Reenacting: Why I do it and Why it is Important
This weekend I went to another "reenactment" at the Confederate Reunion Grounds in Mexia, Texas, and at this event I did a lot of thinking as to why I am involved in living history.
The reason for this inner reflection, is before leaving, I had seen someone on social media say that reenactors are pretty much useless when it comes to preserving history. This troubling thought remained on my mind throughout the weekend and made me take a hard look at and ask: "What are we doing to make sure history is being preserved?" By the end, I saw both good and wrong things being done and decided to share my observations.
First of all, especially if you have never attended a reenactment as a spectator or participant, you may find what living historians or "reenactors" do as being somewhat odd. The media has sure done it's part to make us look a little nutty. After all, we pour thousands of dollars into outdated clothing that is hot, scratchy, and restrictive then we sleep on the ground and fire blank rounds out of antiquated guns at each other. Books like Confederates in the Attic don't help in that authors and filmmakers always manage to seek out the most extreme members of our living history community to interview. Perhaps it would help if I gave a quick run down of why I chose to get into this "hobby" twenty years ago. My reasons, after many discussions with other living historians, is a fairly normal story.
I got bit by the history bug when a teenager after watching the 1994 version of Little Women. I wanted to be Jo March. (I was already writing at the time, so that of course added to my love of that character.) To fuel my interest, I was living in New Hampshire and was only two hours away from Concord, Massachusetts and could fairly easily go visit Orchard House, among other historical sites. For other living historians, it usually starts this way but sometimes with other historical characters or stories: John Wayne movies, Gone with the Wind, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, the original American Girl Dolls and books, as well as non-fiction heroes such as Robert E. Lee and George Washington. And what child who grew up watching the Saturday Disney films with Moochie as Johnny Shiloh or young Kurt Russell as one of Mosby's Marauders did not have some interest in history sparked by the young heroes' adventures? Naturally, when I ran across a local reenacting unit and found others of my age and gender involved, I joined them--and have never regretted it.
Why do I reenact? I love to wear the clothes, as it adds a physical connection to the people of the past that you cannot get while sitting in a chair reading a book. I love being with others who have a similar passion of history. I get invited to do awesome things such as sleep in one of the earthen forts at Vicksburg. I love to travel and see new places along with the historical sights. I love trying to figure out what people ate 150 years ago and then learn to make it myself, over a fire. I feel accomplished having the knowledge of clothing construction, food preparation, fire building, among other survival skills that you gain camping primitively. I love being able to add a level of description to my historical fiction novels that come from experience. And I love to share this passion with the public.
That last statement is what of late has become a true focus for me and my family. And unfortunately, if you are an historian, you really need to look hard at how you are sharing your love for history, because times have changed and we have our work cut out for us. History, unbiased and with a heart and soul, is being scrubbed from our collective memory.
The Disney movies I mentioned above are no longer shown, and are difficult to find. Mosby's Marauders is no longer even listed on IMDB's list of films starring Kurt Russell. The American Girl Collection has been bought out by Mattel and caters to our narcissistic society by pushing dolls that look like your child while just about all but eliminating their historic doll collection. (Most of the historical ones they have now are post 1900. Felicity only returned due to the financial incentive of her being connected to Colonial Williamsburg.) Rather than Little Women, Cold Mountain, and The Patriot for films, we have Free State of Jones, D'Jango Unchained, and new to release, Beguiled, which is a psychological thriller about southern belles torturing a Union soldier. Based on poor history to pure fantasy with a malicious bent, thusly giving us no heroes from that era, new generations won't be able to look to the silver screen for inspiration to love history other than perhaps the aesthetics related to costuming and set. In my opinion, it seems the heart and soul of history is being discarded. And if you are reading this thinking I am only going to talk about Southern history from 1861-1865, I am not, though I will say that is what is being scrubbed away the quickest. Admittedly that is why it is my main concern, but I've already seen other time periods attacked and don't expect it to stop. (Such as the Thomas Jefferson statue below.)
