The Watchdog

THE WATCHDOG

Volume 2, No. 2 Spring, 1994 Guarding your interests .... The staff of The Watchdog has the pleasure to announce "Making a Good Impression: A Seminar for Civil War I addition to our editorial department. Mr. Geoff Walden Reenactors" will be held October 15- 16, 1994 at Belmont 1s accepted a position as associate editor of The Watchdog. Mansion in Nashville. Tennessee. This workshop for both r. Walden is well-respected nationally for his research on military and civilian reenactors is sponsored by Tlte Citizens' field rifles and all things Confederate. His expertise will be Corrtpanion, The Ladies' Soldiers' Friend Society. and Belmont .remendous asset to our publication. Mansion. Beth Miller will be the keynote speaker, conducting On March 5, 1994, The Watchdog made a donation of a workshop on women's outerwear of the Civil War era. Other !00.00 to the Mill Springs Battlefield Preservation Associa- presentations include uniforms and military equipment, a lec- )n, in fulfillment of our pledge to donate our profits annu- tureldemonstration on 19th century ballroom dancing, a tax ly to battlefield preservation efforts. The Mill Springs Battle- seminar for reenactors. and a presentation on the material cul- :Id Preservation Association is one of Kentucky's most ac- ture of the Civil War. Registration for the two day program is le preservation organizations, helping to preserve and inter- $75.00 (a box lunch on Saturday is available for an additional zt this significant battlefield. Information about the Mill $7.00). To register, contact Jean Byassee, 2805 West Linden )rings Battlefield Preservation Association is available from Ave.. Nashville. TN 377 1 2; (6 15) 292-5365. r. William Neikirk, Box 3 18, Somerset, KY 42502-031 8. In future issues of The Watchdog we will feature articles We have two updates on past issues. Our January number on Columbus Depot jackets, civilian shirts, lighting devices, atured an article by Karen Rae Mehaffey on cosmetics of and Federal frock coats. e Victorian era. Unknown to Karen or to us at the time, ere is now commercially available a fragrance from the time mriod. When the steamboat Arabia was excavated, among SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION e cargo were bottles of a perfume so perfectly preserved that The WatcMog(1SSN 1067-2729) is published quarterly by e still aroma was detectable. This fragrance has been repli- The Watchdog, Inc., a non-profit corporation in the ted and is being marketed under the name 1856. It is avail- Commonwealth of Kentucky. Subscriptions are $7.00 le through the museum store of the "Treasures of the Arabia"' annually. To subscribe, send name and address with useum in Kansas City. The museum is located at 400 Grand check or money order to: {e., Kansas City, MO 64 106; (8 16) 47 1-4030. It's pricey The WafcMog $24.95, but would be the perfect complement to a lady's P.O. Box 4582 ~letteon that special living history occasion. Frankfort, KY 40604-4582 For an excellent article about U.S. Anny cups during the THE WATCHDOG Accepts no advertising. Contributors and e 19th century, see "Army Tincups on the Western Fron- writers receive no compensation for their articles. All profits mr" by Paul L. Hedren in Vol. XLIV, No. 2; Summer. 1992 are donated annually to battlefeld preservation organizations. ition of Militan, Collector and Historian, the journal of the Contributors are solely responsible for the accuracy of the Impany of Military Historians, North Main Street, research and for the opinions expressed In their articles. estbrook. CT 06489. The author describes three major ?es of common Civil War era cups. The article stops with II Copyright 1994. All rights resewed. II zntion of events early in the twentieth century, what the au- Nicky Hughes, Pubiisher Ir calls "the ens? of the aluminum and enamelware era." Susan Lyons Hughej, Editor formation in the article generally confirms our piece about Tom Fugate, Associate Editor ps in the Winter, 1993 edition of The Watchdog, including GeoN Walden, Associate Editor :fact that "US" stamps indicate cups made after the Civil Barbara Kelly, Staff Artist We Drank From the Same Canteen? Christopher Daley

