So You Want to be a Reenactor

Part One

It’s the 250th, and lots of people are getting a new and perhaps exciting look at living history. They’re thinking, “Hey, I want to do that!” It’s a natural impulse, really: it’s a way to get your hands on history, to understand it better, and share your excitement with other people. So how do you get started? Most folks join a unit that recreates a unit of Continental, Loyalist, or British Regular military. That’s not ideal for everyone; it often limits women to camp follower/women of the Army roles in laundry, nursing, and foraging, and you are providing all or most of your own kit. Others may find a museum interested in their skills, and volunteer at a site that can provide site-specific training and clothing.

But here’s another idea: start with yourself, not the public. This goes well, or better, when you ask yourself some questions. Who, when, and where are good places to start. These will tell you what and why– what you wear, what house you live in, and why you’re feeling the way you do. It’s not intuitive, necessarily, but I found myself asking these questions as I worked through military and civilian events in New England, Upstate New York, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Carolinas. I couldn’t be the same person in the same way in different times and places. Are you in your everyday life? I am not– sure, at my core, I’m still the prickly, shy, cat-loving, on-some-spectrum person who tries to be kind but direct, helpful, and thoughtful about how we work together as communities. But I don’t dress the way I did in Providence (it is warmer here, and I take the bus) or in Alexandria (it is urban here, and I take the bus). It’s more like when I lived in Chicago, so even though it’s a lot warmer here, when I reflect on getting dressed and moving around the city, I see patterns stretching back to childhood.

We’re always who we are. But that’s not a bad thing! Knowing who you are in the past and the present makes you a more convincing and engaging reenactor. So let’s start with the questions: Who, When, Where?

Who are you?

Are you a camp follower who relied on her husband’s wages to pay the rent, and by necessity must go with him when he enlists out of Boston? Are you a camp follower with small children, unable to stay on a rented farm because you and your toddlers cannot farm on your own? Or are you a disaffected city woman fleeing radical Whigs who refuse to believe your neutrality, since your husband joined a Loyalist regiment? (Damn, couverture sucked.) Or are you a Whig-leaning woman fleeing British occupation of your city or town, taking refuge with the Army, to their annoyance?

Each of those scenarios will give you different results in clothing and accessories, so to help narrow that down, ask yourself the next question.

When are you?

Are you early in the war, April 1775 to July 1776, when your clothes are still relatively new? Goods were still sitting in shops in April 1775 (outside Boston), and food was still available. Are you late in the war, between Yorktown and the Peace of Paris, Autumn 1781- Autumn 1783, when the French have joined the fight, and the fashion is for everything French? You’re altering the clothes you have to update them, casting an eye at those lovely white uniforms the Frenchmen wear, and wondering how things will be different now. Or, maybe, you’re dispirited and frightened by the severance of ties with England, the loss of the core identity you held since you were a child. How might that be reflected in your clothing, your bearing, your conversation? These details are refined when you ask the last question.

Where are you?

Peer pressure is real, and so is how you react. I was a high school cast out, so I struck out on my own to the Cubby Bear and various sites around town, not caring what my cohort thought. That’s not necessarily your reaction, nor is it the reaction of someone who necessarily survives. Keeping your head down and going along with whatever to find the best way to stay alive and keep your house. Still, are you a Loyalist in New York City? I’m sorry, you are in danger and need to leave. Are you a Loyalist in Philadelphia? I’m sorry, you are now divested of your property and living in penury, dependent on those friends who will still speak to you when no one is watching. 

Perhaps you are in Rhode Island– are you in Providence? Lucky you! The blockade of Newport has shifted the power and money balance, and your town is about to thrive. Are you in Connecticut? Look at the new stocking factory on the river! Progress and American mechanics, huzzah! Are you in North Carolina? Trade will resume more easily with shipping clear, and you’ll get back to work. 

Those are the first questions I ask myself before I start to get dressed. I know they’re no fun– making is so much more fun than studying– but a little reading before making will save you later.

Next up: How to start putting these questions to work for you.

Impatient? Here are some posts that may help you get started:

Hints for a New Hobby Tools, materials, and advice.

Bag and Baggage: How to carry your stuff.

Winter Chores: Maintain your stuff– it’s an investment!