Staying warm

[Evil Dog]

I know that I'm going to catch some flack on this one..... I'm one of those that has a real problem with cold, especially when trying to sleep at night. A canvas A-frame tent isn't exactly the warmest environment that I can think of and I am of the age where sleeping basically on the ground is no longer a viable option.

Granted an accurate representation is what we should all strive for but that doesn't mean that I am going to leave my dentures at home just because acrylic teeth didn't exist in the mid-1860s. When it comes to sleeping comfortably I maintain that what is used inside my tent when the doors are tied shut is more or less just my business. I have no problem with an air mattress and sleeping bag being covered with a period-style blanket during the day. Come nighttime though my propane fired Mr Heater will be in use if needed.... and yes, there is adequate ventilation.

[tompritchett]

I can understand the issue with being cold but I have found that using a tick mattress and some form of head cover does wonders for helping keep one warm on cold nights, especially when complimented with a sleeping bag. The tick mattress filled with straw (or the air mattress) will insulate you from the ground and the head cover (bac something - bloody CRS again) really makes a difference. Last year at Cedar Creek I was as comfortable as a bed bug even though it was as cold as blue blazes outside of my tent. The only time that I need the sleeping bag is when the temperature is going to drop around the freezing point.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Its all in the proper layering. A balaclava, knit cap, or flannel sleeping cap on your head, and fresh, dry socks on the feet, along with the suggestion of the mattress tick can make all the difference in the world. I've also found that by using an issue blanket, or one that comes close to the large dimensions of such, folded in half (half under, half over) is almost like having two blankets. Invest in a couple of good size blanket pins to help with that. You can keep layering more blankets if needed to further toast up.

[tompritchett]

A balaclava

That is what I was trying to remember. I have used both the a knit cap and a balaclava and found the balaclava to far superior as it both kept the heat from escaping from the back of my neck and could not work itself off as the knit cap did occassionally. As far as a vendor for well made balaclavas, I am extremely satisfied by the one that Karin Timor made for me.

[hanktrent]

When it comes to sleeping comfortably I maintain that what is used inside my tent when the doors are tied shut is more or less just my business.

If you attend events where that's agreed to by the organizers, and your unit agrees to it, what does it matter? Wear a pink tutu and play the accordion, for all I care. :cool:

If you don't want to learn how to keep warm the way they did in the 1860s, then the obvious alternative is to hide modern things to make it look like you do. If you do want to learn it, then clearly you're not heading in that direction, but if you don't want to, that's up to you. (Hint: They didn't sleep in A tents alone.)

The only sticking point is that you can't demand to do whatever you want at every event, because some organizers and some reenactors are in the hobby for other reasons and want to reenact with others who are there for similar reasons.

If you believe what's in your tent is your own business, I'm just curious why you felt the need to announce it to everyone. I believe that what my wife and I do in our bedroom is our own business. Hey, everybody, wanna hear about it? :D

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[GaWildcat]

I would agree with everything Ross and Tom said; and add a few things. In addition to dry socks, change into a dry shirt, and if you can drawers. The more you have on thats dry, the warmer you will sleep. You can also heat a rock, and keep your feet on it inside your blankets. Eat before you sleep. The calories your burning will keep you warm. Visit the sinks before bed. Insulate, layer, and keep your head and feet warm and dry.

Remember the acronym COLD
keep your clothes Clean, avoid Overheating, Layer your clothing, and keep it Dry. You can also pair up with a pard, and share blankets and ground clothes (one over and one under) and body heat,

I learned alot about keeping warm while serving with the 6th Inf Div (Light) in Alaska. Most of our ops were in the winter, so we learned fast. We learned how to sleep in a hooch in the snow without heat sources, and most of what I mentioned is from that experiance

Good luck.... aint no reason to be freezin'.. and if your in the infantry.. travel light, freeze at night!

