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Greetings to all, North & South--
I am a 48 year old HS teacher living in Lebanon Ohio with a life-long obsession with all things Civil War (I hold an MA in American History, but my first interest comes by way of my great-grandfather (Amos Moore) was a member of the 33rd VA Infy, Stonewall Brigade, who fought at 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg (wounded), Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg (where he lost most of an arm and was made a POW afterwards--I have many of his personal effects, including a written post-war remembrance of his experiences, a UCV medal from 1902, and a Union "wristbreaker" sword that I think was a war trophy--it has been bent by a ball and likely discarded). Anyway, ever since I saw my first reenactment (New Market VA in the mid 70s, near where my family hail from) I have wanted to participate, but always lacked either the time or the funds to do so. Now, I fear I am getting close to the age of absurdity, I fear, as I am now much older than most soldiers were (my gg was 19)!
As I have observed the hobby from afar, I have tried to figure out where I'd belong: I love both sides (don't we all?), and would like to portray both, but also feel I should start with the Union side for monetary and learning curve reasons. As I follow it, there has been a segregation of the hobby into hardcore and mainstream camps, which led me to your website. My heart wants to be with the former, of that I am certain, however, my age and lack of experience ever reenacting before tell me that only the mainstreamers would accept me! I am in fairly decent shape, and am a US Army veteran from my youth, but have never drilled with a Springfield, etc... My wife just thinks I am crazy for wanting to do this at all! However, I have gone from devouring Civil War books of all sorts to a more recent preoccupation with first hand accounts/life of the common soldier, and it still isn't enough for me! Two years ago the school where I teach foolishly (IMO) decided to throw away all books that had not been checked out in 5 years--lucky for me, as I ended up with nice copies of The Life of Billy Yank, Johnny Reb, and others (including one that dated to 1896 entitled Recollections of a Drummer Boy)--reading them has me wanting to get closer to the period.
Thus, I have come to this forum to seek the advice of those who know. Teaching has made me fairly thick-skinned, so please do not hesitate to be honest! Am I too old to do authentic? Am I too green to do authentic!? On the flip side, most of you authentic campaigners likely started in mainstream units, so there must be some value in the experience...what did you like? What really bothered you? Of course, money is a concern here too--I cannot afford to equip and then re-equip! The rifle is my main concern, since they are so pricey. I know there are "defarbing" services for them, but this seems like even more expense. Any advice/opinion on these issues would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely and Respectfully,
John V. Sigler
Lebanon, OH
I am a 48 year old HS teacher living in Lebanon Ohio with a life-long obsession with all things Civil War (I hold an MA in American History, but my first interest comes by way of my great-grandfather (Amos Moore) was a member of the 33rd VA Infy, Stonewall Brigade, who fought at 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg (wounded), Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg (where he lost most of an arm and was made a POW afterwards--I have many of his personal effects, including a written post-war remembrance of his experiences, a UCV medal from 1902, and a Union "wristbreaker" sword that I think was a war trophy--it has been bent by a ball and likely discarded). Anyway, ever since I saw my first reenactment (New Market VA in the mid 70s, near where my family hail from) I have wanted to participate, but always lacked either the time or the funds to do so. Now, I fear I am getting close to the age of absurdity, I fear, as I am now much older than most soldiers were (my gg was 19)!
As I have observed the hobby from afar, I have tried to figure out where I'd belong: I love both sides (don't we all?), and would like to portray both, but also feel I should start with the Union side for monetary and learning curve reasons. As I follow it, there has been a segregation of the hobby into hardcore and mainstream camps, which led me to your website. My heart wants to be with the former, of that I am certain, however, my age and lack of experience ever reenacting before tell me that only the mainstreamers would accept me! I am in fairly decent shape, and am a US Army veteran from my youth, but have never drilled with a Springfield, etc... My wife just thinks I am crazy for wanting to do this at all! However, I have gone from devouring Civil War books of all sorts to a more recent preoccupation with first hand accounts/life of the common soldier, and it still isn't enough for me! Two years ago the school where I teach foolishly (IMO) decided to throw away all books that had not been checked out in 5 years--lucky for me, as I ended up with nice copies of The Life of Billy Yank, Johnny Reb, and others (including one that dated to 1896 entitled Recollections of a Drummer Boy)--reading them has me wanting to get closer to the period.
Thus, I have come to this forum to seek the advice of those who know. Teaching has made me fairly thick-skinned, so please do not hesitate to be honest! Am I too old to do authentic? Am I too green to do authentic!? On the flip side, most of you authentic campaigners likely started in mainstream units, so there must be some value in the experience...what did you like? What really bothered you? Of course, money is a concern here too--I cannot afford to equip and then re-equip! The rifle is my main concern, since they are so pricey. I know there are "defarbing" services for them, but this seems like even more expense. Any advice/opinion on these issues would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely and Respectfully,
John V. Sigler
Lebanon, OH
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