Civil War Reenacting and Pipe Smoking

[virginiacob]

Thought I'd share a couple pics with you all from my "other" hobby, Civil War reenacting. The top pic was taken of me today at our annual company muster (46th Virginia Infantry, Co. F) out in the snow in Accomack Co., VA. It was a frigid day and the Confederate hooded overcoat and scarf definitely came in handy.
The bottom pic is my tobacco smoking kit that I take with me at reenactments and living history educational programs and encampments. It includes one of my "Virginia Planter" Indian corn cob pipes, a reed stem clay pipe, a brass pipe tamper recovered from an original Confederate campsite, and my hand-sewn, leather-lined tobacco pouch.

 

[deithial]

Wow, very cool gear, that has to be great to be able to be a part of that.

 

[mso489]

I'm coming to see you at the N.C. pipe show and then do a minor reenactment on my front porch. My

outfit may not be as historically correct, but I'll enjoy my cob every bit as much.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

That is very cool, Virginiacob I love civil war reenactments and would love to see one in person or even be part of one someday. Do you do other American history reenactments or just the civil war?

 

[virginiacob]

Thanks guys. anthonyrosenthal, I've been reenacting the Civil War for over 25 years. My brother and I started up the 46th Virginia Infantry, Co. F back in '96 as that's our ggg granddad's original company. We also had a ggg uncle who served as a 2nd Lt. in the same company. Our unit does a lot of living history programs, especially as volunteers with the National Park Service at the Petersburg and Gettysburg National Battlefield Parks, as well as participate in a few Civil War reenactments mostly in the VA, MD, PA, and NC area. I've always had an interest in Revolutionary War and World War II reenacting but due to time and cost, I've never actually tried either one.

 

[Perique]

Sic semper tyrannis!!!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Sounds like a blast Vcob.

 

[anglesey]

Post more pictures if you can. Being an Englishman, I've never been to an (American) civil war re-enactment, but I've always wanted to. You can imagine the market for that kind of thing isn't very large in Britain.

 

[tuold]

That's a great way to live and learn history.

 

[virginiacob]

anglesey,
Here are some pics you might like. These were taken last year at the 150th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania Co., VA. Interestingly, the reenactment was actually held on a portion of the original Spotsylvania Battlefield (fought the following year after Chancellorsville). The last two pics show the side of a home that existed at the time of the battle and you can see actual cannon shot in the side of the brick.

 

[crazypipe]

Great pictures and history ::

 

[agnosticpipe]

Thanks for posting the photos! Great stuff! I really like your pipe kit as both my wife and I like rustic items and the history that goes with them. Is the hat by your pipe kit the same one in your avatar? If so, what is it, and what kind of history does it have? And oh yeah, where can I get one? (this last question my wife requested, cause she likes me in hats for some reason) Thanks

 

[ravkesef]

Wonderful stuff, Bob, and for sure the pipes add a great deal of authenticity to the scenario. In my collection I have a clay pipe that I got some 48 years ago at an archaeological dig at Appomattox.

 

[virginiacob]

agnostic,
Actually the slouch hat that is pictured with the pipe kit is a "beehive" style fur felt slouch hat made by Dirty Billy's Hats (www.dirtybillyshats.com/) and was one of the more common broad-brimmed "slouch hat" styles of the Civil War period. While of the same color, the hat I'm wearing in my avatar is a bowler style and was made by Clearwater Hats (www.clearwaterhats.com/default.htm). Both style hats would have been considered in fashion mens' hats in the 1860s. While the French "kepi" or cap was the official military issued headgear, many Confederate soldiers preferred to wear their own civilian hats as the broad brims offered better protection from the elements and was much more comfortable than the military wool kepi. It was not uncommon, especially in the Western theater of the war, for Union soldiers to wear civilian hats as well.

 

[escioe]

This is pretty cool. A couple of the rifles have some really, really nice walnut, too.

 

[virginiacob]

Eric,
Your clay pipe probably came from the Pamplin Pipe Factory in Appomattox Co., VA. Here's a link to an interesting slide show on the history of the Pamplin Pipe Factory by the Virginia Department of Historical Resources: http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/SlideShows/Pamplin/PamplinlMapSlide.html

 

[anglesey]

Great pictures, ta for posting. Hard to believe that chimney's still standing though! I love the hodge-podge of slightly different uniforms and weapons too.

 

[virginiacob]

anglesey,
If I recall, I think the shot that struck the chimney was grapeshot fired at some distance so that's probably why it didn't do more damage than it did. Had it been a solid cannonball or explosive shell fired from say a Napoleon 12-pounder then it more than likely would have demolished it or at the very least blew gaping holes through it.
Confederate uniforms have always been of interest to me and I have actually done quite a bit of research on the Richmond Clothing Depot as well as sewn quite a few reproduction Richmond Depot shell jackets and trousers over the years. By the Fall of 1862 the Confederacy had established a pretty effective clothing depot system for getting uniforms out to the troops both in the Eastern and Western theaters of the war. While each depot had established a level of uniformity with jacket and trouser styles, they were purchasing cloth (typically a wool-cotton jeans cloth) from various domestic textile mills. The cloth was usually vegetable-dyed with dye recipes often unique to that specific textile mill so by the time it arrived at the depot you had bolts of various shades of "gray". So it was not unusual for a Confederate regiment to be outfitted in the same style shell jacket but in varying shades of color. Also, since the dye was vegetable-based, it would rapidly fade when exposed to the elements and turn from "gray" to various tan and dirty khaki colors (often times why they were referred to as wearing "butternut" uniforms). By 1864, the Richmond Depot had acquired large bolts of "English Army" cloth smuggled through the blockade from Great Britain. This bluish-gray wool kersey was used by the British for making overcoats and trousers for the British military and was of a much higher quality fabric than what was being produced domestically in the South at the time. In addition to the bolts of this cloth, the Irish firm of Peter Tait & Co. out of Limerick, Ireland contracted with the Confederacy to furnish ready-made uniforms made from this same material. By war's end, much of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had been outfitted with Richmond Depot uniforms and Peter Tait uniforms made from this bluish-gray kersey and ironically presented a more uniform appearance than they had at any other period during the war.

 

[oldmannk]

Love history. This we should not forget. Thanks for sharing the pictures. You are a so awesome by not letting others forget. A true American.

 

[tinpan]

Very cool and i always like the little historical details. Here is the only shot of my brief experience in the War of Northern Aggression re-enactments

This dates from 1976 or 1977 and i am the third one from the left. Sadly, since it was my buddies girlfriend with the camera, this is the only photo I have of me, ahhh well.