[Blair]

I could be mistaken but if I interperate the reasoning behind Evil Dog posting was to perhaps get some input on what kind of bedding/sleeping alternatives there might be from the obvious modern choices.
You know, ideas from people that have been doing this sort of thing for awhile and were willing to share that info.
His other postings have been similar in nature. I personally find searching for advice to be a good thing. It does indicate his interst in trying to be more authentic.
Blair Taylor

[Poor Private]

When are you goin to bed? dusk? 10pm? remember when you go to bed your bedding is still of a decent temperature, and it doesn't take much body heat to warm things up. Now get up in that cold tent when the temp is 20-30, to go use the sinks or the nearest tree. That there bed is goin to be stone cold when you come back. How do I know? Well when you get to be a certain age body functions don't work the same way they used to.
Now since the bed is cold I am goin to spend the next 1/2 hour laying there shivering until it gets warmed back up. Besides that there are not too many events that are held when it gets that cold. Here in Michigan events start in May where you might need an extra blanket at one event, or if you choose some form of extra heat wether from a candle or oil lamp. You shouldn't need any other form until late fall where you run into the same condidtions. Here in Michigan most events begin in late May and end in the middle of October.
We have a feller in our unit (Morgans Raiders) who is a vet vet of WWII, and the 101 Airbourne, and at 82 years of age can still take the field in original civil war equipment, and hold groups of kids enthralled by his knowledge of civil war history (too bad I can't do the same). I Have seen 30 -40 kids just standing there listening to him. If you want to hear an accurate reb yell he's the man.
If he wants to add to his comfort whom am I to say no (not saying he does or doesn't).

[hta1970]

At Bristoe Station I learned a trick to stay warmer. I was under a fly tent and thought my single blanket, in addition to my clothes and ground sheet would keep me warm.

Temperatures were dipping into the 40s during the night and dew was forming everywhere, including on me under the fly tent. So I looked over at the others under the fly and saw they had their ground sheets wrapped over top of themselves and were sleeping soundly, as their snoring proved. Well I wrapped that ground sheet over myself and got some good sleep at last.

As for the headcover. A kepi won't do it, won't stay on and your head loses lost of heat, especially if you are like me and have a bare spot up there. So a sleeping cap is on my wish list for the off season.

If you live like they did in '63 you will discover very quickly what works and what doesn't work. Try cotton socks some time then sit down at an event with Karen Timour and find out about wool socks versus cotton socks... even in the summer.

Army life wasn't easy, but I can manage for 48 hours without a medical emergency. I get to go home at the end of ther event to a warm house and a soft bed. Which makes me appreciate the memoirs of men on campaign getting to enjoy a soft bed and how deep they slept

If you live it, you can teach it and appreciate it. If you read it, you can merely attempt to regurgitate it, but you can never appreciate it.

[billwatson2]

Change your paradigm: Don't think about warming your bedroom with heat, think about isolating and insulating the space for one inch around your body. Straw, rubber blanket underneat, wool, oilcloth on top, some kind of wool head covering.

I've found hard ground isn't a problem if you gouge out depressions for hips and shoulders. And remove everything that's nobby down to the size of half a pea. :-)

Managed to stay warm in some mighty cold places with this arrangement, down to maybe 25 degrees. (And dry, too, through some downpours. You wrap that oilcloth around the outside of the groundcloth and become one of those little bugs that curls up in a ball.) And I'm not exactly sprightly and quick to rebound any more, either. The only time I had trouble with cold was at one of Chris Anders' late winter drills in western Maryland, where we were trying to sleep on snow. Miserable. Those who were there remember the floating fires with snowmelt running underneath.

Footnote: This presumes you've got wool down to the skin. Cotton next to your skin will hold moisture from sweating and chill you out about 2 a.m. Ditto wet socks. Ditty anything polyester, it is your enemy in the cold night. I'm ambivalent about shoes. If it's windy-cold, I leave them on, because sooner or later a foot escapes from the cocoon.

[Pvt Schnapps]

"Evil Dog" I'd be the last person to give you flack about your decision, but I will say that you may be selling yourself short and denying yourself some fun. One of the enjoyable aspects of the hobby is discovering how folks did things back in the day and you've just received a lot of useful advice on how you can be authentic and actually stay warm. Let me make a suggestion. Since you already have a tent big enough for the heater and some other stuff, bring a few extra blankets, a knit cap, and other clothing as suggested and give the alternative a try. If you really can't stand it, throw all the straw out and crank up the propane.

I've been to so many events this year that I've started to authentically hate the army, but one thing I've come to enjoy is the freedom and sense of self-sufficiency that comes with sleeping outside. Some of the beds were so comfortable they've become some of my fondest memories of reenacting: foraged corn stalks from a farm on the James in November; a pile of dried leaves and pine needles the same month some years later in North Carolina; cut grass at Burkittsville; dried leaves at McDowell -- as a bonus you get to tell people about it afterwards and let them think you "toughed it out" when in fact you had a perfectly comfortable evening.

