In-Camp Scenarios

[pvtken]

Hey all,

I tried searching for this but found nothing.

I am looking for new ideas for "in-camp scenarios." We are trying to spice up our events by adding some new, smaller scenarios that are not necessarily battle related, such as mail call, pay call, having someone desert and then get caught, catching a thief and then punishing, etc. My question is, what are some other good ideas for smaller "in-camp" scenarios that I have not already mentioned.

Thanks,
Ken Huxtable

ps. If there is already a thread on this, let me know!

[BrandonEnglish]

Hey Ken,

I don't know if there is another thread, but things like issuing out Rations, or punishment are always good ones. I find that doing some in camp punishments always draws a crowd (if this is a spectator event), if not most soldiers love to watch their pards get punished. Good in camp things are public humiliation (sign around the neck, etc), posting, buck and gag (I don't reccomend the gag part), stringing up by the thumbs, and of course you could always create a wooden horse or just have a soldier ride a fence rail, don't do it for too long because you won't have to many friends afterwards.

Pay call can be fun too, especially if you start docking their pay for missing items they were "issued."

Just some thoughts.

[laxdoc]

Ken;

church action - at times home town minsters came to vist and everyone put on best bib and tucker so the minsters had good things to tell the home folks. Plus a lot of troops got religion and had bible meetings in camp.

There is sick call, some of the cures could be a killer.

A farmer coming to camp to find who stole his pig/chickens/etc.

Have fun,
Charles Watson

[AZReenactor]

Are you asking about out of the ordinary events that might occur at an immersive event or the cutesy little contrived vignettes used as filler at the 3 battles and a ball type 'streamer event?

There is quite a difference between the two and one fits in here much better than the other...

[Micah Trent]

Troy makes a good point.
If you are doing it for the public, that is one thing but if it is for an immersion type event.....:sarcastic

[Hank Trent]

Troy makes a good point.
If you are doing it for the public, that is one thing but if it is for an immersion type event.....:sarcastic

And even if it's for the public, one can get beyond the battle-tea-ball mindset, and think about the main interpretive points to get across, which would be different depending on the historic time and place and regiment.

Are the soldiers short of food and demoralized? A ration issue of meager rations with lots of grumbling will get that across.

Are they struggling under an officer who's strict disciplinarian? That's the time to show punishments.

Are they newly recruited country boys, coming down with contagious diseases? Sick call can show that.

The ORs and/or soldiers memoirs or letters or regimental histories about the specific time and place generally have either good ideas for specifics, or at least enough information to get a feel for the situation and mindset at the time.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[mattifatti]

I'm sure this book gets thrown out there in many scenarios but Hardtack & Coffee offers several ideas for you to research further.

[LibertyHallVols]

I'm just gonna assume we're talking about immersion-type stuff...

To me, its the little things, the mundane aspects of everyday life:

Issuing rations is great - Add to that by cooking them and eating them. Prepare for the event by developing creative recipes for the items to be issued.

Mend clothes
Get a haircut
Play cards (poker, euchre, whatever)
Learn some period songs - then sing 'em
Play an instrument
Go fishing and see if you can catch something with only the items a soldier might have had in his knapsack (hook, string, etc.)
Shine up your musket
Build a lean-to
Make a hammock out of your blanket or shelter half and sleep in it
Fill the pockets of someone's coat with corn, then watch the fun when they put it on
Teach a newbie the manual of arms
Play a game of baseball
Go swimming in a creek
Write a letter home
Keep a journal
Whittle

...and my favorite: Smoke tabaccer!

[Charles Heath]

"I am looking for new ideas for "in-camp scenarios." We are trying to spice up our events by adding some new, smaller scenarios that are not necessarily battle related, such as mail call, pay call,...."

Ken,

One resource rarely mentioned these days is free, easy to access, and right here. While the AC Forum has had several notable crashes over the years, the collection of event AARs can and will provide a heck of a lot of great information about "how-to" crank out both common and uncommon vignettes. Another wonderful resource is the long running Winter 1864 Yahoo! Group listserver, which has a wealth of information for a variety of documented activities, and a cornucopia of spontaneous mischief over the past several iterations. Far from being proprietary information at these two nodes, a good number of fine folks lay out what it is, how to do it, and what they'd do differently if given another swing at it.

And...this is a really big secret, so come up close to the monitor....a little closer....just a bit more..yup, that's it...the website portion of this forum (shhh, not so loud) has a heck of a fine collection of articles and links to other articles. Yes, really, and for free, too. Don't go blabblin' that about the 'Net, either.