While Federal reenacting units look smart marching inDress with several makers in the North to recover and reseal old Parade with kersey blue canteens and white cotton straps, it is canteens. doubtful that many original Civil War companies were accou- tered in this manner. The M1858 Sling Journals. letters, and memoirs of many veterans of the Civil The M 1858 was originally designed to be used with a rus- War downplay the importance of the canteen and question the set leather sling. The sling was to be six feet long and have a necessity of being issued one. These sources frequently men- buckle. At the start of the Civil War, manufacturers of the tion that tin cups were used more efficiently than canteens. M 1858 began touse cotton or linen slings as substitutes. These However, since every reenactor needs to carry a canteen for straps were also to be six feet long. The leather slings were in safety reasons. it is essential that this piece of equipment be ~isepredominantly until the winter of 1863, when the Quarter- analyzed in order for it to be accurately reproduced. master Department realized that the leather slings, after be- In a recent issue of The Watchdog, the publishers expressed coming wet. would stretch and split. Although manufacturers their view on the use of stainless steel canteens by reenactors. still produced leather slings for the M 1 858, the cotton web- To further enhance the campaign against their use, if one of bing or linen slings were more reliable. the stainless steel canteens is measured and compared to the Many alternatives were used instead of the issue straps, specifications prescribed in the Qtmrtennaster :r Montml, you including rubber and a combination of leather and cotton. In will find that these reproductions are considerably larger than the field substitutes for lost or defective slings were old sus- either the originals or the conventional tin reproductions. Of penders and heavy string. NOTE: Although there were black the tin reproduction M 1858 canteens found on the market. the leather slings used during the war, russet was the color pre- majority are close enough to the proper measurements that it scribed by the Quartermaster Department for leather slings. is unnoticeable to the eye. While the size and shape of the tin reproductions are accu- Cork Attachment for the MI858 rate, there are three aspects of the M 1858 canteen that should The original specifications for the cork attachment called be examined to determine the authenticity of reproductions: for a brass chain. This evolved into a tin chain by the start of the covering, the sling, and the cork attachment. the war. By the end of the war the Quartermaster Regulations called for four pieces of cotton twine twisted together, 20 inches 'The Cloth Covering of the MI858 long, and doubled over. Ofthe M 1858 canteens that survive, Both the United States A rnly Rides nnd Reglrlations and few have the brass chains. The tin chains and twine attach- The Qunrtcrmasrer 's Manual specify that the M 1 858 be cov- ments apparently were issued equally. This does not account ered in a coarse, cheap, woolen cloth or heavy cotton fabric. for tin chains beingreplaced by string. Leather shoe laces Ilowever, neither volume states the actual color, weight, nor also provided an excellent substitute, and many photographs weave of the fabric to be used. suggest that the MI858 canteens had no attachment at all. Inactuality, only 2% of surviving M 1858 canteens observed by this writer have kersey blue covers on them. The majority of the coverings are brown jean cloth. The weave and weight SURVEY OF MI858 CANTEENS of the wool are both heavier and tighter than that found on reproductions, which normally have 12 ounce wool on the out- Using artifacts found in recent publications on the subject side. and in museums in Gettyshurg and Washington, D.C., Ihave In 186 1 the War Department altered the trouser color from surveyed forty-five M 1858 canteens, with the following re- federal dark to kersey blue due to a shortage of the former sults: color. However, manufacturers could not spare thousands of yards of greatcoat and trouser colored wool for canteen cov- Types of Canteens surveyed erings. Alternative fabrics were preferred and extensively used. Burlap, old socks, and army blankets became viable substi-' Smooth Side 28 tutes for the much-needed and more expensive kersey blue Bulls Eye 17 material. The Quartermaster Department also had contracts CANTEEN COVERING fixed to the bottom and the other two at a distance of 4 inches each, measured from the outside of the mouth piece of nozzle; Brown Jean mouth-piece cylindrical, of hard white metal. 