Taking it Like a Man: by Paul Calloway

[paulcalloway]

<CENTER>Taking it Like a Man
<SMALL>by Paul Calloway</SMALL>

</CENTER>We've all heard the complaints:

1) "...we fired [insert number ranging from 5-10] volleys into the [Federal/Rebel] line(s) and not one went down!"

2) "The [Yanks/Secesh] must be wearing their [blue/grey] Kevlar suits today... they are invincible"

and on and on it goes.

Perhaps an examination of reenactment hits and hit-takers will serve to educate us all on the state of hit-taking in the hobby.

After close examination I have concluded that there are no less than four separate categories of Civil War Reenactors as it relates to taking a hit during battle reenactments. Those categories are:


The Hit-Takers
The Lemmings
The Occasional Hero's
The Powder-Burners


Let's examine each of these categories closely.

<HR>

[b]The Hit-Takers:

These men are a small but growing sect within the reenacting community. They are usually easy to spot during a battle reenactment because they are always the first to suck dirt. Many times Hit-Takers are specialists of one sort or another. One Hit-Taker may specialize in taking extraordinarily dramatic hits such as falling in creeks or bowling other men over as they careen toward the earth.. Hit-Takers may go down in the first or second volley. Some Hit-Takers have been known to specialize in screaming in agony for 20 to 30 minutes.

Usually Hit-Takers in general will shun the hospital stewards who are as pesky as hound dogs trying to tree a coon. The steward will often take personal issue with the Hit-Taker's refusal to acknowledge his badgering and will launch a full-scale assault on the Hit-Taker's sincere attempts to appear dead. Hit-Takers can often be recognized by the bewildered looks they give to the legions of ice maidens who are often as pesky as the stewards but usually better looking.

Max Rounds Normally Spent: 20
% of Total Reenactors in this Category: 5%

<HR>

The Lemmings:

The Lemmings are those reenactors who consider themselves Hit-Takers but really aren't. Lemmings wait until the end of the battle before finally going down in mass. Due to the large numbers of Lemmings, the mortality rate in the last 10 minutes of a Civil War Reenactment is often roughly equivalent to that of the first wave assaults at Normandy. Special Note: Lemmings are usually the loudest complainers when it comes to other reenactors not taking hits.

A highly specialized strain of Lemmings can be identified by a deeply ingrained resurrection complex. The reenactors in this specialized sub-category will often take early hits in droves (again the Lemming thing) but then shirk their way to the rear rather than staying dead. This is an important distinction and is what separates them from true Hit-Takers. Once at the rear (where-ever that really is) they will liberally resurrect and rejoin the fray with renewed vigor. It should be further noted that these Lemmings are still just Lemmings and can be found again dying in droves at the end of the battle.

Max Rounds Normally Spent: 40 (30 for Lemmings with a resurrection complex.)
% of Total Reenactors in this Category: 30%

<HR>

The Occasional Heros:

Occasional Heros are Powder-Burners with a new lease on life. These guys have probably shot more loads than most championship race horses. Occasional Heros can usually be spotted propped up on one elbow chatting with other Occasional Heros as the battle winds to a close. Occasional Heros will sometimes take a dramatic hit - usually the result of tripping over their canteen or haversack.

Max Rounds Normally Spent: 60
% of Total Reenactors in this Category: 30%

<HR>

The Powder-Burners:

These men have refined the loading process to the point of expertise and can easily load and fire four to five times per minute.Often times they've removed their cartridge box tins in order that they might pile in more rounds. Their haversacks are usually full of extra rounds and at least one full tin of caps. These men will carry enough picks, wrenches and other gadgets to open a 19th century gunsmith shop. They'll pride themselves as occassional Heros or Lemmings but in reality the only hits they are taking at reenactments are courtesy of Mr. Beam and Mr. Daniels.

Max Rounds Normally Spent: 650
% of Total Reenactors in this Category: 35%

<HR>

Some additional items of note:

- The categories above tend to run in groups.

- The Powder-Burners especially will almost always be found grouped with other Powder-Burners and can be found furthermore to exist at company, battalion and even brigade levels.

- Lemmings and Occasional heros will make the transistion to Hit-Takers from time to time. This can be a permanent transistion and is often due to a natural propensity toward laziness or slobiness (two strangely redeeming qualities for a Civil War reenactor to possess.)

<HR>

Hit Propensity Modifiers:

+5% Low on Caps
+5% Low on Rounds
+10% Gun Fouled
+10% Gun too Hot to Touch
+15% Completely Enveloped by the enemy**
+20% Pretty Ice Maidens Roaming in Vicinity
+20% Detached from Pards
+50% Video Personnel in Vicinity (Internal Modifier +10% chance of one man charge on enemy lines.)


**NOTE: The complete envelopement modifier does not apply to Powder-Burners. Proceed directly to Little Big Horn Scenario.