So what is a living historian who is in the hobby for more than just the clothes and/or the burning of powder to do? We need to connect--and no, I'm not going to get all warm and fuzzy. What I am going to do is explain some things that I witnessed this weekend that worked, things that start some good discussions on history and got the message out on why it is important to preserve our understanding and appreciation of the past.
What you can do:
Quick scenario from an incident that occurred yesterday:
It was late morning and I had offered to wash the dishes. I'm standing by my tent, busy, scrubbing pots and arguing with my daughter who I've decided is a Hobbit because she was asking for one of her 8 meals, when I see a gentleman walk by our unit's camp. Other members are out and about, most are sitting around in a circle near the fire talking. The gentleman is dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a polo shirt and is looking over everything appearing nonplussed, even bored. No one at the campfire even makes eye contact. He comes near me and seeing how I'm very busy, and even half hidden by our unit's recruitment banner, he starts to veer away. I decided to lean around the banner and just say, "Hi! Are you enjoying your day?"
I immediately saw his face change. He smiled and changed course. I could almost read his mind, "Thank goodness! Someone I can talk to."
"Yes, it's a nice day. Thought I'd come and see what this was all about."
I quickly promised my daughter a biscuit with some honey if she'd go play for a while and began to chat with the man. As it turned out, he was the job boss for a construction crew that had been working on the road outside where we were having the event, and having seen the signs, wanted to take a look around before going home to Louisiana for a few days. We chatted about reenacting and history, and eventually we touched on the monuments being removed in his home state. Long story short, he eventually ended up making a note in his phone to call his state representative to request support of the bill currently in committee that would protect all historical monuments in the state. And while he didn't strike me as being particularly interested in history, he did show that he was appreciative of its importance and concerned about any of its destruction.
Simply making eye contact and greeting someone made a big difference, and it is not that hard to do. I talked to quite a few individuals over the weekend and had some similar fruitful discussions. Two families I spoke to were new transplants to Texas and were doing touristy things to get a better grasp of their new home.
Now, I will admit, I am far from being a bubbly person, and what I employed to strike up these conversations was my training from working retail. And a specific type of retail that I think works well at these events.
For several years I worked at a major bookstore chain--I think the only one that has survived. Additionally, I happened to work at the highest grossing location in the country outside of New York City. We got awarded best customer service for two out of the three years I was there. How did we do it? Simple. We made sure to attempt and make eye contact with every customer we came across and basically said, "Hello." That's it. We then left it up to the customer as to whether they wanted us to help them or not. We never pushed and were told if the customer did ask for assistance, to let them say more than we did. When I started applying this same theory to interacting with the public at living history events, I discovered it works. And I don't know about you, but as a living historian, I want spectators to be happy and have a good experience and walk away with a quality appreciation and understanding of our nation's history. Better yet, I want them to return and maybe even decide to join us.
Find ways to reach out to school aged children:
Besides making yourself more open to talk to the public during an event, some other observations I made on how to make yourself a useful living historian is School Days. If you are not a living historian and reading this as someone who loves history, this is information you can share with your local school. Reenactments usually have, on the Friday of the event, a "School Day." This is where activities have been prepared especially for students. I would say for living historians, we need to really put a lot more effort into creating quality school day programs. Send out flyers to local teachers. (Target the teachers, not the principals, fyi. And flyers are less often ignored than e-mails.) Plan fun, interactive stations, and try to get enough involvement for a small skirmish for the students to watch. They are not growing up in an era where they will happen upon Johnny Shiloh or Mosby's Marauders on television, so we need to expose them to the idea that history can be fun and fascinating. Sometimes your job may not be all that exciting, even hard work, (I ended up spending this last school day making cheese burgers), but we need to pick up and be ready to do what is necessary. In addition to the conversations and teachable moments I mentioned above, we exposed over 600 students to history in a way that they could find to be fun. (What's more, I have noticed that there are usually at least a few of these school children who want to return and drag their family back on Saturday.)