718 of an inch in Grey Jean diameter, edged over at the top, strongly soldered on and se- No Cover cured to the canteen. To contain three pints. Federal Blue VELVET CORK: to fit the mouth piece, I 114 inches long Kersey Blue and capped on top with tin, through the center of which ex- Federal Issue Blanket tends a galvanized iron wire. 118 of an inch in diameter. with a Burlap loop at the top, 718 of an inch diameter (inside), secured at the Leather bottom of the cork by a galvanized or white metal washer and Wool Sock screw nut. AITACHMENT: to the loop of the cork wire and one of SLING the loops of the canteen. shoiild be a strong piece of cotton or linen twine, made with 4 threads. hard twisted, 20 inches long White or off white and doubled together to prevent the loss of the cork. Leather COVERING: A coarse cheap woolen or woolen and cot- No sling ton fabric. Suspenders SLING: to be of leather with a buckle or made of linen or Red cloth cotton doubled over and seamed at the edges or else of cotton Vulcanized Gutta Percha or linen webbing, 314 inches wide and 6 feet long. Rubber with a cloth cover WEIGHT: I I ounces. Cloth & leather Sources CORK ATTACHMENT Davis, William C. Rebels & Yankees: Fighting Men of the Civil Tin 15 War. New York: Smithmarks Books, 1991, p. 136-7. No chain 14 Echoes of Gloq: Arms and Eqrripnrent ofthe Union. Alexan- Twine I I dria: Time-Life Books, 1991, p. 198. 206-208. Echoes of Glop: Arms and Eqrripmenr of the Confederac.?. Brass 4 Alexandria: Time-Life Books, I99 1, p. 208. Leather shoe lace 2 Letters of [he Qrtnrtermas~erGeneral f Oflcod 1861-1865. Unpuhlished documents, National Archives, Recorcl Group This survey not only allows us to see what has survived 92. the war, but gives us some ideas on how to improve the im- National Park Service collection at Gettysburg National Military pressions of Civil War reenacting units. Usually the term Park, Gettyshurg. Pennsylvania. "authentic" in the reenacting community translates into "ex- Qua~-ternrnster'sMarrrrol. Unpuhlished manuscript. National pensive." This is one aspect of every reenactor's impression Archives, Record Group 92. that can be improved inexpensively. The author's sugges- Revised U.S. Al-rns Rrrles orid Regrrlations: 1863. Government tion: 'buy two square feet of a jean or coarse woolen mate- Printing Office, Washington. D.C., 1863. Smithsonian Museum Colleclion. Museum of American History, rial, use the old cover as a pattern, and recover your canteen. Washington, D.C. The next time your canteen sling breaks, don't run to the Sylvia, Steven W. and Michael J. O'Donnel. Civil War Con- merchant with your wallet, improvise. Patch the sling or use teens. Moss, 1990, p. 100- 136. an old pair of suspenders. When your cork chain rusts through; find some twine. Christopher J. Daley is o r~rer~rberof the 119rh New York Volrtn- teers, arid serves as hisloriarr jor tllot gmrrp. He is o strrdenl 01 Late War Specifications Iiofstro Utriversity and n sensonnl eniployee at OIl Berhpnge Vil- - lage Restnraliorr in New! York. He has been researchitl~original CANTEEN: two semi-spherical plates of XX tin corm- canteens nnd their specificatiorrs at the Mri.~ertnrof American His- gated and strongly soldered together at their edges; 7 518 toy, Gethshrrrg Nntiorrnl Militon! P(rrk, the Qrin~ernmslerMri- inches in diameter, three tin loops 1 inch wide and 114 inch seunr in Fort Lee, Virginia, cnr/i.de Barracks, West Point Librnry deep. well and securely soldered on the edge of the canteen, and ColrtrnhiaUniversiO'. for the carrying strap to pass through, one of these loops ltying to Bag a Good Sack Coat

Mike R. Cunningham and Nicky Hughes

Considering how commonly they were wom during the Civil inch longer. Sack coats originally were issued in only four War and how important they are to modern-day reenacting. sizes ranging from a 36" to 42" chest. The size was marked in one would think that accurately reproduced Union Army sack the sleeve lining by numbers or dots. along with contractor's coats would be very common these days. This is not in fact and inspector marks. Reenactors whose foraging efforts have the case. This brief article will introduce our readers to the been unusually successful should obtain sack coats with ample realities of sack coats -originals and reproductions. We can room for the full movements of fatigue duty. say, in general. that many rnodem reprodrlctions are only vague The 1865 Quartermaster's report states that 3,685,755 lined interpretations of the appearance of the original coats, and and I. 809,207 unlined coats were produced, a ratio of nearly that many of the features of reprodl~ctioncoats are exagger- 3 to I of lined sack coats over unlined. The body lining was ated versions of details of coats actrlally made during the Civil either a lightweight kersey wool flannel, or "linsey," a wool- War. cotton blend. The colors vary from coat to surviving coat. We must first face the depressing fact that no fabric seems Khaki brown was very common. but grey and dark blue lin- toexist today that perfectly re-creates the wool flannel used in ings also survive. The sleeve lining was lightweight unbleached Civil War sack coats. so all of our coats are going to involve a cotton muslin. degree of conlpromise for the foreseeable future. The Unlined sack coats had flat-felled