Given all of this scholarly research I leave it to each of you to decide in what category he (or even she) resides in. The figures and percentages noted above are of course indisputable having been thoroughly researched and documented. Footnotes to these figures may be provided at the author's discretion. [Some really other important and legal-sounding mumbo-jumbo should be inserted here.] See you at the next shin-dig!

[hardtack61]

Great Post,

I cant see why people dont like or even take the time to take hits! I mean when a(an) Battalion, company, or even that whole dang confederate army throws the devil at ya. I see not one man fall it tends to be a a very funny but not matter. As i see in some units (no offense to any one), it takes a man to take a bloody hit.! Ya i like to shoot a few but we all have to take turns and go meet the "higher being" And thats all i have to say about that.

[Johan Steele]

Very nice to see this again Mr Calloway. I count myself as a hit taker, in fact I've gotten the gutshot screaming and begging for water down pretty good I think.

[Clark Badgett]

I hate rolling cartridges, so I have to make the 20 that I roll per year last for as long as possible. Definate hit taker, but not into the drama. :D

[ley74]

Interestingly enough, I became a hit taker when I started to roll my cartridges with cotton wadding for the ball, tie off under the ball with a double hitch, fold the tail properly and wrap ten cartridges in an arsenal pack with 12 caps.

Hey, I look pretty damn good eating dirt. None of this leaninig on the elbow crap either. Guess what, cleaning is a snap.

[DixieLand1859]

Where does running away in terror fit in.....lol :D

-Dan Foster

[tomarch]

Running away in Terror is definitly great fun as long as you have good non-coms who have a great working knowlege of oaths as well as a good grip on yer collar or traps, otherwise after you run off, where's the fun? :D

Tom Smith
long-heeled, yellow livered,white feather mess

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo Kameraden!

I am a proponent and practioner of Self-Euthanasia (Mercy Killing) myself.
It is reserved for those times when one goes to the wrong event(s), those powder-burning Ramboesque/Yahooesque disasters where 12 year old boys are discharging their K-Mart "Hawkin Rifles" in one's face, etc., etc.

The best thing to do is fall dead at the very first (ragged) volley, although Sudden Cardiac Arrest or Stroke works before the first shots are fired (the spectators are soon swept away by the unfolding spectacle and immediately forget that there is a casuality without fire....must have been one of those 5 mile CW sniper shots...).

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt
Don't Miss Those Daze Mess

[Eric Burke]

I've always been of the impression,. that in all walks of reenacting people 1) don't take enough hits, and 2) the hits they take aren't realistic. <STRIKE>Obviously none of us have been shot</STRIKE> or mortally wounded <STRIKE>before, so its hard to "relive" the experience.</STRIKE>

Considering that we have Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanastan & Iraq veterans in our ranks, that is a pretty presumptuous and offending statement for those patriots that have put their lives on the line for YOUR liberties. One of my mates was twice wounded in Vietnam.


But look at the numbers. How many men per engagement were wounded in comparison to killed? Doesn't it strike you that it is somewhat peculiar to see so many men falling dead out of the line and laying there silently? Were they all hit the head?

Personally, everytime I've taken a hit my goal is to portray the wounded soldier dying in agony ... I guess I'm a hit-taker. :D I wish others would do the same. <STRIKE>got a bud who does Wermacht stuff who was "wounded" in a reenactment and layed in the middle of the street screaming in agony for being shot in the groin, while the rest of his squad tried in vain to pull him from the middle of the street under a hail of machine-gun fire.</STRIKE>

In making your point, please try to stick to 'playing' the war of the 1860s & NOT the 1940s.

Scott McKay, moderator


Taking hits doesn't have to be a chore, it can spawn some excellent first-person situations, and I think it should be capitalized on in all walks of reenacting.

[texandrummer61]

Great post. Too many guys at events refuse to take hits .I mean, we're re-creating what happened, so that means the causualty rates too. <strike>At the
Gettysburg 140th ,my battalion fired THREE short range volleys at a yank
unit. Guess how many dropped- ONE!!!! Also, a thing that should be done
more often is the drummers[ example- me] stack drums and help the wounded.</strike>

Wouldn't drummers be needed to relay orders during a battle?

<strike>Much more authentic than the cute ice girls. At two events last
year, my pards and I put on quite a show by searching yank bodies for
equipment, dragging back wounded men, giving them water etc. In closing,
do you really think a teenage girl would walk onto the battlefields of the
war, and start giving men ice under fire??? :sarcastic</strike>

Ian, you must sign all of your posts on this forum with your full name. Items lined out due to "farb" content. - Mike Chapman

[BHoover]

Good point about the percentage of Ks vs. WIAs. One system I've seen used to remedy this is the following:

Before the event the actually casualties for the unit in question are researched. Chits are made with the same ratio of killed, wounded, and survived. (i.e. for an historic 100 man company with 10 killed and 25 wounded, and your company has 50 men, make 5 K chits, 12 Wounded, and the rest are unhurt). Have the men draw these from a hat before the battle and then follow the instructions. If further accuracy is desired the chit can even specify a time frame, or physical location on the battlefield. If the men follow their instructions the result will be historically correct casualties.