Get with your local museum and help host an event:
A tidbit about museums: numbers are important. Generally speaking, the director of a museum will be concerned with the number of people going through their museum. Whether they stay open, many times hinges on this number. As a result, they like events because they usually draw a crowd. Find a friendly local museum, (tip: small ones are usually most flexible with what you are presenting and when), and introduce yourself to the director along with an idea for an event. For example, our unit went to a local museum that houses historic documents and we set up with our equipment on the weekend closest to Veterans' Day. It is a win-win. We get access to the public, and the museum sees an increase in visitors. Just be ready to have ideas and the ability to put them into action.
In the end, while I began reenacting as a hobby related to the love of history, I have stumbled upon a calling to share history with a public that is quickly becoming apathetic, and in many cases, hostile toward the memory of the past. A trend which is very dangerous. One only need look to history to see where it leads. Living history is one of the tools I use to combat this trend, and while some may say reenactors are not helping enough, after reflection I feel confident I am doing my part.
Copyright S.H. Ford, 2017
I got bit by the history bug when a teenager after watching the 1994 version of Little Women. I wanted to be Jo March. (I was already writing at the time, so that of course added to my love of that character.) To fuel my interest, I was living in New Hampshire and was only two hours away from Concord, Massachusetts and could fairly easily go visit Orchard House, among other historical sites. For other living historians, it usually starts this way but sometimes with other historical characters or stories: John Wayne movies, Gone with the Wind, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, the original American Girl Dolls and books, as well as non-fiction heroes such as Robert E. Lee and George Washington. And what child who grew up watching the Saturday Disney films with Moochie as Johnny Shiloh or young Kurt Russell as one of Mosby's Marauders did not have some interest in history sparked by the young heroes' adventures? Naturally, when I ran across a local reenacting unit and found others of my age and gender involved, I joined them--and have never regretted it.
That last statement is what of late has become a true focus for me and my family. And unfortunately, if you are an historian, you really need to look hard at how you are sharing your love for history, because times have changed and we have our work cut out for us. History, unbiased and with a heart and soul, is being scrubbed from our collective memory.
The Disney movies I mentioned above are no longer shown, and are difficult to find. Mosby's Marauders is no longer even listed on IMDB's list of films starring Kurt Russell. The American Girl Collection has been bought out by Mattel and caters to our narcissistic society by pushing dolls that look like your child while just about all but eliminating their historic doll collection. (Most of the historical ones they have now are post 1900. Felicity only returned due to the financial incentive of her being connected to Colonial Williamsburg.) Rather than Little Women, Cold Mountain, and The Patriot for films, we have Free State of Jones, D'Jango Unchained, and new to release, Beguiled, which is a psychological thriller about southern belles torturing a Union soldier. Based on poor history to pure fantasy with a malicious bent, thusly giving us no heroes from that era, new generations won't be able to look to the silver screen for inspiration to love history other than perhaps the aesthetics related to costuming and set. In my opinion, it seems the heart and soul of history is being discarded. And if you are reading this thinking I am only going to talk about Southern history from 1861-1865, I am not, though I will say that is what is being scrubbed away the quickest. Admittedly that is why it is my main concern, but I've already seen other time periods attacked and don't expect it to stop. (Such as the Thomas Jefferson statue below.)
So what is a living historian who is in the hobby for more than just the clothes and/or the burning of powder to do? We need to connect--and no, I'm not going to get all warm and fuzzy. What I am going to do is explain some things that I witnessed this weekend that worked, things that start some good discussions on history and got the message out on why it is important to preserve our understanding and appreciation of the past.
What you can do:
- Make yourself more approachable as an historian/living historian.
- Find ways to expose children to history in a fun atmosphere.
- Work with local museums to host events.
Quick scenario from an incident that occurred yesterday:
It was late morning and I had offered to wash the dishes. I'm standing by my tent, busy, scrubbing pots and arguing with my daughter who I've decided is a Hobbit because she was asking for one of her 8 meals, when I see a gentleman walk by our unit's camp. Other members are out and about, most are sitting around in a circle near the fire talking. The gentleman is dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a polo shirt and is looking over everything appearing nonplussed, even bored. No one at the campfire even makes eye contact. He comes near me and seeing how I'm very busy, and even half hidden by our unit's recruitment banner, he starts to veer away. I decided to lean around the banner and just say, "Hi! Are you enjoying your day?"
