Perryville 2006 AAR

[fahtz]

Re: Perryville AAR

I know all the Wide Awake Film crew and our selected pards had a good time running around and filming different aspects of the event, and some of the best footage any of us have taken in years while working on the small scale close up stuff. Spring 2007 b'hoys you will see what we all think to be the best DVD yet!

[AndrewMartin]

Re: Perryville AAR

I think what happened to the AC when it went down, was like a dam breaking allowing a "farb overflow" to pour into our authentic town!

I'm reading posts on this site that I never thought I would read! Whatever?

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Perryville AAR

No offense at all - good to keep things properly dressed, as it were. In this case we are A/C'ers who have attended an event that gives other reenactors the opportunity to learn and grow in the ways of A/C recreation. I look forward to the chance to spread the 'gospel' of A/C whenever I can. Events like P'ville make that possible.

Jim Moffet

[AZReenactor]

Was Perryville an Authentic Campaigner event?

So Perryville was just a national Mainstream event that allowed farbisms but made accomodations for C/P/Hers to camp seperately, right? Seems to me simply allowing folks to sleep off in the bushes away from the normal zoo doen't make an event authentic. So why are we discussing it here?

More likely this event and its after action reports would better be discussed over in Oz.

[Dan52d]

Re: Perryville AAR

The AC is the new Oz. Or has that already been pointed out?
I’ve seen so many references to how great it was in this or that Farb battalion I thought this was Oz. :sarcastic

Dan Deal

[Spinster]

Re: Was Perryville an Authentic Campaigner event?

So Perryville was just a national Mainstream event that allowed farbisms but made accomodations for C/P/Hers to camp seperately, right? .

Troy, at its inception, it was not meant to be. While the NSA, taken as a whole, is more aptly described as 'progressive' than hardcore, the organization continues to upgrade its own standards and functions.

The politics and funding mechanisms that forced this event into a shared mainstream to uberfarb event were simply astounding. Made my head hurt, and I LIKE politics.

As this end of the hobby endeavours to preserve itself, implement its own funding mechanisms, and grow without sliding back into the mainstream, there will always be struggles.

We will lose patience at folks who can't follow simple rules, and play smack down rather than teach.

Folks who really don't want to learn will wander over here and mess in our playhouse because its the kewl place to be. Myself, I've grown so testy in recent months, I've contained my postings to the OTB because I'm not fit for polite company most days.

So yep, we are discussing it here because sections of it were absolutely grand. As long as that invisible fence stayed up between the separated camps, we did ok. Not great, but ok.

And I know we've done some good teaching in the last few years--Its not unusual for perfectly good hardcore fellers to be utterly clueless about correct women's attire of the period. We spend a lot of time giving the "what a red-blooded man would know about women's clothing" lecture.

And so I took great satisfaction as I saw one hardcore feller come a bit unhinged :baring_te Sunday morning, as one very mainstream gal in a skirt, blouse, no corset, ding-dong belle hoop, and a hat with "follow me boys" ribbons on it came parading down our little street, accompanied by some dandy in an electric blue uniform with about a zillion buttons on it. "How dare they come down to this town and farb it up!" said he.

Well, that's what happens from time to time with the AC as well. Who knows, maybe they looked around and saw that they did not look like the rest of the folks there. Maybe they learned something.

[coastaltrash]

Re: Perryville AAR

Good Lord, people can't even post about an event they went to without folks getting all sensative and turning it into an "Us vs Them" bullshit cry babyfest. If you KNEW flat out it was a mainstream event (call it what you will) and went, then point fingers at people who attended the same thing, then you are point blank a hypocritical person. I enjoyed myself, the authenticity was the same as any other NSA event I have been to, but I still had fun. Conley worked hard to make the LH area for us away from others and out of the way, I don't think anyone walked away with a bad feeling. It was a mainstream event, with some campaigners attending, just like every other one out there.

[Jerry Gouge]

Re: Perryville AAR

Did I forget to mention that on our way up to Perryville, the rather large van we were riding in was totalled by an even larger cement truck in Atlanta? even that didn't keep us from our appointment with destiny - we hitched a ride with another pard and crammed 6 full-sized men in a not-so-full-sized Jeep Cherokee. Lesson(s) learned: God was looking out for us, its great to travel light, its a long way from Atlanta to Kentucky with very closely packed pards, and Momma was right - wear clean underwear because you just never know! You should have seen the look on the cops face when we brought out the fake rubber leg with the brogan on it at the accident scene!

You forgot to mention that on the way home the Jeep said "enough is enough" and one of its coolant hoses burst. Thankfully it burst while we were ensnarled in a traffic jam on the southern slope of the mountain between Kentucky and Tennessee. So we put the gear in neutral, left the motor off and coasted to the bottom of the hill while still in bumper to bumper traffic. When we got to the bottom we creeped to the nearest auto parts store, replaced the burst hose, ate some Italian soft tack and then loaded the 6 of us back into the Jeep. Then on to hot Lanta. If I did not preach it before, let me preach it now....TRAVEL LIGHT!

Jerry Gouge
1st Georgia Regulars

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Perryville AAR

Joe,

Just to clarify, when Jim Moffet said that this was the first time we have had salt pork he wasn't speaking of slab bacon. That has been our main staple of meat for years. This was the first time we have been able to find actual salt pork, much different from slab bacon. We had to boil it a couple of times before we fried it just to get it to be tolerable. I truely enjoyed this since that is what I have read of the old boys doing.

As for camping mainstream, there was alot of canvas in about half of our battallion but our entire company which was the largest in the WB 2nd battallion slept on our gum blankets. Saturday we marched to a field and that night there was no cnavas.