[texandrummer61]

Great post. As living historians we are supposed to recreate what happened then- should'nt that mean the casualty rates too???
Ian Broadhead

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Edited for FC (Farb Content), Curt-Heinrich Schmidt, Moderator

All in fun, moderators nuke the post if you want.

[marlin teat]

Hallo Kameraden!

I am a proponent and practioner of Self-Euthanasia (Mercy Killing) myself.
It is reserved for those times when one goes to the wrong event(s), those powder-burning Ramboesque/Yahooesque disasters where 12 year old boys are discharging their K-Mart "Hawkin Rifles" in one's face, etc., etc.

The best thing to do is fall dead at the very first (ragged) volley, although Sudden Cardiac Arrest or Stroke works before the first shots are fired (the spectators are soon swept away by the unfolding spectacle and immediately forget that there is a casuality without fire....must have been one of those 5 mile CW sniper shots...).

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt
Don't Miss Those Daze Mess

Or maybe loudly proclaim "Don't worry boys! They can't hit an elephant at this dist...." and take a hit at weapons inspection.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

All the above posts are the reason I prefer to hang out and clean stuff at any given lonely (local) frontier fort or garrison.

[texandrummer61]

About the hit taking- it's interesting, some units complain about the enemy not taking hits, while they are actually doing the same. I though recently
experienced a unique hit taking scenario. Our battalion was not taking many
hits, under a withering fire and all - my company literally massacred itself
to make up for the lack of casualties. 25 of us went on the field- all took hits
but 3. Sometimes too many hits is as bad as too many powder burners, whether the hits were necessary or not. Casualty rates were high, but not
typically 90% -95%. Does anyone have opinions on this??

Ian Broadhead
5th Texas a co.
Medich Battalion

[paulcalloway]

As an editorial article, this is a light-hearted look at a problem you hear discussed at many events and with many groups. That said, I'd like to see some of the attention being given this discussion to the Stack Arms article I recently wrote (in the Research section) - thats a subject deserving of much consideration and debate.

[majdoc]

This is a good article. I have to admit I have been in all of the above. I would say the best hit I was told I took was when I was moving troups into a flanking position on the run. I was bent over tripped on my canteen strap flipped over a bush, knocked the wind out of me. From what I learned after 10 minutes of wondering what happend, I got a standing ovation from the spectators. :).
Jim "Doc" Bruce Jr.
Chattanooga Academy Hospital
Hardee"s Guard Battalion

[texandrummer61]

This is a good article. I have to admit I have been in all of the above. I would say the best hit I was told I took was when I was moving troups into a flanking position on the run. I was bent over tripped on my canteen strap flipped over a bush, knocked the wind out of me. From what I learned after 10 minutes of wondering what happend, I got a standing ovation from the spectators. :).
Jim "Doc" Bruce Jr.
Chattanooga Academy Hospital
Hardee"s Guard Battalion

Ok .I think my best hit was when I was "hit" in the back by shrapnel as I was
running away in terror. :tounge_sm .I threw out my back , and according to
some accounts, I flew a few feet in the air, and landed on my face. The spectators liked that.

Ian Broadhead

[RelicRoomGuy]

Reckon a big reason for the large proportions of KIA's verses WIA's has to do with confidence...most of y'all have been at this a lot longer than me - I have been wondering just how one takes a hit "realistically" - there's skill involved here! (Well, sometimes there isn't, and that what I'm afraid it'll look like when I do it -) Portraying agony seems quite a challenge. Any tips? (Yes, trip on your gear and actually hurt yourself, but there is a limit to the sacrifices I'm willing to make here! :rolleyes: ) Slumping suddenly dead I think I can handle. Faking - without benefit of special effects - the effect of the wound from a large-caliber round...pretty daunting.

On a related note, haven't seen many fleeing soldiers or surrenders either..."Little Big Horn" scenarios, indeed!

[Jayhawk102]

I may be a growing hit taker, because I want to save as much cartridges for the weekend so I always look for the best point to die, or get hit. However some days I just fill like dying.

[JWolf]

I think it is an interesting aspect of reenacting to occassionally study or ponder. From what I've seen there is usually a direct correlation for a powder burner to what kind of weapon(s) and how many he (or she) carries.

i.e. The bigger the bowie knife, and the more pistols and are carried, a rifle that is civilian instead of a military rifle/carbine, or a dismounted cav instead of infantry unit (no offense meant to the guys that know how to properly protray dismounted cav) the more likely to be a powder burner. For artillery it seems that that some of the guys with the miniture guns always have to use more powder per round that the full size guns.

