The Behavior of Soldiers Wounded in Battle by Kevin O'Beirne, Columbia Rifles

[paulcalloway]

"Howling Dervishes Dancing and Kicking Around in our Ranks": The Behavior of Soldiers Wounded in Battle by Kevin O'Beirne, Columbia Rifles.

The attached article is provided here with permission by Kevin O'Beirne, Columbia Rifles.

[Kevin O'Beirne]

This article was published as “Taking Hits: The Behavior of Soldiers Wounded in Battle”, Civil War Historian magazine, January/February 2006, Vol 2 No 1, and was re-printed without permission as, “The Behavior of Soldiers Wounded in Battle: Taking Hits”, Camp Chase Gazette magazine, September 2006 (plagiarized article credited to “A.J. Fisk”).

This article is also included in The Columbia Rifles Resarch Compendium, 2nd Edition.

[Officer Lightoller]

That really helped me. I just wish I knew how to ad moulage at a moment's notice (Blood spraying, torn limb, etc.) It's a very nice article, and every reenactor should read it.

[tater]

the only shortcoming with the "blood" spurting from ones mouth, or the sudden spurt of "blood" issuing forth from ones body, is that all forms of fake blood that I have seen stain clothing. So unless you want to have a bloodsoaked uniform, then you should keep at a distance from the fake blood.

It would be interesting to see people dragging severed limbs on and off of the battlefield.

[drsimm1776]

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE A COPY OF The Columbia Rifles Resarch Compendium, 2nd Edition., 1ST EDITION ETC?
drsimm@juno.com

[Dale Beasley]

"It would be interesting to see people dragging severed limbs on and off of the battlefield".--Tyler Gibson

NO it is not, I assure you.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Dale-

Agreed.

-Johnny

[woodsda]

Dale, agreed, seeing wounded and dead in real life is not fun, especially when you know them!!!

Don Woods
USMC
OIF II

[Kevin O'Beirne]

all forms of fake blood that I have seen stain clothing. So unless you want to have a bloodsoaked uniform, then you should keep at a distance from the fake blood.

It would be interesting to see people dragging severed limbs on and off of the battlefield.

Regarding the fake blood, staining of clothing is just one reason why one rarely sees it used in reenacting, and usually when it is, it's by someone with a "head wound" or something similar.

As for soldier-impressionists "dragging severed limbs on and off the" field, why would soldiers in the Civil War have done such a gruesome thing? This isn't a George Romero film. In those days when it was hacked off by a cannonball, it was gone for good. They didn't re-attach limbs in those days.

I suggest that there's a difference between portraying a wounded soldier and portraying the gore that was present on every Civil War battlefield. The former is certainly feasible and probably desirable for those who do "more-accurate" portrayals overall; the latter is, like "authentic" disease, an aspect of the Civil War that reenactors do not and should not portray. The reason why the topic of battlefield gore was covered at all in the essay is because it was a reality of the battlefield, and it's important for reenactors to understand if they are going to actually be knowledgable about this subject.

Regarding the CRRC, if you want info on obtaining one, use "www.google.com" with "Columbia Rifles Research Compendium" in the search window, or go to www.columbiarifles.org and click on the big CRRC2 icon.

[BobbyHughes]

"It would be interesting to see people dragging severed limbs on and off of the battlefield".--Tyler Gibson

NO it is not, I assure you.

Dale, agree 100% Half the reason I can tolerate this hobby is the lack of blood. Somethings just dont need to be seen again. Seen it, had a comrade lose an arm, No Thanks. We start doing this, I am out.