Besides, at some point all the work that goes into providing the comforts at home just isn't worth it. You aren't home, and no amount of stuff piled into an A tent will change that. But you can still be comfortable. All of us have been in your position, but some of us have been lucky enough to have friends show us how to get by with less and have more fun doing so. A number of years ago a man named Tim Kirk looked over my crammed A tent from the dog tent he was sharing with a friend and remarked, without the slightest note of condescension or sarcasm: "I ain't hard core -- I just got tired of carrying all that crap."

He taught me something important without even trying.

And Harry, I'm sorry I snored. :)

[skamikaze]

And Harry, I'm sorry I snored. :)

Snoring is the least of your problems, Schnapps. Screaming bloody murder was a great wake up call:)

I thought forest animals were getting mauled in the woods behind our camp.

[hanktrent]

I could be mistaken but if I interperate the reasoning behind Evil Dog posting was to perhaps get some input on what kind of bedding/sleeping alternatives there might be from the obvious modern choices.
You know, ideas from people that have been doing this sort of thing for awhile and were willing to share that info.
His other postings have been similar in nature. I personally find searching for advice to be a good thing. It does indicate his interst in trying to be more authentic.
Blair Taylor

I didn't read it that way at all. He seemed perfectly content with his sleeping choices and said that he saw no need to use period methods at night in the privacy of his own tent. So period suggestions would be of no interest, and he seemed to have found a modern solution that worked for him.

It seemed to be just an announcement: here's how I keep warm at night and since it's inside my tent it's my own business. Where did he indicate he wanted to learn how to keep warm using period methods?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[jthlmnn]

Regardless of the intent of the original poster, I, for one, have read the suggestions with great interest. Some reminded me of tales my older relatives told about winters "on the farm" in the early 1900s (up to and including the 1940s). My thanks to those who posted them.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Snoring is the least of your problems, Schnapps. Screaming bloody murder was a great wake up call:)

I thought forest animals were getting mauled in the woods behind our camp.

That's just what happens when I get over-heated :)

See you next Saturday on the W&OD.

[Company C, 9th KY]

This year I am going to use something that I used in the Scouts and something that the Indians used to keep warm...hot rocks. Indians kept potato sized rocks in or very near their fire and when they went to bed, they wrapped the rocks in cloth and they stayed warm all night. You do have to be careful though, the rocks can burn you and even possibly catch things on fire, but they work great!

Respectfully,

Pvt. Kirk

[skamikaze]

Keeping dry socks is the best way to stay warm. I've always used the Head Hands and Feet method. Keep those covered and you'll be warm. Case in point, I used to play ice hockey in Illinois on the Hennepin Canal. I would wear shorts and a t-shirt but have on a wool hat, Jofa Gloves and thick socks and stay pretty warm.

For reenacting, sharing warmth with a pard works best. My pards and I sleep in a square around the fire in two "L"s. Two pards sleep feet to feet and share a blanket over their feet and the other two do the same. We usually try to heat a stone to put by our feet too. Hot rocks are great. Sleeping four in an a-frame gets pretty warm too.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

"Granted an accurate representation is what we should all strive for but that doesn't mean that I am going to leave my dentures at home just because acrylic teeth didn't exist in the mid-1860s. When it comes to sleeping comfortably I maintain that what is used inside my tent when the doors are tied shut is more or less just my business. I have no problem with an air mattress and sleeping bag being covered with a period-style blanket during the day. Come nighttime though my propane fired Mr Heater will be in use if needed.... and yes, there is adequate ventilation."

IMHO, we should let the lad speak for himself.

As I read the above, my take is that while he feels it is fine to strive for authenticty- his request is what Modernisms can be used inside and out-of-sight in an A Frame tent to counter the ill-effects and uncomfortableness of the cold.
Which is not the same as a question as to how Period soldiers dealt with the cold.

Others' mileage will vary...

CHS

[peedeeguard]

I was into Mr. Heaters, A-Frames,cots and,all of that other heavy crap. I saw the light when my truck broke down and I had to drive my car to an event. I was debating on whether to go or not, because it was going to be cold. I froze the first night at the event, but on Saturday I talked to a couple of guys who were just using what they could lug in from the parking lot on their backs. They gave me some of the same useful advice I have seen in this discussion. That night I was not as warm as I would have been with a heater, but I was not freezing either. The best part of it was that the weekend was more of an adventure rather that just another event and I found out that I could stand around and talk to people after the reenacment instead of going and getting my vehicle so I could pack all up of the crap I brought with me and load it back up.