Warning: Some of these activities require considerable research and actual hard work to prevent them from falling into that ghastly chasm known as "Bad Reenacting Theatre."

[tenfed1861]

If you have two guys in your group who don't mind some pain,have them get into a fist fight.Have them get into an argument about something,a fight breaks out,and all the soldiers bet on it.If you don't have the two pain friendly fellows,pratice the fight a few days before hand.
If the event is an 1864 event,do a religious service.Have a soldier stand up with a Bible and start preaching.
Something that is highly underrated is mail call.Have all your guys on Friday night write a letter to a pard in the group.Put it in the mailbag of your NCO,and on Sat,issue it out.Maybe send a "care package" to one of the boy in camps.Just put a newspaper,a letter,some fruits and veggies,some sweets and such in the package.
Or if nothing else,just sit around and talk.That is possibly the most period thing you can do.And since you are a "soldier",when you talk,complain.Whine about officers,the low quality of rations and clothing,the fact that you haven't heard from home in a while.Or talk about what you are going to do after the war and the such.

[NoahBriggs]

Cullen Smith's missive is a concise summary of some of the things we did at Winter of 64, including the live beating. Both contestants researched the period fighting techniques and practiced for over a year, then went at it in a roped off area. Their only concession to safety was wearing modern boxing gloves (which made it more dangerous because your fists are padded and less likely to get hurt, which means more opportunity for harder blows).

You'll notice one of the sentences has been bolded. This sentence may be the chief criteria of what separates good historical vignettes from the "ghastly chasm of bad reenacting theater." All of the W-64 participants put in research time anywhere from ten to twenty months in advance, purchased specialized stuff, and practiced at their chosen sub-speciality.

The results paid off - as an example we'll say I got some interesting interaction at the surgeon's call. I was the surgeon, and had researched the diseases, symptoms and treatments from original sources, and shared this with other particiapants to make their surgeon's call experience worhtwhile. I also took the time to make repro fake medicines which tasted like the real thing. Something happened that would be unlikely to happen at your typical mainstreamer fest. Probably not even in the same reality paradigm. This happening almost caught me off-guard, it was so well-done, and it made my day overall. Those who was there will know exactly to what I refer. :rolleyes:

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

I am looking for new ideas for "in-camp scenarios."

Don't have enough to do? Get the company together, and go out and drill some more.

Great Post, Wick... I was thinking some of the same things, especially the sleeping part minus the hammock.

Guys, what's wrong with being bored?

[c.irelan]

All I have to say on this subject is Do what comes natural that is the way that my mess works. A skit is just that a skit and nothing more, if it's planned it's not real. But I will say that makeing a production that flows with the event is very good as long as all are included ie. Pay call for all at the event not just your mess or company

[Steven B]

I've been doing some research on the Richmond Howitzers and came across some intresting activities the Howitzers engaged in while in winter quarters. These occured at the close of January 1864 at Morton's Ford on the Rapidan.

My source is "Richmond Howitzers in the war. Four years campaigning with the Army of Northern Virginia", by a member of the company. Published Richmond: 1891. From a copy in the Harvard College Library.

It seems the Howitzers were more inclined to organize into "notorious burlesque organization(s)" for entertainment.

One was known as "Lambert's Cavalry". These boys seem to be a group of pranksters and enjoyed stirring things up in camp when things were slow. They are described, "The cavalry was mounted on imaginary horses, or sticks, and it's prancing about camp drew crowds".

On some occasions, "Whenever the camp was tranquil, in moments of the most perfect quiet, the cavalry saw a fit opportunity for turning out to make a terrorizing raid". At this point the boys would charge about the camp attempting to engage their fellow Howitzers in mock combat. They, "would ride roughshod over the silent tents, charging all in it's path."

A red blooded Howitzer isn't going to stand for that, "Now and then the more peaceful occupants of tents voted the cavalry a nuisance, and, improvised as infantry, resisted so vigorously that the cavalry was compelled to fall back.." Although the cavalry was now in retreat the fun apparently didn't end. These guys were quite creative and multi-talented.

At the point of rout, "the cavalry, ever ready, would metamorphose itself, temporarily into a musical band. Then, playing upon fictitious trombones, cornets, drums, it paraded up and down, with diverse sounds and screeches intended to convey the airs of the day,".

I think an activity like the one descirbed above (wither scripted/rehearsed or spontaneous) would be a bit more enjoyable than a staged fist fight. Also I'm not sure holding a pay call would be something you would see very often, "the paymaster was well nigh invisible." Mail call occured more often.

