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.

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?

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.