I really don't care what someone has in their closed tent, that is their business, just so it is hidden from everyones sight. So I ain't going to preach to you, but why don't you try parking your car when you arrive and lug in what you will need for the event on your back, and also one trip? You will be suprised at the amount of stuff you can do without. If your health does not permit you to do so, then as far as I am concerned do what you have to do to stay warm and keep everything hidden as you have stated.




Dewey McRae
23rd. N.C.T. Co. D

[reb64]

I know that I'm going to catch some flack on this one..... I'm one of those that has a real problem with cold, especially when trying to sleep at night. A canvas A-frame tent isn't exactly the warmest environment that I can think of and I am of the age where sleeping basically on the ground is no longer a viable option.

try as you might, issue items equaled health problems, exposure, etc. I have had 4 issue blamkets and a sleeping cap and still froze. the modern army has a multi part sleeping bag and the inner green one is light and rolls up nice in a pack or other and will keep you warm enough to almost sub zero. but besides the experience and personal discipline learned, you dont get points for sticking it out. a good fire is a nice companion too.

[ScottWashburn]

I can sympathize. I've always had trouble keeping warm at night. Even at a July scorcher I'll usually be pulling on the blankets before morning. At a cold event like Cedar Creek I've found that a second gum blanket on top (as well as the usual one underneath) can make a big difference. A warm sleeping cap is a must, too. It can be done without resorting to modern stuff, but generally with far more period stuff than any soldier would normally carry. I feel very sorry for the real soldiers.

[53rd OVI]

speaking of staying warm at events.....where is a good suggestion of finding a mattress tick for stuffing hay in and so on. I know when I was into this really heavy before I got out that the change of socks and shirt before bed were good. Also hitting the head before bed did make a big difference in the morining to avoid the "oh man gotta pee" and it is 20 degrees out and your bouncing off the bedding looking for the shoes and ready for the door. LOL!!

Something under the bedding (ground cloth) and nice wool blankets are great to use. Just add layers on then take off what is not needed later. Head covering keeps you nice in toastie through the night. Just my 2 cents

[Claude Sinclair]

I fail to see the point of the original post. If it is none of my business of what is behind closed flaps then why make it my business by telling me? By telling me seems like you are inviting me to agree or disagree. I could really care less or do I?

[old reb46]

Heck, just stay in a cozy warm motel and watch tv. Then get up early, eat the complimentary breakfast and head to the old battle field for some powder burning. After a hard day of it return to the motel. Works for beating the heat in summer too with the a/c turned down to the max. What I do behind the "do not disturb" sign is my business.;)

Robert Stumbling Bear
The Rusty Cup Mess

[Spinster]

Stumbling Bear,

You're gonna wear a hole in your cheek if you don't stop putting your toungue so firmly in it.:p

[flattop32355]

Some folks don't handle cold well, for various reasons. The real boys didn't like it any more than we do, they just had less choice in the matter.

The previous weekend, we had an event in NE Ohio. Temps were to be in the mid-high teens at night, high 20's in the day. We were forbidden to use any of the heated buildings in the village, so it was canvas or nothing.

So in lieu a proper hut, and wishing to rely on period rather than modern items, we put up the common tent, layered the ground with hay, gum blankets, shelter halves and blanket, then put blankets and greatcoats over top, gloves and sleeping caps. Spooning and sharing of blankets was not an option, as my son would have pulled them all off of everyone else in his sleep (He's funny that way).

The results were mixed: I slept moderately well, while others did not, resorting to the ultimate, period correct option of standing around the fire for the rest of the night.

Next day, it snowed, and was cold and windy enought that my formerly frost-bitten hands could not feel the cartridges or caps to load, and ya just can't load the musket wearing fingered gloves. Letting health concerns trump (a dentist with no hands is at a detriment), and realizing that I'd be of no better use on Sunday, we reluctantly left early.

Similar to safety, issues of health take precedence over accuracy when push comes to shove. Depending upon the event's standards, that may mean choosing not to attend or making use of the minimal amount of modern (or non-present period) items capable of allowing participation. For my own self, it doesn't give me carte blanche to haul in anything and everything I could want for comfort's sake.