seams at all places ex- Q~rclrternioster's Mntiirc~lof 1865 specified that the body of cept the top edge of the sleeve. Flat-felled seams are seen on the fatigue coat was made of "3 yards, 4 inches of 314 (27" better men's shirts then and now. On a flat-felled seam, the wide) blue flannel" weighing "5.5 ounces per yard." The fab- interior raw edges are tucked in and stitched down, either by ric of the sack coat is of light weight but tightly woven wool, machine or whip-stitched by hand. Treating the seams in this with a distinct diagonal in its weave. Many modern sack coat manner made the coats sturdier - a prudent feature when wools are too loosely woven to survive very long on an actual there was no lining to protect the seams from damage due to campaign. Other sack coats are much too heavy, with a weight rubbing against suspenders or other sources of friction. comparable to that of trouser wool. The familiar kidney-shaped inside-breast pocket was It is difficult to describe the color of original sack coats present in both lined and unlined issue coats, and its stitching because there are slight variations of color and features among was subtly visible on the outside of the coat. Pockets were surviving original coats. All federal cloth was dyed with pure occasionally rectangular along the top edge, rather than curved. indigo, which produces a rich shade of dark blue - not a The Qirartennaster Manrtal specified that the backside of the medium blue, but less dark than that normally seen in today's pockets in unlined coats be made of brown linen, but existing reproductions. The color definitely was not blue-black or navy specimens display the wool fabrics found as body lining in the blue. There might be a light greenish tinge, but there was no lined coats. The inside edge of the pocket opening was usu- purple hue to the color. Photographs in the Time-Life book, ally faced with an inch of the wool used in the body of the Ecltoes of Glow: Anns and Eqiripmetit of tlte Union, pages coat. 107 and 125, are good for fatigue coat detail, but do not quite Collars on most reproduction coats are too large. Those of capture the actual color. the original coats were only 2 112 inches high at the back seam, Original sack coats exist that were entirely hand-sewn, that and 1 112 to 1 314 inches at the neck. Collars were slightly were sewn both by hand and machine, and that were wholly rounded at the front, although it was equally likely that they machine-sewn. One authority has observed that the coats from would be square along the bottom. The outermost edge of the the Schuykill depot were hand-sewn, coats from the Cincin- collar did not dip below the horizontal line running through nati depot were of mixed construction, and St. Louis depots the top button hole; the appearance was not that of a Peter Pan were entirely machine-sewn. Button holes were consistently collar. hand-sewn, and most button holes were simple slots. The The facing stitching down the front of original coats was Qirclrtennast~rMnnrtnlcalled for dark blue linen thread to be usually tapered, being wider at the collar than at the bottom used throughout the coat, although heavier thread, which has hem of the coat. That stitching runs parallel to the front of faded now to a tan color, was used to reinforce the button most reproduction coats. The notch in the cuff is routinely holes. exaggerated in size in today's reproductions. Those of origi- The body of the issue fatigue coat consisted of four pieces, nals were indented only 112 to 314 inch. and was cut to fit loosely. The sleeves were made of two Sack coats, though sometimes maligned by their wearers, pieces, and the hem was either even with the cuffs, or about an almost always demonstrated quality workmanship. The gov- ernment wanted coats that woilld last. and its agents were will- ing to pay for well-made garments. In 1865 contractors were charging $4.37 each for lined sack coats. Depending upon whose formula is used, that works out to something like $90 in 1994 money. Ironically, the modem-day reenactor must expect to pay at least that to get a sack coat made according to the observations noted in this article. We know of no perfect reproduction sack coat available on the reenacting market today. The following makers produce garments that are acut above the run-of-the-mill reproduction sack coats (pun intended), in our opinion. Use this list only for guidance in your shopping- we can make no unqualified recommendation. Probably these are not all who are making high quality coats. If some makers would like to have their names added to the list in a later issue of The Watchdog, they Enfield Snap Cap should send us coat samples for evaluation (preferably in size 4!).

