Ulzana's Raid - Scout Dress

[Niederlander]

Re-enactors or "undead" (living) historians looking too new and fresh is a subject that HAS come up at Musters.  The best way to not look like that is to wear your stuff regularly, preferably while you're working outside.  As Jerry said, we look pretty clean at the start of the Muster, not so much by the end!

[Bruce W Sims]

I hadn't remember the lye....maybe that would be a good "aging" agent...who knows.

Best.

[St. George]

No - what makes for a good 'aging' agent is 'wear' and you don't fake that - you achieve that by actually using and wearing the gear in the rain and in high summer sun and by letting nature affect it.

Scouts Out!

[Bruce W Sims]

No - what makes for a good 'aging' agent is 'wear' and you don't fake that - you achieve that by actually using and wearing the gear in the rain and in high summer sun and by letting nature affect it.

Scouts Out!

Kind of as a side-note and along those lines, George, I have also wondered how well people "wear" their personna in their daily
lives. In my public life I do a lot of work with Vets and the Military, so their is a kind of carry-over---of sorts--- when I think of the contractor role of the scouts and my own contractor role. In thinking about a re-enactor role, I imagine that there are two ways to approach this. The first that comes to mind is a sort of theatrical approach where a person dresses in period garb, shoots period pieces and generally takes on a role for the day. Another way I see is to actually assume the personna of the individual on a day-to-day basis by seeking to assess the World and its conditions through the eyes of a person of the selected era. I understand that a number of the Hollywood actors use this approach in playing a movie role and sometimes even need help getting out of that place when the end of their movie work on a particular picture comes along. I wonder if any of the folks you know go quite this far with their work? Thoughts?

BTW: I have been devouring old photo-s and have noticed two interesting trends. One is that the "chief of scout" position is usually a civilian contractor and dressed in typical work clothes of the period, so thats a help. I also notice that whether civilian contractor or Native American, non-studio portraits have almost none of the fringe, buables and bangles commonly assocciated with our image of a Western Scout. In fact, I have found only one Cheyenne Scout who was wearing the typical fringew shirt (ala- "tonto") in all the pictures I have looked at thus far.
Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Pitspitr]

This is the only person I know who actually wears his reenacting clothing everyday. Usually he'll have a hat on but no apron.

[Drydock]

I'm reminded of a reinactor at Gettysburg who wanted to know where I'd gotten the Montana peak campaign hat I was wearing (Bought for $5 at a surplus store in upper NY 17 years previous) because "It looks like its been worn daily for the last 10 years!"

I just laughed and said "That's because I've been wearing it pretty much daily for the last 10 years."

[St. George]

He's also been known to wear a nightcap and nightshirt...

Much in the way of the clothing can be worn day-to-day - especially in smaller towns or towns more towards the South and West, where 'working man's garb' is a common sight, and men wear what they're most comfortable in.

That'll put wear on the clothing used for your Impression easily.

As to Al Sieber in his role of 'Chief of Scouts' - he dressed as I'd outlined - like any man who bought his working clothing from a dry goods shop and expected it to give good service.

If you wonder about your 'approach' - think about what you're trying to do and behave accordingly.

If you want to educate and give as honest an impression as possible of an earlier time to those who may be watching - and learning - then take care with your outfit and its authenticity and try to honor those who went before and their times.

If you want to be theatrical - well, I really have no words...

I invite you to read 'Confederates In the Attic' by Tony Horowitz, as he takes it upon himself to follow a group of modern-day 'hardcore' Confederate reenactors as they go about their lives.

You'll get a glimpse of yet another take on historical reenactment and those who 'really' embrace it.

Mostly, folks are adults who have a firm grasp of reality and don't get sucked into the fantasy, but...

Scouts Out!

[Niederlander]

Fantasy?  This is a fantasy???!!!!  You're right about most people having a fairly firm grasp on reality.  Of course, there's the whole "Fantasy Football" thing........ Personally, I play lead air guitar in a fantasy '80's rock band......................

[Drydock]

This explains much . . .

[Trailrider]

If you are doing an impression of Al Sieber, do you need to include wrapping your foot in bandages? 

[pony express]

Fantasy?  This is a fantasy???!!!!  You're right about most people having a fairly firm grasp on reality.  Of course, there's the whole "Fantasy Football" thing........ Personally, I play lead air guitar in a fantasy '80's rock band......................

What do you do for the Fantasy 80's rock band hair? Ned Niederlander with a mullet, this I gotta see!

[Niederlander]

Yep, the mullet, the parachute pants, the Members Only jacket............

[Drydock]

http://www.eyebleach.me/

[Charles Isaac]

I wanted to be a rock star. I would have had a guitar fashioned from an M60.

It's all part

Of my rock n' roll fantasy.

[Pitspitr]

He's also been known to wear a nightcap and nightshirt...

Next thing you know there's liable to be a picture of me and a cell phone...then I'm going to have to assign him KP...AGAIN  

But we digress.

[Charles Isaac]

I made the mistake of askin' that dude for a caramel macchiato. Luckily all he had in his hands was a spatula and not that huge Swiss boominshooter, so I survived that particular encounter.

[Delmonico]

Next thing you know there's liable to be a picture of me and a cell phone...then I'm going to have to assign him KP...AGAIN  

But we digress.

[Delmonico]

I made the mistake of askin' that dude for a caramel macchiato. Luckily all he had in his hands was a spatula and not that huge Swiss boominshooter, so I survived that particular encounter.

I was just pointing out the direction to Starbucks, about 200 miles that way.

[Delmonico]

I invite you to read 'Confederates In the Attic' by Tony Horowitz, as he takes it upon himself to follow a group of modern-day 'hardcore' Confederate reenactors as they go about their lives.

You'll get a glimpse of yet another take on historical reenactment and those who 'really' embrace it.

I need to reread that book again, it's been at least 10 if not more years since I did.  There is something in the book that drives me crazy and you see it at Civil War reeactments, watch the HC series Civil War Journal and you will see it in there when they use footage from events.  It's the salt pork, I swear every Civil War reenactor thinks that the army removed the fat back from pigs, put it in barrels of brine and threw the rest of the pig away, either that or they don't think things through.   

The whole hog was cut up and put in the pork barrel, the fatback was used to flavor the messes beans or was sliced and fried to eat only when you were scraping the bottom of the barrel.   Now it you got to the store, what they have for "salt pork" is only fat back, to be used to flavor beans and other purposes it's useful for.  If you want salt pork to match the ration pork you are going to have to buy shoulder, loins or other large cuts of pork and brine them for at least a couple weeks yourself.

If that is not handy, or you don't want to make it, then switch the ration to the dreaded salt beef, aka salt horse, it can be bought in any store, they only cut seen commonly today is brisket, but at least it has meat on it, one can slice it and fry it for individual rations or boil it for the whole mess.  Wait till a week or so after March 17th and you can often buy it cheap and freeze it, most of us know it as corned beef.   Yep either the fatback or the beef does not have quite enough salt in it to keep it like the product of the time.   

   

[Pitspitr]

Yep, I knew it...