Bad backs and hips, age, medications, etc. are a part of who we are, and for some require accomodating in order to participate. Depending upon the event, I'm willing to ignore some things in order to allow for the "greater good" of having someone participate who otherwise could not.

Other's mileage will vary.

[ScottWashburn]

I'm reading a book right now called "Infantry Soldier" by George W. Neill. It's a memoir of his experiences with the 99th Infantry Division around the time of the Battle of the Bulge. His description of the miserable conditions and the daily battle to try and stay warm is graphic. I've spent a few events wet. cold and miserable, but nothing compared to this. No matter how bad the weather at an event is, we get to go home after 2 or 3 days. These guys were stuck there.

[Jim of the SRR]

I know you don't want to sleep on the ground, but sleeping on a cot or elevated bed in a tent is the worst way to go. The cold air then surrounds you above and BELOW and is far colder than being on the ground. As others have suggested a period mattress tick stuffed with straw can be quite comfortable. Don't sleep with your shoes on and put fresh, dry socks on before bed. Dress in layers and get a good sleeping cap.

Jim Butler

[Cove Rebel]

[This won't answer his question but was vaguely related]

I sure wish I could find the link but I read a diary entry from back in the early 1800s about such. I'll paraphrase what I can remember of it. Remember, this was in a tactical situation in indian territory:

'Sit backed up against a tree and cross you legs. In the space between your legs dig a hole about the size of your head and build a small fire in it. Once the fire is going, add hardwood bark standing on end, then cover with dirt. Leave a vent at the front and the back. Wrap your blanket around your back and then your legs while sitting cross legged.'

I'm guessing this is a way to make coals smoulder and the heat is trapped in by your blanket. I need to find that link...

[RJSamp]

I'm reading a book right now called "Infantry Soldier" by George W. Neill. It's a memoir of his experiences with the 99th Infantry Division around the time of the Battle of the Bulge. His description of the miserable conditions and the daily battle to try and stay warm is graphic. I've spent a few events wet. cold and miserable, but nothing compared to this. No matter how bad the weather at an event is, we get to go home after 2 or 3 days. These guys were stuck there.

ditto on the recent WWII reading....although this was from a machine gunner in CCR, 11th Armored Division. He walked around a lot at night to keep warm....multiple bedrolls... you name it. Pickaxe/mattox bounced off of the icy ground...tough to dig a decent fox hole....and provide over head cover. digging kept you warm however...

[Poor Private]

Heck your all wrong..... Here is the easiest way to keep warm on those cold frosty early spring or late fall events. Only attend those that are close to home, and day trip it. Show up just before noon so you can check in at registration, and the unit your playing with. Missing both the morning drill, and formations. Do the afternoon battles, visit the sutlers, take the family on a tour and pose for pictures, then head back home to a warm bed. And then repeat it on the next day.

[Radar]

Heck your all wrong..... Here is the easiest way to keep warm on those cold frosty early spring or late fall events. Only attend those that are close to home, and day trip it. Show up just before noon so you can check in at registration, and the unit your playing with. Missing both the morning drill, and formations. Do the afternoon battles, visit the sutlers, take the family on a tour and pose for pictures, then head back home to a warm bed. And then repeat it on the next day.
Or get a motel room near by with a near by beer emporium.

[tompritchett]

Okay, we have had enough sarcasm. Let's please treat his post as a serious request for options to using a propane heater.

Thank you.

[hanktrent]

Okay, we have had enough sarcasm. Let's please treat his post as a serious request for options to using a propane heater.

Thank you.

Call me stupid, but where in his original post was there a request for other options? I know lots of folks have been reading it that way, but I just don't see it. He seemed content with what he was using and even explained why he felt it was acceptable.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Pvt Schnapps]

Call me stupid, but where in his original post was there a request for other options? I know lots of folks have been reading it that way, but I just don't see it. He seemed content with what he was using and even explained why he felt it was acceptable.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

Well, I read it that way because he also says he's new and that kind of implies a potential openness. Beyond that, sometimes sarcasm comes just too easy to me and I'm trying to work on that. :)

But I hear your point. We keep talking about the importance of attitude in reenacting, meaning a willingness to learn and try things outside one's comfort zone, and didn't really come across in the initial post.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

I think we have scared or intimated the lad into silence if not absence...