County Cloth, Inc.; 31797-C Georgetown St., NE, Paris OH 44669; (216) 862-3307 - lined blouse for $135, other options available. ENFIELD ACCESSORIES Geoff Walden New Columbia; Box 848, Middlebury. VT 05753; (800) 383-5927 - Union fatigue blouse, lined $190; other options Want to improve your Enfield impression? Ditch those available. nipple protectors that have a lead head and a brass sink stop- per chain -- the real things were nothing like that. This type is Spencer Waldron; P.O. Box 5 I, Cherry Valley, NY 13320; just something some merchant made up, and we shouldn't have write for catalog and prices. them. The correct style should have a head made of iron, with leather disks to take the blow of the hammer; the chain should be six tear-drop shaped links, with a brass S-link attaching it SOURCES to the head, and an iron split ring for mounting on the sling - swivel. Proper repros are available from Naugatuck Novelty McKee, Paul, "A Survey of Sack Coats in the National Co., Box 27 1 Newton Rd. Northfield, CT 06778. The price Museum Collections," The Company Wag Vol . I,No. I, is about $7.50. February, 1988. The piece above is re-printed with permission front & 'Federal Enlisted Uniforms of the Civil War Period," video Adiutant's CalG the jowmnl of the Forrrth Kentlrckv Irtfnntty, tape by Smithsonian Institution, Roberts Video Publish- CSA. Ceo8Walden, editor: Mr: Walden is nt present working ing, 1980. on a "confederate nccorrtrem~nts"piece for afirtlrre edition of The Watchdog. What Did They Really Look Like?" Lecture by Mike Cunningham to annual meeting of the 15th Kentucky Infantry, Us. Army, (Reactivated), Inc., Frankfort, Kentucky, January 15, 1994.

Mike C~rnninghanris a seriorrs coNecfor of original Civil War rifornis , and has prchlished articles in -r's Civil =and Militae Inranes. Nickv Hsghes, for twelve years crcrator the Kentuck Militaty History Mrtseltm. is the prrblisher of The ztchdog. Sunken Treasure - The Steamboat Arabia Readers of The Watchdog. get thee to Kansas City! We great idea. Unfortunately on the day we visited, the female promised to keep our readers apprised of exhibits worthy of living history interpreter ruined the overall impression by be- attention. Well, every Civil War reenactor should visit the ingdressed in "the uniform" of the female Civil War reenactor Treasures of the Arohio Museum. - white blouse, gingham skirt, crocheted hair net, modem The steamboat Arohio sank in the Misssouri River near glasses and wrist watch - instead of a correctly-styled dress modem-day Kansas City in 1856. In the late 1980s a group from the period. of treasure hunters excavated the boat and found much of its Unfortunately. the Arohia museum has no published cata- two hundred ton cargo to be preserved in mud - the river hav- log of its holdings. Also they have as yet reproduced nothing ing long ago moved its course away. Since 1991 many of the found on the boat except some perfume (which we recom- items retrieved from the boat have been available for public mend to out female readers, by the way). So, you .have to go viewing at this downtown Kansas City museum. Conserva- to Kansas City to take advantage of this opportunity. Visit the tion and preservation activities keep much of the collection Afnhin at 400 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri. Tickets out of sight for the time being. but neverthelesss there are thou- cost $5.50 for adults and the museum is open Monday through sands of objects to be seen in the museum's spacious galleries. Saturday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday noon until 5 p.m. This collection provides us with a three-diminsional cata- -- N.H. log of the appearance of everyday mid- 19th century objects. Nearly everything shown in the museum was intended for sale DON'T TRACK MUD IN HERE.... in Nebraska stores. and much is in new, unused condition. Here, often by the dozens, scores. and hundreds, are tin uten- OK, here is something for the reenactor who has every- sils, textiles, hats, shoes, tableware, china, eyeglasses, hand thing -- the advanced living history practitioner, we should tods, hardware, bottles, boxes, buttons, cooking pots, mea- say. One sees photographs and reads accounts of soldiers suring devices, lamps, lanterns, candles, cutlery, foodstuffs, using pieces of carpeting for various purposes. Small carpets cans, medicine, tobacco, pipes, matches, jewelry and so forth show up once in a while in images of officers' tents, and Con- and so on and on and on. Anyone who wants to re-create mid- federates were known to carry around pieces of carpeting for 19th century items, or who wants to be an intelligent pur- use as ground cloths or in place of blankets. Now you can get chaser and user of such reproduction goods, should take ad- really spectacular pieces of reproduction carpeting -- of mate- vantage of