Unit portrayals

[Joey12thga]

Hello

I have been detailed with helping a unit develop a new federal impression. Now we have it narrowed down to a few but what I wish to know is if anyone already portrays the following units. Thanks ahead.

9th, 10th, 17th Kentucky infantry

10th, 79th, 82nd, 84th Indiana

[OVI]

I know of a Ninth KY Federal company that operates out of the Murfreesboro TN area. Mainstreamers.


Kent Dorr
"Devils Own Mess"

[Joey12thga]

OK cool then, that's one unit out of the way.

[Rob Weaver]

Wow - us vs. them in less than one post. That must be record.
I'm sorry, I don't have any familiarity with the units about which you've questioned, either the originals or the recreated. Just couldn't restrain myself.

[Jim of the SRR]

Joey,

I don't recommend choosing any specific unit to portray as a guiding impression for any unit. Since each event changes, so do the event organizers specific guiding impression for each event. I would set up a generic guideline for your group. This can act as a base impression that may need to modified slightly for certain events. Being in the deep south I would recommend a basic, Western Federal impression (Atlanta campaign time-frame seems the best to start). Good luck.

Jim Butler
SRR www.geocities.com/saltriverrifles

[tompritchett]

Wow - us vs. them in less than one post. That must be record.

How does merely stating the fact that a unit is mainstream is "us vs. them"? Is the fact that the person making the post is a campaigner and, therefore, when he is stating that a unit is "mainstreamer" he is automatically attacking it? If that indeed is your interpretation, I would submit that your automatic assumption and the implication of your response makes it the true "us vs. them" post in this thread.

[Joey12thga]

Joey,

I don't recommend choosing any specific unit to portray as a guiding impression for any unit. Since each event changes, so do the event organizers specific guiding impression for each event. I would set up a generic guideline for your group. This can act as a base impression that may need to modified slightly for certain events. Being in the deep south I would recommend a basic, Western Federal impression (Atlanta campaign time-frame seems the best to start). Good luck.

Jim Butler
SRR www.geocities.com/saltriverrifles


Hello Jim,

I have fought that battle with the group I am helping. Apparently they have to have a designation in there umbrella group. Overall I am pushing them to have a genric western Federal impression anywho, they just want to figure out who is portraying who so as not to be confused when they do have a regimental/company designation.

[tompritchett]

I don't recommend choosing any specific unit to portray as a guiding impression for any unit.

There are pro's and con's to both sides to portraying a specific unit. However, even when portraying a specific unit, the safest bet is pick time periods when that unit's impression would be the most generic because of the reasons that Jim has already mentioned. The two primary advantages of having a unit designation/impression are allowing the reenactors to become more connected to those that they are honoring because they are studying one group in greater depth. This information can then be brought out during Living Histories - the other time when, IMHO, having a unit impression may be more advantageous than just a generic impression.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

[Rob Weaver]

Sorry, I guess the "well that's one unit out of the way" response that rubbed my fur incorrectly. As far as unit specific portrayals, we concentrate on the Iron Brigade, especially the 7th Wisconsin. Really, for most events that simply means that we wear our Black Hats. The only "early war" distinctive for us is the few months in 1862 in which the Brigade wore gaiters. There is a certain appropriate espirit de corps which comes from researching and gaining familiarity with one unit rather than the "generic" unit.

[Ky1sgt]

We potray the 10th Ky US Co A and the 5th Ky Co. B CS. Both units were formed in the central Ky area and we have members who have ancestors that fought in one or the other. That was one of the deciding factors on the units we potray.

Brian Weatherbee

[tompritchett]

Sorry, I guess the "well that's one unit out of the way" response that rubbed my fur incorrectly.

I just interpreted it as meaning that the original poster was looking for a unit that was not being portrayed and, since someone was doing the 9th Ky, it was no longer being considered. I really do not think that the fact that the portrayal was being done by a mainstream unit had anything to do with the comment at all. I think that we sometimes tend to read too much into things and that is what can ignite some, but not all, of the "us vs. them" fights.

[Rob Weaver]

I think that's what I did, not being able to hear inflection in the voice, etc. My apologies.

[OVI]

Rob.....to be honest with you, after I posted my remark about the 9th KY, it occured to me that someone might read it as a slap.
For the record, Dave Brunner and the folks in the 9th KY are a good group and well respected. They have done work at Stones River National Battlefield for the NPS and their company was brigaded with my 1st Federal battalion at the last Franklin National event. Fine mainstreamers.

Kent Dorr
"Devils Own Mess"

[bob 125th nysvi]

Joey,

I don't recommend choosing any specific unit to portray as a guiding impression for any unit. Since each event changes, so do the event organizers specific guiding impression for each event. I would set up a generic guideline for your group. This can act as a base impression that may need to modified slightly for certain events. Being in the deep south I would recommend a basic, Western Federal impression (Atlanta campaign time-frame seems the best to start). Good luck.

Jim Butler
SRR www.geocities.com/saltriverrifles

way.

By doing a well researched impression of an original unit you have an excellent blue print to how to protray a CW soldier. Even at specific points of the war.

For example my unit was mustered in Aug 1862 with brand new equipment. Captured at Harper's Ferry in Sept and stripped by the rebels of everything worth having and then re-equipped. So we got brand new equipment enmass during the early part of the war and it affected our appearance as a unit.

We have records and pictures of how the unit looked from that point until they were mustered out.

Now it is true the 125th was not at every battle the AoP fought but by basing ourselves on the unit we can conclusively point to how actual soldiers of that time period/battle might have looked.

And it is easy to 'de-unit' just by stripping off the unit emblems for a generic impression if required.

[Phil]

I'm with Bob on this one. The best route is to persue a specific impression that can be easily adapted to others as needed.

[WestTN_reb]

The unit we decided to pick for our portrayal could be considered perfect. There is a wealth of knowledge regarding the uniforms they were wearing up to and through Shiloh. After that, the only inkling is a mention of them taking Federal trousers from a storehouse during the Richmond, KY raid in late '62.

Therefore our unit goes for a generic impression for everything after Shiloh, but we push for a specific impression for Early War.