Diversity in reenactment units

[Regular3]

Just as an aside in this vein, if a female combat veteran from Iraq showed up to one of our drills and wanted to join us at a reenactment as a soldier, wouldn't it be silly for us to say, "No, women weren't soldiers then."

Phil McBride
The Alamo Rifles

No, because with a few quite well-noted exceptions, women were not soldiers then, and women today who want to portray soldiers know that. Women were not allowed to serve in uniform as anything but nurses until World War II, and women were not fully integrated into the ranks until the abolishment of the Women's Army Corps in 1975.

This is what started this whole thread: Applying 21st Century social norms to portrayal of 19th Century society.

[wilber6150]

This is what started this whole thread: Applying 21st Century social norms to portrayal of 19th Century society.

The women in the rank issue aside what do you do with Asian recruits or Latino recruits in areas of the country where they were not found in units? Just turn them away, and where do these people go to reenact since they can't form their own historically correct units....I think the public would understand including people who weren't in the war back then ;a whole lot more then banning them from the unit being reenacted..

[IsleGuy57]

Phil, my unit has been created to portray a unit historically recruited in the mountain counties of Western North Carolina. The 25th did not at any time have any coloured soldiers or female soldiers. It is for this reason that we do not accept recruits with those distinctions. It is not discrimination but the start of an attempt to reflect how the unit was made up during it's war service.

[TheSignalCorpsGuy]

I, myself, would gladly reenact with anyone with a love of history. No its not historically correct; but I can live with that..

As second in command of my unit I talked to our Commanding Officer about this when we formed.

Both him and I are of the opinion that we'll deal with it when the time comes and judge by the person and not the race.

"Any man that judges by the race is a p-wid" Sgt. Kilrain (he sounds just like my uncle)

There's so many good arguments on both sides of this. It's surely a delicate situation. I would, personally, tend to aire on the side of inclusivity.

[Shortround]

Gas prices could be at over $4.50 per gallon for the 4th of July weekend. If gas hits $5 a gallon that will do more to kill off attendance at a reenactment than the government makeing it illegal. And I've got serious worries about getting powder in the post 2009 era because of the new set of firearm regulations from the new administration.

"harumph" about reenacting all you wish. I don't care about diversity. That battle was long since decided. I do worry about gas, employment, and getting powder.

[reb64]

Phil, my unit has been created to portray a unit historically recruited in the mountain counties of Western North Carolina. The 25th did not at any time have any coloured soldiers or female soldiers. It is for this reason that we do not accept recruits with those distinctions. It is not discrimination but the start of an attempt to reflect how the unit was made up during it's war service.

Im sure it wasnt all white int he unit.

[reb64]

No WE didn't. They might have had a few, but WE certainly did not.

Other than the LA regiments...and Stan Watie's Indian regiments....can you cite a few examples of racially integrated CSA regiment's where black and white fought side by side? Thanks. If they came from, say, Suffolk Country, Virginia...was there a proportion of whites to blacks that support your opinion.....am not talking 5 mulatto's or quadroons out of 1,000 rifles here. Let me know which regiment's you're thinking of.

The vast majority of Federal Regiments were integrated.....the vast majority of officer's had contraband servants.....many cooks were colored...etc.

Im thinking of forrests cav, quantrills guerillas with its black scouts, 4thy tenn cav, need more?

[reb64]

But you were never officially a Confederate. One can hope and pray all he can but it will not make one something he cannot be. The last I looked the Confederate States of America ceased to exist in 1865! You were born that long ago?

I hear what your saying, so does that also mean "african american" is incorrect?

[firstmdes]

I hear what your saying, so does that also mean "african american" is incorrect?

Good question. I went to high school with someone who took offense at being called an African American. He would respond, "I'm not African American, I'm black! I have never been to Africa!" In his thinking you are not a Confederate American because you were never in the Confederacy.

Does that mean those who are descendants of residents of the original thirteen colonies are British Americans? At what point does someone stop being their previous country's descendant and become an American? Besides, the Confederacy was never recognized as a nation by anyone but itself, so did it ever really exist?

[Poor Private]

I feel that when you are a LEGAL citizen of a country you then can be called an American. If you are still "not" a legal citizen you are where you are from. wether you swam across a river, took a boat, tunneled in or are in on a visa. be it Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, German, or British. as Teddy Roosevelt once said "there are no hyphanated americans"