the resburce provided by this collection. When rials and styles dead-on accurate for use by those re-creating used with the similarly recovered cargo of the Bertrnnd, an- the Civil War. We recommend the products of Family Heir- other steamer, sunk in 1864 and excavated near the Missouri Loom Weavers (R.D. #3, Box 59E, Red Lion, PA 17356). River in Iowa over a hundred years later, and with items from Not everything they make is right for our purposes, but their the raised gunboat, Cairo, at Vicksburg, the Arohio museum "Geometric & Floral" two-ply ingrain is just about perfect. holdings are particularly valuable for Civil War enthusiasts. You can see a large sample on the floor of the Noah Webster One Arohio "find" reflected directly upon apiece in an ear- house at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Another lier edition of The Watchdog. The museum exhibits two pieces good choice would be their "McLean House" pattern, which of "enamelware." However. these pots confirm rather than the National Parks Service used on the floor of the McLean refute our contention that the enamelware used by some House at Appomattox (Confederate reenactors might not be reenactors is inappropriate for re-creating the Civil War erq. comfortable with this one, though). The Arohio pots are of very thick, heavy iron, coated on the The catch, and the reason we recommend this carpeting to inside with a deep layer of glossy white protective material. the reenactor who has everything already, is the cost. Work- These vessels have a lot more in common with modem-day manship like this isexpensive. You can obtain a roughly two- Crueset cookware than they do with the blue-speckled, gray, yard, hemmed sample of the "Geometric and Floral" ingrain or white enamel or graniteware sometimes used by reenactors for $1 50. In quantities appropriate to covering the floors of (this is not to say that it is OK to use Crueset cookware!). If rooms it goes for $97.00 a yard. The "McLean House" car- someone tries to use the Arohio cargo as justification for that peting retails in quantity at $1 35 a yard. But we gotta say, a stuff, don't believe them. piece of this carpeting would look really great on the outside The most disappointing part of viewing the Treasures of of a Confederate reenactor's blanket roll, and we would have the Amhio Museum was their living history interpretation. a lot of admiration for the Union officer or civilian refugee Surrounded by galleries filled with the material culture of the reenactor who would flop a piece of this down at the door of 1850s. a room setting has been re-created. showing many of their tent! the items from the collection in their intended setting - a -- N. H. BREAKING UP IS EASY TO DO (AND IT GETS RID OF MODERN STRAW BALES) Hank nent

Event hosts generally provide hay or straw for bedding in the field, and if a farmer wants to use the straw he bales it neatly baled, and reenactors use the extra bales around camp out of habit and convenience. for convenient benches and tables. So whereare all the Civil There's no need for reenactors to invest in period baling War photographs of hay or straw bales used as camp furni- machinery or hand-tie their straw to create a period "look" for ture? I haven't found any. probably because straw at that camp. Simply break up the bales. Or, if you can base your time was almost never baled, and hay, when it was baled, camp impression on period evidence of 40-pound bale furni- was produced by 1860s machinery the produced enormous ture, we'd certainly like to know about it. bales weighing nearly 250 pounds - a little too heavy to carry around camp. NOTES Hay is grass or similar plants, such as clover, cut in the summer and dried to be fed to animals in winter when green 'David P. Price, editor, Modem Agriculture. University forage isn't available. It is not necessary to bale hay, and in Park, NM: SWI Publishing Co., 1989, 182. fact, baling can damage hay, causing not-quite dry hay to Robert Leslie Jones, History of Agrictrltlrre irr Ohio to ferment, overheat, spoil or smoulder.' The only reason to 1990. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1983,277. A bale hay is to make it easier to handle. A farmer of the 1860s similar baler is described by Valerie- Anne Giscard d'Estaing, who used all his hay for his own livestock had little reason to The Second World Almanac Book of Inventions. New York: invest in the cost of baling. If he was going to sell it to areas World Almanac, 1986, 145. where there was more need for hay than land available to 'Jones, 278. grow it - in cities - the economics changed. The cost of 'Giscard d'Estaing, 146. transportation and storage needed to be figured into the price 'Jones, 270f. of hay and baled hay was easier to load and transport and used less space in storage. Baling machines came into use in the first half of