Author Topic: Let's discuss: Reenacting!  (Read 231432 times)

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Offline Cara

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2325 on: October 08, 2018, 03:09:46 pm »
I have a book of original drawnings (like a hundred). Here are two of camp life  :D

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Took them with my phone so not the best quality. If you want I will send you scans.

Offline joer5835

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2326 on: October 08, 2018, 03:59:12 pm »
That's a lot of moustaches in that second pic
Polan is of dangerous to FSE
Im from Poland , a land of lawlessness

Offline Olafson

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2327 on: October 08, 2018, 04:12:49 pm »
I have a book of original drawnings (like a hundred). Here are two of camp life  :D

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Took them with my phone so not the best quality. If you want I will send you scans.

Ooooh what series is this?
I never saw them, but they are great. Are you sure they are period though? I see something that looks like 1836 on the 2nd one. Ofc. the 1836 army is very similiar to the NW army, and if the guy lived during the NW wars, it can still be quite accurate. Especially if they are based on sketches. The very square backpacks also seem like postwar backpacks to me, the Bardin backpack (as far as I know) never made it into service during the NW period. But that could just be the way they are packed...

That second drawing clearly shows the camp kettle again, Duuring. Also looks like same size and everything as ours. First drawing also has them on the center right. You can also see the low support arms pose in the back of the 2nd one. And the first drawing clearly shows something that looks like blankets.... First time I have seen blankets on non Cav guys. But for this one Abrams drawing.

Also some of the guys seem to be using (what looks to me) sticks to keep the rolls upright when carrying the backpack.

That's a lot of moustaches in that second pic

Yes, they are grenadiers (or voltiguers, but definetly some kind of elite), so a moustache is pretty much a must have.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2018, 04:30:04 pm by Olafson »

Offline Riddlez

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2328 on: October 08, 2018, 04:20:19 pm »
It isn't called a mustache for nothing, Olaf
Probably one of the very few old-timers here who hasn't been a regimental leader.

Offline Cara

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2329 on: October 08, 2018, 05:49:52 pm »

Ooooh what series is this?
I never saw them, but they are great. Are you sure they are period though? I see something that looks like 1836 on the 2nd one. Ofc. the 1836 army is very similiar to the NW army, and if the guy lived during the NW wars, it can still be quite accurate. Especially if they are based on sketches. The very square backpacks also seem like postwar backpacks to me, the Bardin backpack (as far as I know) never made it into service during the NW period. But that could just be the way they are packed...

That second drawing clearly shows the camp kettle again, Duuring. Also looks like same size and everything as ours. First drawing also has them on the center right. You can also see the low support arms pose in the back of the 2nd one. And the first drawing clearly shows something that looks like blankets.... First time I have seen blankets on non Cav guys. But for this one Abrams drawing.


Also some of the guys seem to be using (what looks to me) sticks to keep the rolls upright when carrying the backpack.


It's a "best of" done by the printer Duchesne around 1840. I was very lucky to find it in a shithole flea market... for almost nothing. There is like an hundred of prints from 1800 to 1840. The one of the camp is dated from 1836 indeed, which is pretty close from the time, we can easily imagine the author did witness it from his own eyes. Some prints are showing the revolutionary army but most of them are post-Bardin : 1813 campaign and Waterloo. However, it's indeed the NW army and not the 1836 one, we can see the 1810 eagles on the shakos. But a lot of them have a bonnet de police and not a pokalem.

It could be interesting to test in the reality to do a similar construction for the huts, we can see sticks across the hut in order to suspend their gibernes...

More (only the ones on my laptop)

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That's a lot of moustaches in that second pic

Yes, they are grenadiers (or voltiguers, but definetly some kind of elite), so a moustache is pretty much a must have.
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Seems both. Some have a horn on their retroussis, some a grenade. Even if some voltigeurs had a mix grenade/horn retroussis...

Offline Wolff

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2330 on: October 12, 2018, 02:32:01 pm »
So who will be in Leipzig this year?

Offline Vincenzo

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2331 on: October 12, 2018, 02:47:06 pm »
So who will be in Leipzig this year?
I was going but i fucked the dates.
guys from our group are going, and even one of my polish friends.

Offline Duuring

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2332 on: October 12, 2018, 09:32:49 pm »
I wonder what the internal design of those huts are. I really like the small details of such camp scenes, like the row of cooking pots next to the fire and the hut made out of planks which is probably for officers.

I'm coming to Leipzig. Vince is an idiot.