I immediately saw his face change. He smiled and changed course. I could almost read his mind, "Thank goodness! Someone I can talk to."
"Yes, it's a nice day. Thought I'd come and see what this was all about."
I quickly promised my daughter a biscuit with some honey if she'd go play for a while and began to chat with the man. As it turned out, he was the job boss for a construction crew that had been working on the road outside where we were having the event, and having seen the signs, wanted to take a look around before going home to Louisiana for a few days. We chatted about reenacting and history, and eventually we touched on the monuments being removed in his home state. Long story short, he eventually ended up making a note in his phone to call his state representative to request support of the bill currently in committee that would protect all historical monuments in the state. And while he didn't strike me as being particularly interested in history, he did show that he was appreciative of its importance and concerned about any of its destruction.
Simply making eye contact and greeting someone made a big difference, and it is not that hard to do. I talked to quite a few individuals over the weekend and had some similar fruitful discussions. Two families I spoke to were new transplants to Texas and were doing touristy things to get a better grasp of their new home.
Now, I will admit, I am far from being a bubbly person, and what I employed to strike up these conversations was my training from working retail. And a specific type of retail that I think works well at these events.
For several years I worked at a major bookstore chain--I think the only one that has survived. Additionally, I happened to work at the highest grossing location in the country outside of New York City. We got awarded best customer service for two out of the three years I was there. How did we do it? Simple. We made sure to attempt and make eye contact with every customer we came across and basically said, "Hello." That's it. We then left it up to the customer as to whether they wanted us to help them or not. We never pushed and were told if the customer did ask for assistance, to let them say more than we did. When I started applying this same theory to interacting with the public at living history events, I discovered it works. And I don't know about you, but as a living historian, I want spectators to be happy and have a good experience and walk away with a quality appreciation and understanding of our nation's history. Better yet, I want them to return and maybe even decide to join us.
Find ways to reach out to school aged children:
Besides making yourself more open to talk to the public during an event, some other observations I made on how to make yourself a useful living historian is School Days. If you are not a living historian and reading this as someone who loves history, this is information you can share with your local school. Reenactments usually have, on the Friday of the event, a "School Day." This is where activities have been prepared especially for students. I would say for living historians, we need to really put a lot more effort into creating quality school day programs. Send out flyers to local teachers. (Target the teachers, not the principals, fyi. And flyers are less often ignored than e-mails.) Plan fun, interactive stations, and try to get enough involvement for a small skirmish for the students to watch. They are not growing up in an era where they will happen upon Johnny Shiloh or Mosby's Marauders on television, so we need to expose them to the idea that history can be fun and fascinating. Sometimes your job may not be all that exciting, even hard work, (I ended up spending this last school day making cheese burgers), but we need to pick up and be ready to do what is necessary. In addition to the conversations and teachable moments I mentioned above, we exposed over 600 students to history in a way that they could find to be fun. (What's more, I have noticed that there are usually at least a few of these school children who want to return and drag their family back on Saturday.)
Get with your local museum and help host an event:
A tidbit about museums: numbers are important. Generally speaking, the director of a museum will be concerned with the number of people going through their museum. Whether they stay open, many times hinges on this number. As a result, they like events because they usually draw a crowd. Find a friendly local museum, (tip: small ones are usually most flexible with what you are presenting and when), and introduce yourself to the director along with an idea for an event. For example, our unit went to a local museum that houses historic documents and we set up with our equipment on the weekend closest to Veterans' Day. It is a win-win. We get access to the public, and the museum sees an increase in visitors. Just be ready to have ideas and the ability to put them into action.
In the end, while I began reenacting as a hobby related to the love of history, I have stumbled upon a calling to share history with a public that is quickly becoming apathetic, and in many cases, hostile toward the memory of the past. A trend which is very dangerous. One only need look to history to see where it leads. Living history is one of the tools I use to combat this trend, and while some may say reenactors are not helping enough, after reflection I feel confident I am doing my part.
Copyright S.H. Ford, 2017
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