the 19th century for baling cotton as well as hay. The Civil War era and earlier "cotton and hay press" "had an iron screw anda For photographs of period hay bales see: device called the beater to shove in the hay as the screw was being withdrawn; it produced bales four feet by two feet, William C. Davis. "Fighting For Time," The lntnge of Wnr: weighing roughly 250 pounds." The next generation of 1861-1865 (Garden City, NY Doubleday & Company, machines. introduced in the 1870s, produced bales weighing Inc., 1983), p. 309. over 100 pounds."nother modem option, the large round bale, is based on technology of the 1 950s.' ."The Guns of '62." Tlte Image of War: 1861- Though straw was useful as bedding and sometimes as a 1865 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., not-very nutritious cattle feed, it was mainly a by-product of 1983), p.24 I. grain production. Machinery to speed processing of grain was becoming available during the Civil War, but farmers still performed some or most of the work by hand.s Grain was cut in the field and stacked or tied in sheaves or bundles with the ripeends, containing the grain, all pointing the same Harrk Trent has been n reennctorforfivevears, ar~dholds way. These were then threshed to dislodge the grain itself. ntentbership in several grolrps. incllrding the 36tli Virginia The stalk in the sheaves left over from threshing were straw. Infantry, CSA. He was fonnerly employed as an interpreter There was no need to bale it at that point, because it was still at Corlner Prairie, n livirrg histor?, village in Irrdinna. At compactly bundled for the thresher. Modem machinery, on present, he and his wife. Lirtda, are reconsmrcting a rvorkirrg the other hand, takes the grain and leaves loose straw strewn 19th centuv farm in Gnllia Coanry. Ohio. PASS IN REVIEW An Introdrrction to Civil Wor Ci~iliansby Juanita Leisch; The Hardcracker Handbook - A Guide to Re-creating Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications. 1994; $7.95. the Western Federol lrfantrymnn. By Cal Kinzer, The Hardcracker Project. 2026 E. 1040th Place South, Bixby, OK Perhaps the best tools we as historians have to research the 74008. Cost $23.00 post paid. Civil War are the numerous photographs of the period. Just as we at The Watchdog encourage those researching the mili- Buy this book. Buy it especially if your impression is that tary equipment of the Civil War to use photographs as docu- of a western Federal infantryman, but even if not -buy this mentation. so, too are photographs a valuable resource for book. Don't expect anything fancy, though. Mr. Kinzer has those interested in learning more about civilians of the period. photocopied much of the best material available for accurately Juanita Leisch has provided an invaluable service to reenactors re-creatin~the appearance of Civil War soldiers from a wide in publishing a survey of every-day life during the Civil War variety of sources and bound it all under one cover. He has as seen through the lens of a camera. Utilizing previously collected particularly useful articles from Camp Chase Ga- unpublished images in private collections alongside well-known zette, Reeltactor :F Jotrrnal, Civil War Cavalry Review, and photographs from a variety of public institutions, An Inrro- other publications - including, of course, The Watchdog. dtrctiort to Cirvil Wclr Civiliatis is valuable for clothing re- Also printed here are extracts from the newsletters and au- searchers and for those looking for evidence of the material thenticity guidelines of several exceptional units. Much is culture of the period. Compelling images and well-chosen copied from The Companv Wag, the pace-setting historical text make this brief survey enjoyable as well as useful. As publication of The Mudsills. This makes their fine articles on with the author's other publications, Women's Wear Daily and hats, trousers, and shirts available to non-Mudsills. The de- Children's Wear Daily, An Introd~rcrionto Civil War Civil- tailed guides to acquiring reproduction items adopted by the ians demonstrates an excellent understanding of the historian's loth Kansas and the 54th Massachusetts regiments are par- art. Well-researched and documented, this book deserves a ticularly useful - even though we at The Watchdog might place on the bookshelf of any civilian reenactor or anyone not agree with every recommendation made in them. Articles interested in civilian life during the Civil War. about ammunition, vocabulary, eyewear, knapsacks and bed- --Editor rolls, haversacks, weapons, textiles and so forth make the book of enormous benefit to all Civil War military reenactors -- eastern or western, Union or Confederate. Buy this book. --N.H.

THE WATCHDOG . Guarding Your Interests.... P.O. Box 4582 Frankfort, KY 40604-4582

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