The Company Street
Pete Culos- Editor
Well, it seems that the troops have heeded my call for more articles! I asked for event reports, and I got one! I have more thoughts on first person impressions, too. These are from none other than your former and more capable (not to mention more witty)editor, Joe Hofmann.
Our chaplain has chipped in an article on what else?; the Chaplaincy. This dovetails nicely with the next two installments of Alan Lowcher's series on first person impressions. By the way, if you've never attented one of Rev. Wentzien's period services, you should. He uses period language and songs which you will find interesting. Tony Scacifero has provided a description of the flag presentation ceremony of the original Jersey Brigade which could form the basis for a living history event.
I'd like to you leave you with one thought before I sign off. At the recent Brandywine event, Capt. Daniels asked the sergeants and officers of our company to step out of line as the units assembled on the parade ground prior to the battle. He asked us which unit looked the best. While the other units were goofing around, in all attitudes of dress, there stood the 3rd, in knapsacks, lines dressed, and ready to "pitch in". I am unashamed to say you boys looked the best. All the drill and attention to details pays off, believe me!
Event Report: End View Plantation
Sgt. Joe Hofmann
Let each an suppy himself with a Coors Party Ball, a shabby moth eaten blanket and a pair of fuzzy slippers... Daniels' men need no baggage.
-Brig. Gen. Anthony "ol' fuss and feathers" Daniels
Anytime one gets the chance to visit the Virginia penninsula, the chance should be taken. The End View Plantation event has had some good press in the past year or two, so, undaunted, a few if us made the trek down. A small event with impressive breastworks, a few cannon, and camping in the woods... this event would have been worth the while if not for the torrential rains that permeated the weekend. Friday night was a washout.. Saturday, we had a good drill and it was a nice change to have Tony as our Captain. The battle came off fairly well, however once again the Rebs jumped the bit and shortened the scenario by about 1/2 hour overrunning our positions rather quickly. As we were being pushed back, I had the pleasure of running into the dead body of one Adam Pantaze (our former comrade, now a Reb living in Lynchburg). We shot the ol' bull around for while and then the rains once again came.
Despite the seemling never ending rains, the small band of boys from the 3rd that made the event pulled together and kept a fire going, pooled our food and made some fine meals and generally made the most of the situation. Sunday dawned and true to form was a beautiful day, but many of us had had enough. Few of us made the trip to Fortress Monroe and took the nickel tour then strolled home. It is hard to evaluate this event, however, I do believe that it is worth another try.
First Person Impressions
By Sgt. Joe Hofmann
This past weekend I spent some time with my family at the Plymouth Plantation Living history site near Plymouth, Mass. Bear in mind that these folks are paid actors and do their impressions 7 days a week for about 6 or 7 months out of the year. Other than the obvious fact (to me, anyway) that they were mostly too large (tall) for most people of the 1620's, they all pulled off very, very good performances. I came away with a couple of thoughts on doing first person impressions at our events.
First off, they did not waste time pointing out 20th century anachronisms as they talked with groups of people. They merely treated us as fellow human beings stopping by for a visit on a typical day of their lives. In this way the questions and conversations seemed to flow easier and I had a sense of actually trying to converse as I was also from that time period... Many of the visitors were content to just listen to me and this one gentleman ramble away the beter part of a quarter hour dicussing politics, the southern colonies, etc. Which brings me to my second point.
If no one was speaking to them, they went about their business as if no one was there... After all we are trying to convey the drudgery of camp life.. cleaning equipment.. writing letters.. details, etc. The questions started to come as the folks watched them with their chores, and besides there were other scenarios going on down the street as well. Which brings me to my last point:
Some things that Gary Sgambati and Ed Tirpak have always tried to convey to us really hit home at this point. There was always something happening in the street. I really noticed this, almost more than anything else, nothing spectacular mind you, but life in general was being carried on as if no tourist were there. If you spoke to them, they politely enage you in conversation. Along with our daily postings of work details, I believe that each Sergeant should rotate throughout the weekend just living in the Company Street.. As we become more proficient and intricate tasks can be performed, but for the time being, be yourself.. being aware of who you are and the time frame you are in and don't slip into the 20th Century! I think we can really have a good time with this.
(Editor's note: Joe also included an appeal for his living history at Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood. My apologies for not getting this out in time. It included some first person impressions, so plan to attend it next June to try some of this stuff out!)
