The Reenacting "Family"

I've come to realize that many reenactors of the Civil War feel like they belong to a sort of family. And believe me, it is a tight-knit social group, at least from my experience. This past weekend's annual Battle of Plymouth Living History Weekend brought this fact sharply into focus for me. First of all, I got to see a lot of folks that I haven't seen in 6 months or more, which is always nice. But there was a lot more to it this weekend than just seeing old friends and acquaintances.

I am always amazed at the dedication of a small group of Pennsylvanians who make the trek to Plymouth, NC each year to honor their ancestors of the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania regiments. They are truly genuine in the love of their ancestors and heritage, and are some of the nicest folks you could ever hope to meet. Their dedication to preserving the memory of their forebears is heartening.

This weekend also witnessed the return to the field of a long-time reenactor who is well loved and respected in the reenacting community. Not long ago he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and he has withered physically. After Saturday's battle he told me that being back on the field was the best therapy he's had yet. On Sunday morning he and his son were baptized at the river and his battalion promoted him to the rank of Lt. General, a rank that he has always declined to take. The outpouring of love and generosity shown this weekend would be enough to convince anyone that reenactors really are a sort of family. They care about one another, look out for one another, and will give each other the shirt off their back when needed. Sure, sometimes they squabble like children, but that's also part of being a family now, isn't it?

I've met a lot of great people through the reenacting community, and I'm sure in the years to come there will be many more. But this past weekend reminded me that life isn't just about Yankees and Confederates, but its about taking care of your fellow man and enjoying the company of others before its too late.

My Two Latest Book Reviews

I have recently had two book reviews published, both dealing with Civil War naval history. The first is my review in Civil War Book Review on Edward Cotham's Battle on the Bay.

Just out this week, is my review of Angus Curry's The Officer's of the CSSShenandoah, published in the January 2007 issue of North Carolina Historical Review. This review will be available online once the issue is archived, so check back to the site periodically.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and reviewing both books and would recommend them to anyone. Cotham's book is a very thorough examination of Galveston, Texas during the war. It is quite an entertaining and informative read. Curry's book is a work that touches on numerous aspects of scholarship from masculinity to memory to weave a unique portrait of the ship's officer corps. Even if you aren't particularly interested in naval history, both of these books are worth a look.

Cotham, Battle on the Bay
Curry, The Officers of the CSS Shenandoah

Happy Reading!

Gearing Up

Well, starting next weekend, our merry little band known as Ship's Company of the Roanoke will embark on a stretch that will include three programs in four weeks, and further, four programs in six weeks. Two of these four are considered "maximum effort," meaning we expect everyone who can show up to do so. It is stretches like this that really test our mettle as a unit. Its great being able to see everyone so much, but you also have to be very careful that you don't start falling into a rut, so to speak. Here's the upcoming schedule with commentary.

April 28-29, Battle of Plymouth (NC)
This is an event where we get to simply shoot our guns (a lot). Its a powder burner and usually the only one of that we do all year. Most of our focus is living history, but this offers us a chance to play, both in the field and on some boats.

May 5, NC Maritime Museum, Beaufort
This is a timeline living history program, where we will cover RevWar, 1812, and Civil War. Attendance so far is not looking great, but we'll put on a good show nonetheless.

May 19, Historic Edenton (NC)
We will be giving this site the first Civil War program they've ever had. Interesting considering that their main focus is the colonial and Federal periods and they are one of NC's oldest towns. But, there was some Civil War action in the area and they want to shed light on it. Great for us!

June 2, Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro (NC)
We do a couple of living history programs each summer at this park and any time period is appropriate. These programs are always among the most laid back that we do because we are never overrun with visitors, but still see a lot of good folks.

As you can see, we'll be busy, though a lot of these are one-day programs. We love what we do, and we're going to be doing a lot of it in the near future.

So Much for Keeping Up

Ok, so I start this blog hoping it will be a fairly regular thing and I go five days between my first two posts. Life is busy.

Living History

Yes, this is a photo of me doing living history as a Confederate sailor at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond in 2005. Unfortunately, this museum has been dogged by controversy over the past few years, but our experience there has been very positive.

My living history organization is called Ship's Company of the Roanoke and was formed in 2004. We portray sailors and Marines from the American Revolution, War of 1812, and the Civil War. We portray both Union and Confederate services depending on what the event calls for. We were honored to be chosen to do a living history presentation at MOC in conjunction with their recent exhibit on the Confederate Navy. We returned again in 2006 and will be going back in July. Unlike many, we feel that the museum staff, including Waite Rawls are doing the best job they can under the current circumstances. The goal of our organization is education, and we do not get bogged down in politics as some groups do. No matter if we are at MOC or an event that requires us to portray the US Navy, we do the same amount of educational programming in any case. We have built strong relationships with many museums in North Carolina and Virginia and hope to continue to do so. Many of our members are associated with museums and historic sites either as employees, volunteers, or board members.

My point is, we are unlike most of your typical "reenactment" units. We wish there were more out there like us, but to each his own I suppose. I think people really appreciate what we do and we always attract a crowd, whether we are shooting guns or not!

Welcome to Civil War Navy, et. al.

Welcome to my first blog ever! We'll see how this goes. I've been reading a number of blogs for a month or so now, and I figured I'd give it a try. This blog is titled "Civil War Navy, et. al." for a reason. While one of my primary interests is the history of the Civil War navies, I am interested in many other facets of history that will probably enter into this blog at some point in time. I'll try to keep up and live up to the examples set by some of my favorite bloggers (who I will mention as we go along). Welcome and hopefully you'll enjoy the ride!

Andrew Duppstadt