Basic equipment guidelines for new recruits.
The following basic equipment has been established for the new recruit who wishes to join us. Do not purchase any equipment before discussing it with the company officers. Do remember initially you would be able to borrow most of the equipment as many members have spare.
Shirt: Latitude is allowed here because many soldiers received clothing from home. They would be made of muslin, calico, or flannel and have buttons of wood, or horn. The shirts would be long sleeved and generally be looser in the sleeve than modern shirts.
Trousers (pants): These could have trousers of sky-blue kersey wool or confederate grey or butternut wool, homespun is also nice to use. They would have had a button fly, pockets and held up by suspenders (braces). Buttons of wood, tin plate, or brass.
Jackets (coats): The information on jackets has changed over the years but the most widely used coat was the shell jacket with no trim and butternut or grey in color this would have brass buttons, but could have wooden.
Brogans (boots): Leather period boots with sown or pegged soles and black or brown in colour. Initially it would be expectable to have desert boots.
Socks: These should be heavy duty wool and should be grey or brown or a grey-brown mix, with a couple of pairs being useful..
Hat: This would either be the kepi or slouch hat, with the slouch hat most predominant and would be either black, brown, or even grey. The kepi would more than likely be grey but could be butternut.
Belt & buckle: A black belt with either a Georgia type frame buckle being predominant but could have either a CS oval, CSA or CS rectangular, or State buckle.
Canteen: A must as it is most important to have an adequate supply of water, they become very important on a hot day. There could be leather, wood, or tin (there are some good stainless ones, which look like tin so not rusting)
Guidelines for taking the field.
Equipped as above the recruit can take the field with either the colour party or within the body of the unit but will be unable to fire. The re-enactor who wishes to participate in this way will need the following extra equipment.
Accoutrements: A cartridge box, either to fit on the belt or with a strap to go over the shoulder. A cap box, with nipple pricker, to hold your caps. These could be black or brown.
Haversack (bread bag): Most would be unbleached cotton but you could have black or even a black tarred (a captured Yankee) one.
Rifled Musket: The two most common weapons would be either the Springfield or the Endfield, although others are at the moment acceptable. It would also be necessary to have a musket cleaning kit.
Bayonet and scabbard: Acquire a bayonet appropriate for the weapon you select. These ARE NOT interchangable so it pays to buy one at an event, if possible, as each bayonet fits different than the next. The scabbard could be black or brown.
Blanket (bed) roll: Blanket rolls are carried across the soldiers shoulders and the ends tied together at the ends. A rubber blanket (poncho) or oilskin is useful if it rains and is great to keep you and the damp earth apart when sleeping on the ground.
Guidelines for living history.
It is not everybody who wishes to re-enact camp life some will wish to sleep in their caravans/campers others will wish to live life to the full.
Shelter: This takes the form of a tent. The infantryman of the period would either have an A-frame tent or a shelter half. A-frames are usually 6' or 9' long. A shelter half is a piece of canvas with holes in it for joining to another piece of canvas so making a tent, but with no ends. At the moment it is acceptable to use side-wall officers tents in the lines. With this will be needed a mallet, rope, and pegs.
Messing kit: The soldier needs to eat for this he will need a tin cup, plate, knife, fork, and spoon. He will also need a coffee pot, a frying pan, matches, its also useful to bring some wood with you. Copper or stainless steel cups are useful.
Sleeping kit: Blankets, an old camp bed, the blankets hiding this from the public. If you are going to sleep on the ground a poncho or oil skin will be needed to put underneath the blankets, its also useful if it rains.
Cleansing kit: Comb/brush, soap, toothbrush, washcloth, shaving accessories, towel,
Guidelines to other odds & ends.
Some soldiers will wish to fill their bread bags with bits pieces: a housewife, mirror, cards, dice, checkers, money, chessmen tintype/Carte-de-Visite, pocket knife, pocket watch, spectacles, ID tag, diary, hardtack, small bible/testament, religious tracts.
Others my wish to improve their living history impression: kettle, utensils, ladles, spits, bottles, jugs, flasks, tins, bowls, table, chair, stool, wooden keg/bucket, washbasin, axe, shovel, saw, storage box, candles/lantern, letter writing equipment and book of the period.
It could also be useful to have the following to go with the musket: musket sling, tampion, nipple guard, nipple wrench, worm, and measurer.