Creating A First Rate, First Person Impression
By Alan Y. Lowcher
What Did He Think (And Why Did He Fight)?
The two factors which most influencd what the individual soldier though and did were his knowledge (and fear) of what others thought of his actions and how long he had been in the service.
"What will the folks say at home of us?" molded a soldiers actions. Keep in mind that each company of men usually came from the same town - and a Civil War soldiers were prodigious letter writers. Some soldiers even served as front line reporters for their local newspapers back home. The knowledge that a soldier's behavior would be reported back home, in the local news, by soldiers returning home who would report news about those still at the front, and letters sent home from the front, and letters sent home from camp made the men "toe the mark". The men were concerned about their reputations and knew that their battlefield behavior would be reported home.
Letters from home - positive, urging the men to do their duty - were inserted in packages from home and strongly influenced the men. These men reflected the times in which they lived and mirrored a 19th century man's ideas of courage and what it meant to be a man. However, these viewpoints also changed over time.
In the early part of the war, through 1862 and up to mid 1863, courage was equated with manliness and Godliness. Those with faith who trusted in God would survive. Faith gaith one courage. To do your duty was to act courageously. To be honorable was to act courageously. An honorable death or an honorable wound was proof that you had done your duty and were courageous. Courage was defined in many ways and was seen as heroic action undertaken without fear for to feel fear was to be a coward. Men demonstrated their courage by "the charge"; by their ability to stand up and "take it" and not to seek cover; or, when wounded, to leave the field under one's own power, without showing pain and with bravado. The wound was a mark of honor- truly a red badge of courage. Duty caused a man to enlist. His honor caused him to remain in servcie.
And yet, away from the battlefront, the men (in volunteer regiments) were "individuals" and did not readily accept army discipline especially from officers they had known at home unless the officer unjustifed and warranted "respect". Nonbattle discipline was weak. The men were used to trying to get out of routine duties but were willing to fight and follow orders especially if couched in language that appealed their courage.
As the war wore one, their behavior started to change. The men ducked and crouched more readily. They dug rifle pits and trenches and built breastworks seeking shelter whenever possible. Sharpshooting was despised. Trench warfare was strongly disliked and was demoralizing. ("Rats to your holes") It took a toll on men's convictions. Beginning in the late mid-war (1863) and certainly by the 4th year of the conflict, men knew that the charge was doomed to fail. Their thoughts turned from courage to survival, but they still needed that courage to make the charge!
Veteran soldiers came to have less and less in common with citizens at home. Some came even to resent them - for staying at home; for not understanding the real war; for clinging to outdated ideas and ideals, e.g., "courage". Veterans especially disliked peace and advocates (no wonder McClellan lost the soldier's vote in the 1864 Presidential election!). Combat experience distanced the men from home life. They came to rely more and more on their comrades, their "pards" and their "mess mates".
How did they remain in the ranks? Discipline, comradeship, and hardening to battle. As more and more of their friends died, the soldiers lost the feeling that he has so far escaped and began to think, "I'm next". With all of the growing disillusionment, why did so many re-enlist a mid 1863?
- to see it through
- courage
- patriotism
- large bounties were being paid
- so that unit integrity would be maintained
- to receive a 30 day furlough
- to earn the veteran volunteer title (this set the
volunteer organizations apart from bounty men & conscripts)
It is important to remember that many volunteers joined out of patriotism and to avoid the stigma of the draft. Consequently, they disliked the paid Hireling
Anyone with battlefield experience knows the value of troop morale in motivating soldiers to carry out their tasks. Morale wavered as a result of a variety of factors:
- victory or defeat (especially if the soldier were "sold out" as a result of mismanagement)
- the perception of leadership in the field and in the national government in Washington D.C
- the level of support from the homefront and the impact of the anti-war activities of "Copperheads" The "copperheads' in Trenton would not permit soldiers in the field to vote*. These Democratic politicians believed that most soldiers were Union republicans. The "copperhead press" printed stories that undercut the war effort just as Republican newspapers printed strong pro-Union articles.
- hardship as a result of shortages in rations, clothing, and bad weather
- how well were things at home and the family the soldiers left behind (this was especially true when the soldier's pay was erratic and there was nothing the soldier could do to ease the problems facing a mother and her children)
Then, when morale was at an ebb, the soldier was "played out" and had "got the blues". The age of the soldier was also a factor in morale. The younger soldier (mid 20's and below) were better able to handle it. The older soldiers, perhaps those with families who knew what they were missing and what they had to lose, were more susceptible to flagging morale.