I and my battery mates can never decide which is our personal "favorite", a "permanently" dismounted cav. unit with a preponderance of Hawkins rifles and approximately 1.5 pistols per trooper, or an artillery crew where everyone has a sidearm (instead of just the non-coms/officers) and whose powder charge for their mini-homemade cannon exceeds ours for the 3" ordinance...

Jim Wolf
Scott's Tennessee Battery

[13thnhv]

As a veteran Hit-Taker, I am invariably Killed Instantly.

[Milliron]

This is an interesting topic. However, no matter how one classifies themselves as a "hit taker," it can't really come remotely close to simulating the effect of casualties.

I realize that it is de rigueur among the c/p/h set to disdain battles/tacticals/farboramas. This is probably for very good reason. The best "battle" pales in comparison the the worst living history moment, IMHO. It is probably also true to say that many c/p/h's like to burn some powder at an event (I do, for one). I disagree with those who state that battles or simulated confrontations are irrelevant and that accurate living history portrayals are all that should be attempted. It's a little hard to recreate a war without actually. . . warring, at some point.

However advanced our material culture becomes and evolved our impressions get, this aspect of living history never evolves--why not? This is particularly unusual given the relative popularity of battles/tacticals. I was particularly struck by this at TAG this fall when there were so many great period moments leading up to the engagement, which was, shall we say, less great. (the morning fight was pretty cool, with the fog and all, admittedly). Those who were there remember a chorus of complaints about "non-hit-taking" and the like, and a lot of ruffled feathers among the commanders to boot. It didn't fit with the otherwise excellent living history that was being done there, and the contrast was glaring (to me, at least).

At Pickett's Mill in 2001 there was some attempt made by John Cleveland to duplicate at least the inconvenience of having your pards killed/wounded by use of the "dead company." Everyone's reaction to this idea was very favorable--it may have been the first "battle" I ever took part in that I actually experienced the pang of loss. All my pards were killed except for me and I didn't see them for the rest of the event. Way cool.

Could not there be a system of recreating certain chaotic elements within a "battle" reenactment? I always found it to be way too convenient that commanders never go down. Sure Craddock will "kick their ass," but what if he goes down? Who does command devolve onto? What will they do? Will they be as effective? Would not this make it incumbent on subordinates to know what's going on going into the thing?--would not this be an exciting and accurate experience for all involved? If you are extremely aggressive toward an enemy, should you not have to deal with higher casualties and therefore reduced strength the next day?

I think John Cleveland was on to something with the dead company idea, and I personally would like to see an effort made to recreate these elements in the tactical setting. Then we could save some of the theatrics and actually get the feeling of being there, if only in a small way--it would be better than what goes on now. I don't propose to have an answer to all these questions, but there are a lot of sharp heads in this hobby and I'd like to see more thought given to this aspect of an event. I'm always having a great period moment right up to the time the shooting starts--then I'm magically transported to "The 135 Anniversary of the Battle of Something Local," to quote a phrase. Bleah. We can do better than that.

Sorry for the coffee driven ramble, but this has been on my mind for some time.

[Hank Trent]

However advanced our material culture becomes and evolved our impressions get, this aspect of living history never evolves--why not? This is particularly unusual given the relative popularity of battles/tacticals.

Here's my viewpoint on why it doesn't, and what needs to change to make it easy to evolve.

There seems to be an emphasis on reenacting how battles happened in the tactical sense, rather than reenacting the lives of those who happened to be fighting in a battle on that particular day.

An example of the mindset is a phrase someone used in an email discussion we were having about casualties, and whether the wounded should remain wounded more than a brief time. The person wrote hypothetically about: "participants who drove 14 hours only to be 'shot' five minutes after dawn, only then to sit out the rest of the event."

It shows the mindset that a battle is like a hockey game, and the object is to be out there playing, rather than sitting in the penalty box.

I replied:

Ah, the different hobbies we all participate in. :-) Ironically, I'll be driving eight hours just to be shot and "sit out" the entire event. But in my hobby, as long as I'm portraying a live person from the 1860s, whether healthy or injured, I'm doing what I came for. But I understand the focus of this event, and of most military reenactors, is on tactics and warfare specifically, and not on the total experience of being a person in the 1860s.

Obviously, it requires some sort of organizational support for wounded men to remain wounded, so their experience continues to be accurate for the time and place.

But as long as there's a mindset that you're sitting out an event if you're not burning powder anymore, there's going to be a reluctance to take hits, and when hits are taken, there will be those necessary moments when the wounded get up during the event and pretend nothing ever happened, so they aren't forced to "sit out" any longer.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Secede1863]

Ok,

I believe humbley I am a modest hit-taker. What I dont get is why in real battle someone would die in the first few seconds (Rifleman have SOME training) but REENACTORS who portray the battles either (For the most part, I dont mean you guys) die right at the end? To me that could be considered Farb.

