Jacket Vs. Event!

[Tiger_rifles]

Hello All, I was thinking on this at an event last month. We often think of an event we would like to go to and then try and come up with the correct kit.......

But what if you have a great jacket/coat and wish to search out the "perfect event" for the jacket or coat. For example: At Wilsons Creek I noticed that a overshirt/battleshirt of Grey would work just fine for almost any CS group.....and was very correct for some of the US Troops! This same overshrt would work well at Manassas, Balls Bluff, and many of th events coming up in 2012,(McDowell 62, etc...).

So to start us off I ask: "What event and/or re-enactment would one search out to wear your brand new * Houston Depot, Huntsville Penitentiary Jacket*?
Jean clothe, undyed, and lets say plain coin or civilian wood buttons.....or go wild and say script "I"s.

My vote is for Corinth, Ms., I remember reading about a unit that recieved this discription jackets on the eve of the fight...... and thought that they had been issued thier "Death Clothes".

What say you?

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I've taken this approach for entirely too long - find, make, or procure an oddball jacket or coat (or some other piece of accoutrement) and then look for an event that it would be approriate at. The garment that stands out the most for me to do that was a Tait jacket made and constructed for a Bentonville reenactment. And I forgot the jacket when I packed and left for the event. So at least I still have it for Bentonville 2015. I also have a CS Marine uniform made from descriptions in Donnely's excellent book "The Rebel Leathernecks" that would only work for a garrison or event at Drewry's Bluff near Richmond. Be nice to have an event/living history there to put it to use.

[Tiger_rifles]

Hey Ross, Thanks for playing!
I would say that Tait will come in handy in the next 3-4 years for the 150th of anything to do w/Petersburg also. Many years ago,(when i lived "Back East"), I was part of the CS Marines (Co. B. if I remember right!), stationed at Norfolk ,Va. Early on they guarded the Naval Ship Yard and even crewed the CSS Virginia/Merrimac. Ofcourse when Norfolk was given up they moved to Drewry's Bluff, but if that coat is a grey frock w/black trim, you could do some LH at the ship yard.

It's hard being a Uniform junkie!

[LibertyHallVols]

I've not gone so far as to make a jacket, then sought out the event. However, I purchased several yards of broadcloth a few years ago, knowing I wanted to make a CS officer's frock. I finally had the excuse to make the coat for Manassas! I was sewing right up to the day prior to leaving for the event.

[Tiger_rifles]

I gotta tell ya friends........ I am depressed!!!

Following on the heels of another thread that was talking about how other re-enactors look/act, I thought we could talk about differant jackets/coats and what is thier best use. But it seems that w/out a chance to fight or put someone down there is no interest on this forum.

It is clear that if you wish to trash the last event you went to you can generate 6,000 or more views, and if you wanna point a finger or two at other folks well you can get over 17,000 views!!!!! But heaven forbid if you wanna talk about how to improve an event or just your own impression.

I think I will put CW off my mind for a while and go dumb watching some football, it was nice talking with ya.......

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I think I understand why you would think that Paul, as controversy always drives threads anywhere, not just one here. I think, however, on this thread the reason why more people haven't piped in is that I would venture that the majority of reenactors on here have only one jacket/coat per side. We've all seen them - the folks that wear the same RDI jacket to late-war events or that same Columbus jacket to early-war events, or that purple-tinged Fed sack coat with the fading showng wear they have their straps. With the philosophy of making one jacket work for everything, fewer people these days are procuring something different in hopes of using it at an event.

[USMCSkipper]

I guess I'm one of the oddballs then because I have been building my impressions so that I can attend virtually any event. The sad part is that I have several uniforms I have never worn to an event!

Never worn to an event:
4-button CS
CS single breasted frock coat in tan jeancloth
grey battleshirt with black trim
"mystery" depot jacket
Columbus Depot (did wear to half a day filming for Chickamauga)
Tait jacket
Red Battleshirt

Never worn US:
NY State Jacket
SA infantry jacket
Frock coat (did wear to second half of day filming for Chickamauga)
Berdan frock coat (used, size and price were right, invited to an event and then job prevented me from attending)

I'm looking forward to Ball's bluff so I can wear the US Frock coat; depending upon who I fall in with, I may get to wear the CS frock for some Peninsular campaign events; and there is time for the later war events to arrive for some of the other uniforms in my list. The two I would love to wear and probably won't get the event to do so would be the NY state jacket and the Berdan's Frock. Only time will tell!

Chris

[flattop32355]

If I may, the problem could be the framing of the original question. It is something akin to saying, "Oh, look! There's a plate of food. I can't wait until I get hungry so I can eat it."
It's just kind of backwards from the traditional way of thinking, which would be to decide upon the event one wishes to attend, then find out what (specialty) equipment is needed to do the required impression for it.

I've been wrong before, once, but that that's how it first struck me.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

If I may, the problem could be the framing of the original question. It is something akin to saying, "Oh, look! There's a plate of food. I can't wait until I get hungry so I can eat it."
It's just kind of backwards from the traditional way of thinking, which would be to decide upon the event one wishes to attend, then find out what (specialty) equipment is needed to do the required impression for it.

I've been wrong before, once, but that that's how it first struck me.

I think that entirely his initial point if I read it right. Most people look at an upcoming event and procure a jacket/coat (or other pieces of kit) for that event. He is asking if anyone (like us) gets an odd jacket/coat and then looks for an event for that to fit in.

[Tom Scoufalos]

I've got more crap than I care to admit to that has gotten little use owing to it's being ecclectic. I don't regret having any of it, though.

In the spirit of the OP, though, I always thought it'd be cool to get together an 11th New York first-issue uniform. There'd be a very narrow window for using that, however. Getting a drill-team of guys together a couple times a year and trying to incorporate the gymnastic Zouave drill would be neat, but (1) how many people would actually find that interesting, and (2) I can't even get to half the events that I want to now, let alone delve into a whole new avenue of things to add on top of that!

Plus, I've got some antibellum stuff including AWI and, most appealing to me, a Mexican-American war impression that I'm still hoping to at least find a timeline event to sport it at!

Sometimes, I'd swear that if I had at a single functioning neuron I'd sell 4/5ths of my superfluous stuff, cut down to the basics, & trade up from a H-D 1992 XL1200-C to a late model FXST-D or FXST-F. Or add a waverunner. But I ain't that smart...gear whoredom has taken too deep a root, and is less likely to get you injured!