*In the fall of 1864, the New Jersey Assembly, controlled by Copperhead Democrats, voted not to allow New Jersey troops to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming 1864 Presidential elections since New Jersey Democrats were firmly behind the former Major General George B. McClellan, the Deomcratic presidential candidate. The legislators (rightly) believed that the soldiers would be loyal to uncle "Abe" and would vote for him. Many New Jersey troops complained loudly that they could not vote. They circulated petitions in camp to go home on a 30 or 60 day furlough to vote. They were upset that folks at home might vote for a man who stated that the South couldn't be defeated! Many soldiers wanted to charge down the main streets of their home towns driving the Copperheads before them. They urged their families not to vote for the democratic party candidates, especially "Little Mac" for whom some soldiers said the enemy was giving "three cheers" on his hoped for election as President of the United States.
Creating a First Rate First Person Impression
By Alan Y Lowcher
What Did He Do In His Leisure Time?
When he wasn't drilling, drilling, drilling, or campaigning, the soldiers engaged in many diversions offering a respite from the dullness of camp and the sheer terror of battle. favorite pastimes included:
Hurling appropriate epithets at some miscreant (like the guy who has to get up in the middle of the night to relieve himself, and thus, disrupts the slumber, not to mention the warm air pocket of his pards "spooning" in their "roomy" tents). Acceptable (not in the presence of the ladies, if you don't mind) fightin' words include: You S.O.B!" "I'll knock the shit out of you!" and "I'll kick your arse!"
Improve your impression and avoid obviously modern phrases and sayings. Instead, learn a bit of the language of the Civil War soldier. Try pepper your camp talk with these terms.
- deadbeat
- blowhard (puffer)
- rogues
- hell raisers
- sot/drunk (stays "tight")
- chronic forager
- bummer
- Jonah - habitual blunderer or a screw up
- "Mama's boy"
- prankster
No definition is needed for most of these words- they mean the same then as now.
Gambling. Woe unto to the unwary soldier who fell victim to the entreaties of the camp card shark on pay day! Popular card games were known as draw poker ("bluff") and 21. Dice gamers were also played. Soldiers with access to paint might also decorate their ground covers with chess, checkers, and a game called "chuck-a-luck". (I'm still trying to figure out what that's all about).
Drinking was ever popular. Whiskey, gin, brandy, wine, and beer were consumed. When ready made slcohol was inavailable, the soldiers made their own home brew which they such colorful names as "tanglefoot", "Oh be joyful" and "knock 'em stiff".
Bartering was common. Anything and everything was available for trade: tobacco, coffe, canteens, pocket knives, sugar, sardines, soap, whiskey, and playing cards. Postage stamps also served as a medium of exchange.
Reading. Many soldiers wre voracious readers of anything they could get their hands on: New Testaments, pocket Bibles, religious tacts and hymnals were found in many haversacks. Newspapers from home made the rounds. Sometimes a soldier would read aloud a letter he received from home. Remember: early war volunteer companies were almosy always recruited from the same town or countryside. Thes men knew each other's families and craved any news from home. Frequently, boxes from home might also include reading material such as "dime novels" (paperbacks) with catchy titles like "The Indian Wife of the White Hunter". Popular writers of the time included James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, and among the more educated, Greek Classical writers such as Homer. Some units even established traveling lending libraries. Chaplains sometimes requested donations of books from the homefolks. At some quiet point in the day in camp (or by candlelight at night) enjoy the simple pleasures of reading.
Sporting events. Running, boxing, wrestling and horse racing were time honored "manly" activities. Baseball (called town ball by the New Englanders) was a popular game on both sides of the Mason Dixon Line. The rules that had developed by the 1860's were very simliar to modern baseball, making it an easy sport for all re-enactors to enjoy. See the author for copies of both "baseball" (also called the "New York game") and "town ball" rules as well as examples of period bats and balls.
Letter writing and keeping a diary or a journal. The vast majority of Civil War soldiers were literate. They filled their time with making entries in their diaries or journals or in writing letters to loved ones at home. Alexander Graham Bell is going to invent the telephone only a little more than a decade after the Civil War ended. Use your spare time at an event to -dare I say it - write a letter to your wife and family about your experiences away from home.