I usually die within the first 10 minutes. I dont give any signal I am either. Which is correct, no one was positive when they were going to die. When "catching one" I dont neccesarily do a dance, As I dont plan on what kills me (Different ways of killing different "dance" but I put some movement into it, not just a fall down like fresh cut timber.

I have been known to "Beg for Mercy" on the field.

Andrew Z. Stebbins

[RelicRoomGuy]

Hey, "The Bloody Crucible of Courage" by Brent Nosworthy, is a WONDERFUL book. (Recommended to me on this forum recently - and within days also recommended by an instructor from the Army's "Command and Staff College".)

And on this topic, a vital section: pp.222-227, "Being Hit" and "The Wounded". My confidence in my histrionic ability is bolstered by a passage from a Gaines Mill soldier:

"Here a man would suddenly start, drop his gun, and limp away - the blood flowing from a wound in his leg; another would suddenly spring in the air, uttering a piercing shriek, then fall back - quivering - lifeless - his eyes staring vacantly - his teeth set - his hands clenched till the fingernails cut into the palms. Another would sink to the ground without a groan - without a gasp for the suddenly departing breath. Another would convulsively clasp his hand to his breast - perhaps brow - a moment stand, then stagger, reel, and fall to the earth gasping for breath - the hot blood gushing from his wound."

Samuel Wing of the Third Maine contended that "during his whole battlefield experience, he never even heard a shriek.....'the first effect of a wound is numbness, and the wounded seldom speak above a whisper, which is hard to hear in time of battle'." (Nosworthy p.224)

So "springing with a shriek", not to mention writhing in visible agony, are perhaps less plain, everyday, common portrayals than going to the ground in quiet desperation would be. More apparent (to others) horror, screaming and so forth seem to come in a few pages later as the wounded get to the hospital. Makes me think I can easily become a hit-taker, but not necessarily a "patient"!

[JimConley]

I think Paul has made an observation that many of us have no doubt experienced. Great article Paul. I especially like the humorous comparisons, though they are true. The powder burning fests at mainstream events is just one of the reasons I, and many, have shyed away into the authentic world. Again, good topic Paul!

[AzTrooper]

sorry I hit the wrong button and posted by mistake, my apologies
John Rogers

[AzTrooper]

Howdy everyone,
I have to say that in the events that I have been to, I have noticed that very few folks take hits from artillery,I dont mean from guns a thousand yards off, Im talking about at closer range where one would expect canister to be in use.I unfortuneately only get to do one or two events a year, and they are local ones for the most part. I keep an eye on whats going on around us, if I notice that a field piece is loaded and aimed in our direction,I try to get between 6 and 8 of us to drop when the piece fires. I have been told more than once by artillery guys that they noticed us taking the hit when their gun was fired.Even if the hit goes unnoticed,the important thing to me is that if that piece HAD been loaded for real, would we have been left standing? I dont know how many accounts I have read that mention the devastating effect that canister had on troops, such as huge gaps opening in lines from a single shot , yet I rarely ever see anyone fall when a field piece goes off... much less 6 to 8 people.
As I said earlier, I have not been to a whole lot of events, so all I can comment on is the ones that I have been to.In the not too distant future I plan on moving from Arizona to either Virginia or Pennsylvania.I am honestly looking forward joining a group that portrays mounted cavalry and being able to attend events like the ones I hear everyone on this forum talk about,I have never been to a immersion event, or any like what I have heard called a history heavy event,I am really looking forward to one day being able to join you all at events such as this.
Respectfully and sincerely,
John Rogers

[AzTrooper]

Please accept my apologies for placing the first post. Honestly, I dont know how the first post got posted in the first place, I obviously hit a wrong button and posted it when I intended to preview it instead, You would not believe how many typos I get !!!! I cant imagine how many more mistakes I would make if I actually used more that three fingers when I type hahaha.
My Apologies,
John Rogers
Howdy everyone,
I have to say that in the events that I have been to, I have noticed that very few folks take hits from artillery,I dont mean from guns a thousand yards off, Im talking about at closer range where one would expect canister to be in use.I unfortuneately only get to do one or two events a year, and they are local ones for the most part. I keep an eye on whats going on around us, if I notice that a field piece is loaded and aimed in our direction,I try to get between 6 and 8 of us to drop when the piece fires. I have been told more than once by artillery guys that they noticed us taking the hit when their gun was fired.Even if the hit goes unnoticed,the important thing to me is that if that piece HAD been loaded for real, would we have been left standing? I dont know how many accounts I have read that mention the devastating effect that canister had on troops, such as huge gaps opening in lines from a single shot , yet I rarely ever see anyone fall when a field piece goes off... much less 6 to 8 people.
As I said earlier, I have not been to a whole lot of events, so all I can comment on is the ones that I have been to.In the not too distant future I plan on moving from Arizona to either Virginia or Pennsylvania.I am honestly looking forward joining a group that portrays mounted cavalry and being able to attend events like the ones I hear everyone on this forum talk about,I have never been to a immersion event, or any like what I have heard called a history heavy event,I am really looking forward to one day being able to join you all at events such as this.
Respectfully and sincerely,
John Rogers