Answering his question in the light I perceive he asked it in (and I could be wrong):

IMHO, it depends upon how much money one wants to invest in being "comfortable" (that being a highly personal and subjective concept) out of sight behind the closed flaps of a tent. And it depends on one's Mental Picture as to how "near or far" one wants/needs to be from history, Civil War practices, and material culture.

Looking toward modern camping hidden under canvas...

The Modern World offers high tech sleeping bags rated to different temperatures such as 32 degrees or 0 degrees or Minus 30 degrees. There are also reflective "foil" survival "blankets" that wil supplement one's sleeping bag without bulk or weight additional blankets would.
As shared a cot worsens the problem as it has open air space above and below it, and does not really provide that much of a "cushion" or "mattress" to counter the hard and uneven ground. One can use a variety of softness and thickness "foam pads" for one the ground that roll up to a convenient size for transportation and storage.

Perhaps not so oddly enough, the principles of combating "cold" has not changed much- just the form and technology.
Being naked animals, humans need to supplement what they don't have agains the cold to create "dead air' barriers to energy (heat) loss BOTH from radiation as well as convection. What layered clothing does, and what the dry dead air spaces in denser fiber blankets do is "insulate" the body against bleeding off heat to the environment.

And last, going Zen-like, "cold" and "comfortable" are both physical AND mental considerations- and not everyone "feels" cold and confortable in the same way all of the time. However, we Moderns are hindered and hampered by the expectation of a sound full night's sleep in the connditioned comfort of climate controlled houses. IMHO, when one is "outside" with "modern inside" notions and expectations, all too often those expectations are not going to be met.

(But the strange thing is... that for many at the time it is "Why am I doing this?!!! Freezing my arse off. Boy am I stupid or what?!!!" which as time goes by and the event stories get posted and shared that later mutate into Bragging Rights and Fond Memories.

;) :)

Others' mileage will vary...

CHS

[hanktrent]

We keep talking about the importance of attitude in reenacting, meaning a willingness to learn and try things outside one's comfort zone, and didn't really come across in the initial post.

And I don't see why that's a bad thing. Everybody, at any level of accuracy, has a line they will not cross, though the line may change over time. Or if they crossed it, the hobby would be Not Fun Anymore for them.

I think trying things outside of one's comfort zone is highly overrated, especially if you're happy doing what you're doing. I mean, why try something you know you won't like, just because it makes you uncomfortable?

He just happened to announce where his line was. I remember at mainstream events, reenactors used to do that to me all the time. "Look, here's my hidden cooler. Aren't I clever? Don't I have that problem solved well?" They didn't want to be told how to do without a cooler. Trust me, I found that out. They just wanted you to admire it. It kinda blew the whole concept of "hiding" something, but I was surprised how often that little show-and-tell occurred, both to other reenactors and spectators, and I read the original post as the same kind of thing.

A shame we scared him off. :D

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[unclefrank]

Cheap Corn moonshine, and a willing pard to "spoon" with.

[RJSamp]

Cheap Corn moonshine, and a willing pard to "spoon" with.

Alcohol makes you COLDER...dilating the blood vessels in the skin, which brings your body heat closer to the outer parts of your body, nearer to the cold robbing world around you...

Alcohol dehydrates you...and if you drink enough will cause you to get up in the night.....releasing that cocoon of warmth from your layered warming system.... and your pard, who may get PO'd at you for getting up and getting him/her/it cold.

Never give Alcohol during first aid for hypothermia.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Correct...

But since it alters the brain, one may not feel the cold and just pass out.
;) :)

And the first one to fall sleep, or black out, does not have to deal with the cold vomit in the blankets or the smell.

CHS
St. Bernards aren't always our Alpine friends...

[tompritchett]

Call me stupid, but where in his original post was there a request for other options? I know lots of folks have been reading it that way, but I just don't see it. He seemed content with what he was using and even explained why he felt it was acceptable.

Because he stated that he was fairly new to the hobby, I decided to assume that he was looking for options that would keep him as warm as that heater inside his tent. Granted, given his other statements, there is a good probability that you may be right but I will still give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

"I know that I'm going to catch some flack on this one..... I'm one of those that has a real problem with cold, especially when trying to sleep at night. A canvas A-frame tent isn't exactly the warmest environment that I can think of and I am of the age where sleeping basically on the ground is no longer a viable option.

