2007 School of the Clerk

[Pvt Schnapps]

The moderators may wish to pull the 2006 "School" and associated messages to save on storage. This latest version differs in several ways.

First, to save space and create a more manageable document, I split it in half.

The first half comprises the narrative discussion of military administration and various ways to work clerking into reeactments and living histories. It updates previous versions of "School," adds to the bibliography, and provides a few more original source references, but also edits out some of my digressions, as well as the appendices on "Books" (taken verbatim from Scott's Military Dictionary) and War Department office supplies (still available separately from me for the truly fanatical).

The second half comprises a selection of forms. It's important to remember that these aren't facsimiles. For those you want to contact Bob Sullivan and others. These are just reasonably accurate copies collected in one place for easy use, including some common types for which commercial facsimiles aren't available.

While it may defeat the purpose of saving space, I've also provided a copy of the second half in pdf format. This addresses the problem of people having different versions of Word and being unable to get the forms to print out correctly.

This may be my last annual update, because I'm finding the effort increasingly difficult to schedule in with other activities. Nonetheless, I'd still be happy to receive any comments, questions, or suggestions for inclusion in a revision further down the line. Just e-mail me at m.a.schaffner@comcast.net

I want to thank every member of the "Scrivener's Mess" for their help on this oddly intriguing project, especially D. V. Jacobsen for the pdf's. I also want to thank the AC Forum for having allowed the posting of various versions of the "School" over the last few years.

Thank you all, and enjoy.

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Mike,

Thanks for another great update to "School of the Clerk". It's a heck of an invaluable document, and something that I personally regard as on the same level of importance for reenactors who desire a truly functional battalion as Dom Dal Bello's seminal, and highly regarded PIE and IGP booklets.

Thanks again for your research and effort on this update, and for making it available to anyone who wants to download it. It's a great resource and should be used by reenactors a lot more often than it is. It has to do with a heck of a lot more than mere paperwork and a few guys scribbling with pens--in short, your booklet is a partial road map to how a Civil War battalion headquarters (and company) actually functioned.

Great job!

[Pvt Schnapps]

Bump, sort of. I've run across a fair amount of additional information in the two years since this came out (including things like the specific General Orders governing clothing prices during the war, and the relative value of US and CS dollars in gold over time), but probably won't get to a further revision until next year. In the meantime, the forms remain good, the basic text reasonably accurate, and the request for any comments or critiques open to all.

Thanks!!