[RN_PAC]

Hello everyone-

I recently became active in the hobby again after a 10 year hiatus during which time both the hobby and myself have matured considerably (I am now 30). It was interesting to me how my appreciation of certain aspects of the hobby have both increased and decreased, probably as a function of my personal growth. At my first large "battle" in many years I was amazed at how, well, hokey it seemed, whereas back when I was 17 I would have been thrilled by the experience. At that age, during the 125th, living history events seemed like something to do to kill the time between mega-battles; now, my attitiude has completely reoriented itself to the opposite.

I am convinced that the vast majority of reenacted battles have zero resemblence to real CW combat (I know many of you are saying "no kidding"...). I don't think it is anyone's fault; some of this is probably subject to the effort to generate reasonably decent senarios that can be reproduced. However, I reckon nothing can duplicate real human behavior when being shot at...I have to assume this, because I never have been fired upon for real. However, I think I can assume that the behavior of our modern incarnation of ACW officers, men, and units would be vastly different if there really was a hail of lead in the air, whistling around, clipping through the tall grass, splintering fence rails, etc.

I was snooping around an English Civil War website on one occasion, and came across some thought provoking ideas. Apparently, ECW reenactors, when engaging their enemy tend to be very aggressive, with their pike-men eagerly advancing to the charge and invariably meeting in a prolonged push-of-pike. This swashbuckling behavior seems to be analagous to our "powder-burning". At any rate, in reality this probably rarely occured since one side or the other would usually give way before push-of-pike was to be reached. The idea proposed was that reenacted ECW battles look nothing like the real thing; an observer would have a much more realistic picture if any reenactor struck with a pike would be subject to a fine of, say, a couple thousand dollars in lieu of actual bodily harm and pain. Then, who would be so eager to clash? Perhaps the motivation of the men from sectionalism, fear of discipline, personal reputation, etc. could be reproduced with a smaller reward of say, five hundered dollars for each "enemy" struck down. Now, I am certainly not saying that the implimentation of such a system should be attempted; it is simply a mental exercise that makes you stop and think: how many ACW reenactors would be rushing up to fearlessly stand and face a charge of hopeless odds when they would be facing a huge hit to their savings acct.? Or the forfiture of their kit? You would probably see some more realistic behavior under those circumstances!

Anyway, when I first read that it seemed to make some sense to me...

Best regards,
Tom Scoufalos

[pvtben]

Hey,

Great deal i am definitly a hit taker and i am so much into the drama i have not been to a single event where i have not taken a hit in the first 5 - 10 minutes on the field. ussally i make a big production out of it. I have no problem with it it adds to the event.

Pvt. Benjamin N. Jenkins
19th LA Vol. Infantry
vance guards

[gameface75]

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was in a super farb group for my first 2 years. But it became standard practice for me to take a hit early on in the battle, so I wasn't 10 feet from the enemy shooting straight up in the air. I actually had to refuse the officers orders to get back up and continue. So after that I would take a hit and hobble back to camp. It was probably then that the actual battles became my least favorite part of events.

Matthew, when you applied for membership with this forum, you agreed to have read our forum Rules & Regulations, one of the main rules being that ALL postings be signed with members' FULL NAMES.

Your agreement to have read those rules was your First warning, this is your Second.

Should you need refreshing, I suggest you go to this link:

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1034 (http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1034)

Scott McKay, moderator
Authentic Campaigner Forums

[hiplainsyank]

At the first reenactment I attended, a small regional one, for one of the battles they followed a procedure similar to the chit idea, except with a little more detail. If a soldier was a casualty on the piece of paper they drew, it was specified to occur after so many shots had been fired, and also, I believe, specified the severity of the wound--so one could estimate to be lying on the field (dead or unconcious), or among the walking wounded. There would be some mobile wounded in any battle, as well as the fellows who would take the opportunity to "help" their pards.

I think specifying the number of shots to be taken before getting hit is particularly important at a small event, so that there actually is something of a force left by the end. Still, this might work for larger battle reenactments, too.

Obviously, it is something that has to be a group decision.

I agree that there it's a good idea to have casualties reflect an accurate percentage.

Interesting discussion.

