good job of maintaining our site for visitors, however it takes everyone’s  vigilance. If you see something that looks out of place hide it. If your not sure if it should be there ask someone, we all forget to cover things up at times.

That your site can give the resemblance as if it's from 1860 is not enough, however. One must also pay attention to what is beyond the appearance of the reenactor's camp area. We must do our best, as difficult as this can be, to make sure the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) of both living historian and spectator also give the impression that they are from the past. What could be worse to a living historian than having their cell phone go off while speaking to visitors...in 1st person?? Turn the phones off, or at least put them on silent or vibrate to be viewed when the opportunity arises. I have seen first hand this happen, much to the embarrassment of the reenactor. If the inside of your tent is filled with farby items then make sure you tie the opening flaps closed to ensure no unwanted visitors enter - also, be aware that when you enter "the farb zone" that the visitor's vision is out of line with the entrance way. They should never be aware of our modern, behind the scenes "support." If you need something from your cooler, use a code word. For instance, folks during the time in which we emulate had cellars. What did they keep in their cellars? Pretty much the same type of items we keep in our coolers. So, instead of going to your cooler, you are now going to your "cellar." How about that all-important item you left in your car or van that you must retrieve? "I will be back shortly," says I. "I must go to my carriage to get my...(whatever it is you need)."

Pretty simple.

Think of the movie "Somewhere in Time:" remember how things went pretty well (considering) for Richard in his time-travel excursion back to 1912? That is, until, unexpectedly, he pulled out a 1979 penny from his pocket, and that one little farb moment totally ruined all he had worked toward to meet this woman of 60 years earlier...and he found himself, beyond his control, hurdled back to his own time.

There are, of course, exceptions to all of this. Besides our own enjoyment, we are also there for the public, to hopefully teach them history as best as our own knowledge will allow. One excellent way to do this is to incorporate a combination of 1st person and a 3rd person ideology, where, without stepping out of your 1863 zone, you can answer any questions a visitor may have, or even easily explain your impression. After all, we don't want to scare folks away either. If you're not sure what is appropriate to say, do not be afraid to pass along the visitor to a reenactor who might answer the question in the appropriate manner. Then observe...watching and studying others is the very best way to learn this process - - this takes practice and I suggest you do just this: practice, practice, practice.
So, ask yourself a few questions for your living history/time-travel excursion: which of the five senses fit appropriately into your 1860's presentation? The sights, sounds, smells, touch, and, yes, even taste? Which don't? Are all farby items properly hidden? How do you carry yourself? Do you sound appropriate? Do you look and act like you belong? This mindset can help you maintain the period ambiance of your site.

Of course, there are some things we cannot control: an airplane flying overhead, sometimes modern vehicles rumbling by, or any number of 21st century intrusions. One must learn to overlook and ignore such distractions and carry on as if they weren't there. Again, not always easy, but necessary. And for the visitor (for most of our events take place where the public enjoy roaming about and asking questions), remember when you were once the one roaming and asking questions. Did you feel you were welcomed into the reenactor's camp site? Did they willingly answer your questions? Or did you feel like you were intruding? As a reenactor, do you treat the visitor how you would like to be treated? Do you answer the questions happily or do you come off like the visitor is bothersome? If a visitor is uncertain about entering your site, do you call them over or do you ignore them, hoping they'll go away? As a crew we want to make the visitors feel welcome, answer their questions and include them in our presentations. By doing this we are sharing our interest in History and may spark an interest in reenacting in someone that will someday become a member of our crew.

As living historians, the last thing we should ever do is to turn folks off of history. It should be our goal to turn folks on to history, in a friendly, fun, and accurate way.