The Role Of the Chaplain
By Rev. William Wentzien
Early Legisltaion did not provide specific duties for teginatal chaplains other than that President Lincoln wanted chaplaincy services available to the army and thus federal law provided for a religious ministry.
With no precedent or established guidelines regulating specific duties, chaplains relied on their own past experience. They attempted to provide ministerial leadership to the regiments as though they were congregations in uniform.
From this beginning, the real onset of military chaplaincy emerged as each chaplain sensed the needs of the troops and responded accordingly. Therefore as best he could, the chaplain met the needs of the soldiers, both temporal and spiritually.
It was during the Civil War when the term chaplain was first commonly used. The role was generally viewed as that of a clergyman performing spiritual work in a military context to which he was closely related. he strove to arouse the soldier's determination to fight valiantly while mainatining good personal character.
Specifically, the chaplain coducted worship services and prayer meetings at least once each week, administred the sacraments before baptisms and wedding ceremonies, comforted the sick and wounded, and buried the dead.
The multitude of tasks most chaplains undertook were over and above those associated woth the ministry. They helped remove the wounded from the field of battle, drove ambulances, acted as postamster, and correspondent to hometown newspapers whereby he made known the needs of the men and made an appeal for provisions. Some acted as bankers, persuading the men to save their money and send it home to wives and parents. Some armed themselves and fought with the men, while there were consciencious objectors and were assigned non-combatant duties.
In subsequent articles, I will single out and expound on the varied activities performed by regimental and hospital chaplains.
From the Supply Wagon
By Qtr. Mstr. Sgt. Don Howe
Being busy recreating my house, this is my first correspondence of the year. At last nights meeting, i was officially informed that the trailer is not insured. Today I called my insurance company to find out what my policy covered on the trailer. Liability coverage is the only thething they cover. From what I understand if an accident would occur such as the trailer sideswiped someone, the other person would be covered. This would not cover the trailer or it's contents. I have reservations about myself pulling it on this policy. The reservations I do have are the following:
1. To properly register the trailer you must have insurance. This is for the registration renewable every year.
2. If there is an accident our thousand of dollar's trailer would be lost, not to mention the unsuable equipment inside.
3.If the trailer was broken into at my house, where it is stored, I am liable for the contents inside.
(Editors Note I believe that the trailer is now insured)
Hopefully the people who have so graciously offered to pull the trailer before will think about these points before pulling it again under these conditions. I can not ask anyone to pull the trailer wothout asking your insurance company exactly how you are covered. Being responsible for all that money that is tied up in that trailer may make this a personal decision.
Keep your mules moving.
Presentation of Colors to the New Jersey Regiments
(excerpt from the Sussex Register, Newton, NJ, Friday, May 8, 1863)
Submitted by Tony Scacifero
On the 26th of April, the First New Jersey Brigade was drawn up in due order for the purpose of receiving the regimental Flags awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Regiments. Governor Parker reviewed the New Jersey Regiments, and assured them of his desire to aid and confort them in the field, where he felt they would sustain the traditional renown of the State. Aside from the regimental reviews, he was honored br Brigade and Division demonstrations. Gov. Parker made a patriotic and approriate speech upon the occaison, and Colonels Collet (1st NJ), Buck (2nd NJ), and Brown (3rd NJ) accepted on behalf of their respective Regiments the standards presented. They are all one of description, beautifully executed, of deep blue heavy silk, with golden colored fringe of the same material. Upon one side are the state arms and the following inscription: Presented by New Jersey to her (each Regimemt properly numbered) Regiment in remembrance of their gallantry at Crampton's Pass, Md, September 14th 1862. The reverse has the American Eagle in a halo, and the same inscription.
After the presentation ceremonies were over, Gov. Parker visited each Regiment seperately, the officers assembling at Regimental headquarters to receive him, shaking hands with all. He was then escorted by the Colonels through their respective camps, the men being drawn up by companies, front on the officer's streets with arms stacked.
The Third New Jersey was at that time encamped on the heights across the river from Fredricksburg. On the day the regimental flags were presented, the corps commanders were ordered to be prepared to move at a moments notice. Rations and ammunition were issued to the men, and on the 27th of April, orders were issued to move. General Sedgwick's Sixth Corps moved out of camp at three o'clock in the afternoon. The First New Jersey Brigade was detatched and sent about 2 miles down river to support two batteries stationed at Gray' Point. (Baquet, 1910, p. 75)
Wouldn't this be a great ceremony to re-enact at a future living history?