Joanna Norris Grimshaw

[Billy Hiatt]

When I started reenacting a few years ago, I always thought is was funny that the casualties always occured in areas of shade, especially during the summer months. Must be those darned light sensitive Reb rounds.
Billy Hiatt

[ooticamitica]

HAHA That was hilarious! I couldnt stop laughing. Sadly im a lemming :-( on occasion i am a hit taker.
-Tim Harrold

[Pvt_Jack_Bauer]

Great article! I fall into the powder burner...love making the booms!! <strike>To go along with this article A few friends of mine wondered if a group got to gether and simulated a battle with paint ball guns and determine an actual hit ratio from that. Actually using proper battle techniques and marching but just replace the ole muskets with paint ball guns. Now of course it would be up to the users to not just blast away with the semi-autos but I bet the results would be interesting.</strike>


Pvt. Brian Domitrovich
Erie,PA

[paulcalloway]

Great article! I fall into the powder burner...love making the booms!! To go along with this article A few friends of mine wondered if a group got to gether and simulated a battle with paint ball guns and determine an actual hit ratio from that. Actually using proper battle techniques and marching but just replace the ole muskets with paint ball guns. Now of course it would be up to the users to not just blast away with the semi-autos but I bet the results would be interesting.


Pvt. Brian Domitrovich
Erie,PA

Brian -
This article was meant to give a good laugh, but please don't bring up paint ball battles on this forum. That discussion will never get entertained here... not even on our worst day.

Cheerio -

[Rebel Yell1863]

Pards,
I am a hit taker. I used to take a hit and fall dead, but now I mix it up and get wounded too. Don't get me wrong, it's not about the drama or anything. Most of the time I'll go down out of the view of the people attending an event. Scores of men died and were wounded, I look at it as honoring their sacrifice. I can't imagine their pain, but if they were able to I'm sure they thought of home and loved ones. I do the same when I take a hit.

[Arthur Cavaliere]

Maybe we should'nt think of taking a hit as something bad.Take a hit---
go down with your nose in the dirt, take this as an opportunity to capture the
smell of the grass, the dirt,the burnt powder,even your own sweat ;LISTEN !
listen to the sounds of battle---the cries of the men,the sharp orders of the officers,the thunder of all weapons.FEEL!feel its effects on the ground,feel the heat or cold of the day,men walking over or on you.
Use your arms to frame specific scenes of the battle,besides occupying your time
this focuses your attention on looking for good visuals.
Combine all of the above--- STORE IT IN YOUR LONGTERM MEMORY!
Bring it home with you--no need to share your experience .This is for you.
Now! now when you are digesting a riveting battle account,reg't history or diary
you will bring all this out along with the written word before you, editing as needed.
Just another way of creating a "being there" experience.
Art Cavaliere
3rd NJVI

[8thmocav]

Haha...a great article. Gave me some much needed laughs! I'm still pretty new to the hobby. I bought a bunch of powder this year, so I definitely try to burn it when I can. Plus I bought that nice Enfield and I figure it needs to be fired! But it is fun to be a hit taker too. I think I'll definitely work on being a hit taker...if my trigger finger gets too tired!

Great fun and I enjoyed many of the comments, pards.

[Parault]

Great article Mr.Calloway I have fell (pun intended)in each of those catagories at least once or twice,ok maybe more. Down here in the South if you decide to take a hit,we have a small problem that doesn't matter up North. I am talking about fire ants. If you decide to take a hit,whether it is a wound,or a fatal hit,you must first inspect the ground. You could have a sudden resurrection of massive proportions.
All of that jumping and hollerin does bring attention to you from the spectators.

[Rob]

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ch/2007/ch070802.gif

:D

[Secesh]

Funny, but many of my Pards, myself included, actually fall asleep on the battlefield after taking a hit. I really do think that a reeanctment battlefield, no matter how hard you close your eyes, will never even come close to approximating the actual horrors of the field of battle.

[majdoc]

Boy did I miss this thread.
Anyway Paul
I can stand a lot of the above mentioned hit and miss takers. The one thing I have noted the lack of officers taking hits. One event the Commander just stood there as all the men went down and didn't do a thing. Co. commanders the same. It would look a whole lot better if officers went down and someone else had to take over, the officer not telling anyone he is out of it.

[Drygoods]

Mr. Calloway,

I'm afraid that you missed one group in your category, the no battle living history folkslike some young men I know; particularly my sons who showed up for a weekend event with possibly 5 rounds between them yet have every article of their gear and uniform meticulously chosen as though they just stepped out of a photograph. When they showed up to a HC group said "oh, we don't come for the battles, it's the LH that we enjoy." Met with jeers from the other fellows, I suppose it never occurred to them to buy more rounds, and not be so proud of their characterization abilities. Not everyone enjoys history for the battles.:(
The worst thing is, after that experience they gave up, they had no one who read books and loved LH as much to talk with. Perhaps it's just our area, but I notice that the younger men are not so interested in the battles, but enjoy the LH life more.

[Bill]

Sometimes it goes the other way.