Granted an accurate representation is what we should all strive for but that doesn't mean that I am going to leave my dentures at home just because acrylic teeth didn't exist in the mid-1860s. When it comes to sleeping comfortably I maintain that what is used inside my tent when the doors are tied shut is more or less just my business. I have no problem with an air mattress and sleeping bag being covered with a period-style blanket during the day. Come nighttime though my propane fired Mr Heater will be in use if needed.... and yes, there is adequate ventilation."

Sometimes things start for one reason and continue on for another.

Yes, there are no question marks, and it could/should perhaps best be read as just an announcement, proclamation, or simple statement of what the lad feels the need or desire to justify himself as doing (being the first post in the thread it does not directly follow from another).
And not a request for period or non-period alteratives.

IMHO, he has made his personal "hobby statement" and has "moved on" from the post.

:)

CHS

[Evil Dog]

I think we have scared or intimated the lad into silence if not absence...
CHS

Scared off or intimidated? Hardly. I have just been setting back watching this thread develop and wander in several different directions all at the same time.

I suppose that an explanation of my original post would be in order though. I had just gotten back from an event (I will not mention where) and was still somewhat miffed at having been rather chastised by one individual for having the utter gall to disturb the aura of his period correct living experience. My cardinal sin was using a propane heater at night.... inside my tent.... with the doors tied shut !!! He became suspicious when noting that my tent did not have visible frost on the outside of it in the morning. Probably spent 15 or more minutes berating my degradation of the entire reenactment environment. This all the while being in his period correct Federal uniform with the visible Seiko wrist watch and wearing black L L Bean laceup shoes.... which I chose to ignore.

Yes, it was more of a rant than anything else and in retrospect would probably have best been not publically posted in the first place. In my humble opinion though it has elicited a lot of useful suggestions for myself and anyone else following this thread.

I appologise to any whom I might have offended.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Scared off or intimidated? Hardly. I have just been setting back watching this thread develop and wander in several different directions all at the same time.

I suppose that an explanation of my original post would be in order though. I had just gotten back from an event (I will not mention where) and was still somewhat miffed at having been rather chastised by one individual for having the utter gall to disturb the aura of his period correct living experience. My cardinal sin was using a propane heater at night.... inside my tent.... with the doors tied shut !!! He became suspicious when noting that my tent did not have visible frost on the outside of it in the morning. Probably spent 15 or more minutes berating my degradation of the entire reenactment environment. This all the while being in his period correct Federal uniform with the visible Seiko wrist watch and wearing black L L Bean laceup shoes.... which I chose to ignore.

Yes, it was more of a rant than anything else and in retrospect would probably have best been not publically posted in the first place. In my humble opinion though it has elicited a lot of useful suggestions for myself and anyone else following this thread.

I appologise to any whom I might have offended.

There's no need to apologize. Wherever we are right now, we've all been where you are.

[flattop32355]

Don't you love it when the pot calls the kettle black? :)

Now that you've come clean on what set off your original post, it would be a good time for a tongue-in-cheek berating of your insensitivity to other reenactors, segging into a general rant on all reenactor authenticity failures up and down the spectrum, with a few totally irrelevant personal irritants thrown in for good measure.

However, I'm too tired and not in the mood, though I'm sure it would have be quite humorous in my own mind..... ;)

[reddcorp]

Evil Dog:
If your avatar is a accurate reflection of your age, then I trust that you dealt with the chastizer with a firm "Bugger off!!!" And while I have yet to resort to a propane heater, I am not opposed to using a down-filled sleeping bag hidden beneath my period blankets during extreme cold.
As I have grown older with this "hobby" I have realized that it is just that, a hobby, not a way of life, and that on Monday morning, I still have to get up and go to my real-world job.
Now, should one go wild with anachronisms? No, but common sense should dictate what one does, for the sake of authenticity, but more importantly, for the sake of one's health.
A.Redd

[Scooby_308]

While Evil Dog is not looking for advice, I can’t help but echo what most have said. The one thing about the sleeping cap….I roll around a lot, so I can’t keep one on. What I do is take my sack coat and put it over my head and upper body over my blanket. I was at an event where it was 8 degrees one night. I hade two blankets, two gum blankets, and a straw mattress tick. A buddy and I found a stall in the barn and slept quite well. Wind will chill you pretty bad.