Personally for me, having a good impression, accurate uniform and kit is very important. I love to experience life as a soldier as close to the way they would as possible and would just as soon not see farby impressions and canvas all around me. But I also enjoy helping others see the how much more gratifying it is to be more progressive in their impressions and attitude. I don't see how this can be done if you are always secluded and feeling so superior to all of the "Mainstreamers". Friday night someone from the tent city just up from us looke at our company street and said to one of my pards "wow that looks awsome. That's really the way to do it isn't it."

I would love to see the hobby grow more authentic but juist classifying people as Hardcore or Mainstream and separating your selves sure doesnt make it very appealing to those who may be flexible enough to grow.

Just my .02 worth.

Ben,

That is great you and your guys are trying to do it right. But, why not push it one more step? Why not participate at c/p/h events? Or go to events like Perryville and camp and fight with the c/p/h groups? It seems a waste to rough it and be in the midst of the circus. In any case, you were at least leading by example at Perryville.

Jim Butler

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Perryville AAR

I agree with Ben & Liz. I've been improving my impression since getting started in 1972! Back then I lived in Pennsylvania & joined a very much "mainstream" unit. Looking back over the decades, there were specific moments that stand out when I met 'hardcores' who aided my development into a better reenactor. Almost all of these have been at large scale, national events, like Perryville 2006. This year, one fellow asked me "Why aren't you guys using dog tents?" I told him they hadn't been issued yet, so we don't use them here, and that the baggage trains with other tents were not near the field at Perryville, so we sleep under the stars. He went away questioning his own authenticity - maybe we will see him campaigning at Mill Springs.........

Was Perryville perfect - well, no. But the state of the hobby is doing pretty well, as I see it. We could sure use more participants, but it has NEVER been easier for a fresh fish to start on the right foot - to be highly authentic quickly. This website is a testimony to that fact.

An old Mudsill motto runs "Prior to each event, every reenactor should look at their impression and improve one part of it." (Or words to that effect.) I live by this motto - we all should. Having real salt pork to wrestle with, rather than slab bacon, was one for me this year at Perryville.

For me, what makes ACW military living history 'better' than other eras/periods is the ability to get together once or twice a year and put thousands of men into the field, properly organized into brigades of battalions, squadrons and batteries. It was an honor to help command a 125+ man battalion (the Western Brigade, 2nd Battalion), and using as much of the School of the Battalion as we could in a 48 hour timespan. This just cannot be done in other recreated periods. And it cannot be done if we limit ourselves to authenticity standards that are so rigorous that there are only 150 guys allowed in! (I'm 49 years old - proper standards wouldn't let me in unless as a field grade officer!) Seeing other battalions being properly maneuvred makes my heart skip! One area where I'd like to see improvement would be for more battalions to stop marching around by the flank - that's basic company drill.

I had a great time at Perryville. I experienced things I'd never experienced before, and had the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with others who wanted to 'do it right.' I'm really looking forward to Mill Springs - it will be fun to do a very early war western theatre event: all you Feds got your frock coat yet?

Jim Moffet
Minnesota First
Western Brigade

Jim,

I liked your post. But I have one question...why do feel the need to keep at least one or both feet in a mainstream organization? If you really are pushing the envelope then it seems like a logical step you would try to particpate with the c/p/h guys at an event (mainstream or c/p/h event).
I hear lots of good talk, but I don't see any of these guys leaving behind the canvas circus. Without creatings ome physical space between the canvas city and your groups more authentic camping style, you are really just wasting your efforts and not supporting those that may think more like you.

Regards,
Jim Butler

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Perryville AAR

You sure you werent at Perryville??

Joe, Ben, Liz, and a few others posting on here lately, this is the Authentic-Campaigner forum. We like events that hold participants to the proper standards of uniforms, equipment, camping, drill, etc. If only 300 people show up, then thats 300 people having a good time the way we here at this forum think it should be done.
As a matter of fact rule #1 of the A/C forum rules:
[No Farbism - All discussion here must strive toward authenticity - this is not the forum for status quo reenacting or status quo thinking. Don't come here to argue with hardcores about what they are doing "wrong."]

Everyone should read the rules of posting, before posting. I hope I said this without hurting any feelings.


everett taylor

Yeah, it seems like the new name should be the "Pseudo-Authentic-Campaigner" forum.

Jim

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Was Perryville an Authentic Campaigner event?

So Perryville was just a national Mainstream event that allowed farbisms but made accomodations for C/P/Hers to camp seperately, right? Seems to me simply allowing folks to sleep off in the bushes away from the normal zoo doen't make an event authentic. So why are we discussing it here?

More likely this event and its after action reports would better be discussed over in Oz.

Just sleeping off in the "bushes" is NOT what authentic reenacting is about. You clearly have mythical misconceptions. Did you spend time in the AOP camp?!

Jim Butler

[Hobbit]

Re: Perryville AAR

Landrum,
AMEN bro. My thoughts exactly.

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Perryville AAR

Well regardless of what everyone else thinks about Perryville, I still had a great time. And to the officers, and NCO's of Co. C 42nd Ind. you did a great job, and I look foward to future events.

[csa blacksmith]

Re: Perryville AAR

Good Lord, people can't even post about an event they went to without folks getting all sensative and turning it into an "Us vs Them" bullshit cry babyfest. If you KNEW flat out it was a mainstream event (call it what you will) and went, then point fingers at people who attended the same thing, then you are point blank a hypocritical person. I enjoyed myself, the authenticity was the same as any other NSA event I have been to, but I still had fun. Conley worked hard to make the LH area for us away from others and out of the way, I don't think anyone walked away with a bad feeling. It was a mainstream event, with some campaigners attending, just like every other one out there.

Amen, I'll have to agree with you. Everyone has to start somewhere. I'm wondering if its even worth getting on here anymore.