Offline Cara

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2333 on: October 15, 2018, 10:48:20 am »
Olaf and Duuring, I got this from the memories of Rillet, second lieutenant, 1st company 1st Cuirassiers (p113-115)



"Les uns courent de la cave au grenier, les autres enlèvent du fourrage, des meubles, une quantité d'objets inutiles ou superflus. De retour au bivouac, on s'occupe d'abord à planter des piquets pour attacher les chevaux [...] Pendant ce temps, on allume les feux et on fait cuire la soupe, ordinairement chaque escouade ou brigade fait un feu séparé en arrière des chevaux. Les officiers, les cavaliers qui leur sont attachés, se placent en arrière de la troupe et font ménage commun; souvent faute d'ustensiles on ne peut faire la soupe; mais, lorsque le marché est bien pourvu sous tous les rapports, chacun, sans distinction de grade, travaille au repas; l'un apprête la viande, l'autre arrange les légumes ou fait le feu. Ceux qui n'ont aucun talent de cuisine vont chercher des matériaux pour construire un abri. Ce n'est autre chose que de la paille disposée sur des perches inclinées selon le côté d'où souffle le vent et d'où vient la pluie. Personne n'est inactif; officiers et soldats travaillent en commun; le besoin rapproche les gra-des et les conditions. Le soir on s'étend sur la paille quand on en a, ayant pour couverture le ciel et pour veilleuses les étoiles, et-l'on dort d'un bon sommeil, si toutefois quelque alerte nocturne ou un service de ronde, de patrouille, que sais-je, ne vient l'interrompre.
Voilà quelle était notre vie de chaque jour. "

Some interesting stuff :

- first thing done the fires, one for each "escouade" (10-12 men) and one for the officers only.

- then cooking the soup : everyone is doing it with no distinction of ranks "Need brings ranks and conditions closer, to work for the common good"

- the ones with no cooking skills are building the hut "it's only some straw on sticks. The orientation is depending of wind and rain direction. " "When we don't have straw, we lie on the ground with the sky as a blanket and the stars as night lights"

Offline Riddlez

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2334 on: October 15, 2018, 12:51:49 pm »
"all ranks"... that bullshit line stops being valid after the rank of Captain
Probably one of the very few old-timers here who hasn't been a regimental leader.

Offline Duuring

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2335 on: October 15, 2018, 04:58:02 pm »
I have trouble reading this sentence:

"Les officiers, les cavaliers qui leur sont attachés, se placent en arrière de la troupe et font ménage commun; souvent faute d'ustensiles on ne peut faire la soupe; mais, lorsque le marché est bien pourvu sous tous les rapports, chacun, sans distinction de grade, travaille au repas."

What I'm reading is that the officers and their soldier-servants (blazé also describes this practise) had their own fire, but did not have cooking gear (that makes sense, as that was issued to sections). But then I don't understand how they make their food?

Blazé describes sleeping next to a fire while a man is cooking on the same fire for the soldiers. But, despite sleeping there, he specifically does not eat from the same soup. Although that might have to do with there being mice in the soup...

"all ranks"... that bullshit line stops being valid after the rank of Captain

Blazé somewhere talkes about how men are all egalitarians until you give them the chance to be above the others. I don't think he felt he was better then the rank-and-file, but just that the fact that he was above them made his life a little more comfortable and that was reason enough.

Offline Cara

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2336 on: October 18, 2018, 06:01:27 pm »
You understood the sentence right, they "often lack cooking gear" but "when the market is well provided on all accounts, everyone, without rank distinction, is working for the meal".

Even during the Empire, the army was deeply republican : as you know (even if Blazé was in a special position) most of the officers in 1808-1810 were former 1792 volunteers and raised from the ranks. Then they did not have a preferential treatment in camp (except indeed for the etat-major starting at brigade or maybe regiment level).

I think they somewhat have cooking gear issued to their "officer section", maybe bought at their own common expense. The sentence is implying that they are supposed to receive a cooking gear but it is often lacking (due to regiments moving too fast for the Army logistics) and then they can't make the soup and are relying on generosity from their men or on their hability to buy food from the locals.

"all ranks"... that bullshit line stops being valid after the rank of Captain

Really depend the regiments and the time.
1789-1804 : all ranks, there is no question about it
1804-1812 : all ranks under colonel, a lot of officers coming from the ranks and did not forgot about it (huge difference with reenacting lol). Read Vigo-Roussillon about it for an example
1812-1815 : most of the veterans officers are dead in Russia or retired, a lot of young officers are then issued from the new military academies and are from nobles families. A definitive gap has widened between the ranks and the file...

Offline Millander

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2337 on: August 20, 2019, 02:43:33 am »
Have y'all ever lost interest in reenacting? I was really into it in high school but after being in college for a few years I've lost interest. At least in my area, it's always the same events with little variety. Also the weekends in the first and discomfort got old for me. Many of my friends are still in it though and I want to get back into the hobby once I finish school.
Of course, I also think lines should be able to move in double rank without having emotional breakdowns.

Offline Vincenzo

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2338 on: August 20, 2019, 10:38:33 am »
I've had ups and downs, It's not as exciting as before but you can make it better by variety, same events every year get boring.

Difirent periods, harder conditions and marching and so on stay fun.

Offline 33rdKincaid

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Re: Let's discuss: Reenacting!
« Reply #2339 on: August 20, 2019, 10:41:30 am »
Would definitely agree with trying a new period and/or impression.