Does anyone here do reenactments? What kind do you do and how

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>>2846057

Californiafag here

I do Confederate artillery

pic related, uniform

>>2846361
Sounds pretty cool. How are the battles? What do you really do during and after? I'm in Jersey so I was hoping to join one of the Jersey union regiments.

>>2846361
what do you fire from the artillery?

i feel like i remember hearing that the guns fire sort of paintball things. But I can't see them making 20 lb paintballs

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>>2846484

How are the battles?

Not nearly on the scale of the events in the East, but decent enough. Our biggest event Moorpark pulls in around 500 or so reenactors.

Since we're not recreating a specific battle at any of the sites (only a handful of minor Civil War engagements occurred in California) we often improvise with a specific theme. Moorpark 2014 was based around the Overland Campaign (Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, the Crater etc.), Huntington Beach 2015 was Jackson's flank attack at Chancellorsville (the entire Confederate Army was hidden from the spectators in a dry creekbed full of trees and attacked the Union Army in the open), Vista 2016 was the Third Battle of Petersburg, Moorpark this year was 1st Fredericksburg.

>What do you really do during and after?

A lot of time standing in formation, marching, performing safety drills, and inspecting the guns for a potential hazards. Battles only last an hour or so.

pic related, that gun misfired four times in one engagement because of a deformed barrel

After battles, there are dances with period music or we just sit around and discuss everything from politics to family history, actually found out recently that one of the guys who joined in last event is pretty much a legit Holocaust survivor.

>>2846556
>what do you fire from the artillery?

Literally nothing but aluminum cannisters filled with black powder. No one is allowed to bring live rounds (i.e. bullets) onto the field at all. All weapons from muskets to cannons are test fired into the ground before events to ensure they don't have any kind of debris in them. Even something as small as a twig can potentially be a deadly projectile.

>>2846652
How's the camping? Does everyone eat period foods and drink period drinks?

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>>2846919
>How's the camping?

Well I usually stay in hotels because I'm a poorfag but when I have camped out with other members of the unit it's a decent experience. Still have problems with shit like mosquitos and other vermin though.

>Does everyone eat period foods and drink period drinks?

Yes and no. Generally, we do cook full meals period accurate but we also have Tropica orange juice and Hotess cookies stowed in the tents.

>>2846957
How much did it cost to get into it? I've looked up some rifles and they're pretty expensive.

>>2847138

Well I joined an artillery specifically because firearms aren't needed so I managed to avoid that. I do plan on acquiring a rifle at some point the future though.

My current uniform (shell jacket, pants, and kepi) cost around $120. Bought the jacket for $40 from a friend (half the price you'd get it for from a vendors), the pants at a clearance sale for $50 (2/3rds the price of a new set), and the Kepi for around $30 (market value), plus another $40 for a canteen. I still do need to rent/borrow belts and footwear, the latter of which are probably the most expensive. A new set of brogans can easily cost over $100, boots are even more expensive. Worst part is that footwear is the one thing you can't really afford to cut corners on account that you might be left pretty much unable to walk if you get a shitty pair of shoes.

I will give this one bump for interest.

>>2846957
Do you have any more pics to dump? I'm interested in seeing events and general equipment. Any pics of camp would be great too.

Obligatory in recreation threads:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiLVAz-Jczg

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>>2849075

Sure thing

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>>2849202

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>>2849213

>>2846057
The 150th Gettysburg was my most recent event so I've been out of it for a couple of years. I also campaigned since I wanted to be authentic and not spend my days with my own A frame tent and cot which no single Confederate private would have access to. It's alot of fun if you can find the right unit. I'm in Florida so it's relatively popular and there are a decent number of units to choose from. Some are awesome and filled with passionate historians that do much more with the events than just use them as an excuse to get away from the wife and kids for a weekend and drink. My captian was always finding cool shit for us to do especially at big national events like Gettysburg. We reenacted Armisteads march on the actual field in formation and under arms, something which requires special permission and something I didn't see anyone else doing for the whole week we were there.

>>2849223
>>2849213
>>2849202
All really looks fun. What's the general turnout? I'm in New Jersey so maybe it would be a bit stronger over here.

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>>2849793

California reenactments general garner 70-120 or so reenactors. Spectators vary in the hundreds. New Jersey would obviously have a lot more since it's not far from where Confederate invasions of the North (and the two most famous Civil War battlefields) took place.

btw this is the guy who was a concentration camp survivor I was talking about earlier.

>>2849391
Sounds awesome. Gettysburg is the only major ones I've ever been to, but I live in an area where a lot of battles happened so i'm sure there's some more big ones around me.