I do have a wedge tent for the kids. I slept in there on a cool frosty night. I woke up with all three piled up on me with all the blankets. I was sweating bullets. Spooning does work!

[tompritchett]

The one thing about the sleeping cap….I roll around a lot, so I can’t keep one on.

That is why I ended up buying a balaclava. It does stay on and it also prevents loss of heat from the back of the neck.

[billwatson2]

"I had just gotten back from an event (I will not mention where) and was still somewhat miffed at having been rather chastised by one individual for having the utter gall to disturb the aura of his period correct living experience. My cardinal sin was using a propane heater at night.... inside my tent.... with the doors tied shut !!! He became suspicious when noting that my tent did not have visible frost on the outside of it in the morning. Probably spent 15 or more minutes berating my degradation of the entire reenactment environment. This all the while being in his period correct Federal uniform with the visible Seiko wrist watch and wearing black L L Bean laceup shoes.... which I chose to ignore."


There is a technical classification in the reenactor paradigm for people like that, who don't practice in the first place what they loudly preach to others. Unfortunately the forum censoring software will bleep it out. :-)

[unclefrank]

As far as sleeping caps go, buy a Kathy Bradford made one. She makes them nice and big so you can pull them down over your face. Mine has never failed to stay on.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Thanks, Herr Evil Dog, for the explanation.

CHS
Glad you were not run off

[bob 125th nysvi]

all the replies but I also use a second oil/ground cloth on top. I'm tall so my feet stick out of the tent and the second cloth keeps the frost from forming on my toes.

Other than that, two pairs of clean dry socks, my uniform, a blanket and a oilcloth below is all I need.

Can never keep the darn sleeping cap on my head but I try every year.

Bob sandusky
125th NY
Esperance, NY

[YMikels]

Evil Dog, If I may offer a plug...

I've read several posts regarding sleeping caps a must. I bought one of Kathy Bradford's and at Cedar Creek it really...really saved me from a head cold. They are beautifully done, quite acurate, part of the proceeds go to preservation and to top it all off. Ms. Bradford is indeed a gem to do business with.

Mr Sandusky, Her sleeping caps will stay on your head all evening, unless you are prone to executing cart-wheels in your sleep....Heck, it would stay on regardless.

To quote Herr Curt, "Other's mileage may vary."

You may find Ms. Bradford on this forum as well as the other one.

I am, most respectfully,
Brian Y Mikels

[Evil Dog]

Evil Dog:
If your avatar is a accurate reflection of your age, then I trust that you dealt with the chastizer with a firm "Bugger off!!!"

Yes, the avatar is accurate... I turned 62 a couple months back. Rather than escalate any confrontation I just let him rave on. Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.

I also think I am in the market for a sleeping cap.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Yes, the avatar is accurate... I turned 62 a couple months back. Rather than escalate any confrontation I just let him rave on. Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.

I also think I am in the market for a sleeping cap.
Our very own Kathy Bradford on this forum makes some great ones, and for a good cause. Email her at PreservationParcels@hotmail.com to see what she has available.

[Doug Cooper]

2 soldiers wearing underwear, shirts, socks and sleeping caps, gum blanket and wool blanket below with everything else thrown on top (blanket, uniforms, shelter tent) of both of them (with the shoes down there somethwere). You will be warm and toasty all night in the coldest weather. I awoke like that one single digit morning and the entire tent was covered in ice and and the ground was white as far as we could see. No worries for us.

Take both soldiers and seperate them by one foot and wrap each in his own stuff - not so warm. Course the original soldiers knew that.

[tompritchett]

I also think I am in the market for a sleeping cap

or balaclava, which is much like a modern ski mask except that the whole face is open rather than just small openings for the eyes, nose and mouth. I had used both and now just stick to the balaclava as it does not fall off my head at night as I roll around. Karin Timor made mine and her username here is KarinTimor.

[flattop32355]

2 soldiers wearing underwear, shirts, socks and sleeping caps, gum blanket and wool blanket below with everything else thrown on top (blanket, uniforms, shelter tent) of both of them (with the shoes down there somethwere). You will be warm and toasty all night in the coldest weather.

This assumes that Soldier A does not keep stealing the blankets, etc. from over top of Soldier B.

One must pick one's spooning partner with care. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with my son, who has actually stolen the blanket out from under me, along with the ones on top.

[Poor Private]

Bernard that sounds familiar. I thought I was the only one whose offspring forgets about dads old bones.