Playing cards was also a popular pastime, "It was at Manassas that "euchre" and "seven up" were inaugurated by the Howitzers, though the overwhelming syndicate of "poker" was only fairly started at a later date, on other camping grounds."

[AZReenactor]

Aaron, Great suggestion. If fellows are bored some NCO or officer probably isn't doing his job. ;-)

Don't have enough to do? Get the company together, and go out and drill some more.

[fedcampaigner]

I think Mr. Trent makes a good point. Indiviual scenarios can be scripted depending on the particular impression. Just from my own experiences, scenarios that are over scripted don't go as planned. Just my two cents. Cheers!

[BenjaminLDavis]

Here's one that maybe hasn't been dusted off for a while ...

Scurvy is always a concern, so get a good period jug and have a vinegar ration.
We had one once a Fort Donelson, and it was most entertaining, for most . . .
there was that one feller warned us he would throw up if forced to take the ration,
and when some did not believe it real, he hurled twice!
If you issue vinegar, ask first who can stomach it!

Insect races, and the betting involved, could be done well . . .
Or you could use rodents, for real excitement.

[NoahBriggs]

Hrrmph! You ran into the same fellow I did at W-64, only he was at the aforementioned infamous sick call, and was hinting I should give him some vinegar for his ailment. Fortunately I am an allopathic surgeon and don't believe in home remedies so I was spared the spewing.

He is legend.

[YoungCampaigner]

Hello,

If you are looking for a good spontaneous activity in camp that can easily turn into an inside joke, try one of the numerous "calls" like "hey mister here's your mule!". There were a number of these kind of things where one man would yell it out and in a matter of seconds the whole camp would be chattering. Lt. Bromfield Ridley of General Alexander Stewart's staff wrote of his men braying like animals on one occasion:
"We have some of the finest mimics in the world. Let one cackle like a hen, and the monotony of camp is broken by the encore of "S-h-o-o!". Then other cacklers take it up until it sounds like a poultry yard stirred up over a mink or a weasel. Let one bray like an ass, others take it up until the whole regiment will personate the sound, seemingly like a fair ground of asses."

Hope I was of some help.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Hello,

If you are looking for a good spontaneous activity in camp that can easily turn into an inside joke, try one of the numerous "calls" like "hey mister here's your mule!". There were a number of these kind of things where one man would yell it out and in a matter of seconds the whole camp would be chattering. Lt. Bromfield Ridley of General Alexander Stewart's staff wrote of his men braying like animals on one occasion:


Hope I was of some help.

If writing letters for mail call...or trying to get into the mindset of a soldier who's writing letters home...the following links may prove to be of service:

http://etext.virginia.edu/civilwar/

http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=3723&ekmensel=fb5d653b_207_213_btnlink

Paul B.

[John of the Skulkers Mess]

For the love of pete, please don't do the good ol' drumhead court martial via the kangeroo court system. Ugh. Nothing like crime/conviction/punishment with bad acting AND under an hour's time. Been there, done that, propped up the body for photos afterward. My shame.

There have been some good ideas posted already.

By the by, I helped with one 'situation' at an event where a Federal 'platoon' stacked arms at the time of battle and refused to take the field because of Mr. Lincoln's emancipation. The other Federals (two companies) had no idea what was going on but it led to some interested banter between the sides.

Officer's call was initiated several times; deals were offered, the rascals were threatened with the firing squad. And one of the company commanders, totally unscripted, declared "we won't shoot boys from Illinois." Officer's call was again called!

John Pillers
TSM

[SJohsz]

Although a simple "scenario", I have always been partial to a reading of the Article of War, especially those articles that include death as the possible punishment. It can be made interesting or can bore the hell out of the men. Either way, it is always a learning experience.

[Charles Heath]

For the love of pete, please don't do the good ol' drumhead court martial via the kangeroo court system. Ugh.

John,

One of the more enjoyable crime-conviction-punishment vignettes was a mock firing squad using snowballs. One wag thought it great fun to throw snowballs at one of the guards, so after the guards rotated off duty, the lad found himself on the company street facing "execution." All in good fun, an no further outbreaks of sharpshooting via snowball was seen.

Good humor at the sergeant, corporal, and private level is often the best, such as tying mule ears and fabricating a halter for a punishment horse, or "fishing" in a pond inside a fort after a typical torrential coastal afternoon rain.

I have to wonder who that rapscallion was who put a bottle of popskull into the Orderly Sergeant's knapsack a couple of weeks ago just prior to company inspection. These incorrigibles! Who do they think they are? Some kind of dam--d militia?

Any of you fellers found your blouse sleeves sewn together lately? :p