I'm the Confederate commander at a local Mainstream event. A couple of years ago our scenario was the battle of Ball's Bluff, where, for once, our spectator "battlefield" almost exactly matches the actual battlefield. In the "real" battle the Rebs and Yanks shot at each other for most of a day and very few people got hit. It wasn't until the Federals got pushed over the bluff and stopped shooting back that a lot of them were killed. I went over the casualties of the units we were protraying during the walk through, but it seems the word didn't get down to the privates. When it was time to make the big push at the end of the scenario, I didn't have enough soldiers on their feet to do any pushing! We went running around yelling at anyone, who looked even slightly animated, that they only thought they were hurt and to get back in the firing line and attack.

Afterwards, I asked some of the guys why so many of them had taken hits and they all said they were so close to the Federals it would have looked bad if they didn't go down. What made this so funny, it was the first time in my memory we were doing a scenario that almost exactly matched the historical ranges. Everybody forgot that folks shooting smoothbores at fifty yards, with their eyes closed, don't hit much.

[Old Reb]

One Round Fired for Forty hours of total drive time: Rich Mountain.

[Bill]

One Round Fired for Forty hours of total drive time: Rich Mountain.

Tom,

And, you still had to clean your weapon. Bummer! :)

[jschweick90]

This is a good article. I always formed my own stereotypes of other reenactors while on the field.


Joshua Schweickhardt

[Officer Lightoller]

Like many have said before me, great article! Why do people never fall over when they get "shot"? Even if they do, it's just kind of an "Oops, I died." and fall over. Everyone should read this article.

[billwatson]

I'm prone to take hits just to get off my feet. But there's a couple of "negative modifiers" I think can be added to Paul's list.

-10% Horses anywhere on battlefield
-30% Mounted staff officers on battlefield
-70% Mounted amateurs with rented horses in command of my battalion.

I admit to a head-swiveling fixation on horses at events. I like horses; I ride horses sometimes; I'm not afraid of them and have a realistic, unromantic view of them.

But I took a hit at Cedar Creek in 1992 or 1993, and while doing my very best dead-as-a-doornail, face-down Dead thing, had a nearby staff officer on foot fire his pistol almost up the nostrils of another staff officer's horse, which went up on two back feet and reared away from the thing. In the process he dragged a hoof across my back, scaring the bejesus out of everyone watching and leaving me with a big, ugly bruise worthy of a car wreck or a satisfactory night in a Turkish bordello.

Ever since I've been more aware of horses than most folks. :-) If there's horses around, I tend to become walking wounded rather than Dead.

Thought I'd share that as a bit of insight best learned from a forum rather than experience.

[Farmboy]

New guy with comment.
I'm too old to do any reenacting, but interested in history and associated gear.

I did two tours in the field in Vietnam and have heard several times lately about screaming wounded.

The reality is that seriously wounded folks-chest, abdomen, head-don't make a lot of noise. They are too weak and too damaged. Minor wounds or broken bones result in the most noise.

[tater]

I had a nice, theatrical,(albiet forced upon) "death" last year when I "just happened uppon" a nice, knee deep hole, just the size of my leg. I went down, apparently without the better part of my leg, my Enfeild banged my head, knocking my kepi twenty feet off in the distance. I thought to myself, " well, at least the croud got one of those dramatic deaths today", only to find that the view of the croud was blocked by a house on the battlefeild.

Needless to say, I got some class A rib poking later that night.

Great post.

[kevin]

Hello again Gents,
I saw at the end of that beautiful dissertation on the authenticity of our sport that there was reference to the "Little Big Horn scenario". Never heard of it and didn't see anymore on it, but would love to read it. Well done, although im a bit ashamed of which category I fall into and don't care to share my farbiness with you folks.
As Always

[7thNJcoA]

I was wounded in my leg by a suicide bomber in Iraq and love to take realistic hits. Knowing what it is like to lay thier helpless hoping the corpsman will get to you before you bleed out... It sucks but makes me feel honored when I portray a wounded civil war soldier. I sometimes work with our hospitol and cover all my scars and holes with fake blood and bandages for the taters after the battle always goes over well. But one thing I never saw was someone screaming in agony for 30 minutes most wounded I saw were just plum mad and your adrenaline is going and you dont feel the pain for awile. We need to cut that out!

[Rev]

Thanks for your service, Drew. I have to concur with your comments about the screaming. I have never been shot, been shot at, but never hit. I have seen men hit and greviously wounded in different arenas of life. Only once has there been any sound coming from them like the moaning and wailing that some CW reenactors feel bound to holler. We must remember that most of the hollering, moaning, and screaming we read about in first hand accounts takes place after men have been laying on the field for hours or days in some instances.

[Longbranch 1]

Comrades,

Taking hits from artillery is vastly under represented. For an idea of what cannister will do to infantry check out http://www.26nc.org/ . Go to Gallery, then to
Camp Marshall. Last image. I believe the range was about 150 yards.

Regards,
Kevin Ellis,
26th NCT