Authenticity II.

See this unsuspecting linen fellow, he is a breadbag. Some people want him ERADICATED.

Mr Breadbag is a not an uncommon sight in Napoleonic reenactment. I bought one as an early piece of kit as they are cheap and seem rather handy. To a newbie it seemed a useful thing to get when perusing reeneactment supplies. My breadbag is for food or my leather notebook or knife what my canteen is for water, easily accessible on or off the battlefield.

Recently I became enbroiled in a debate about how authentic they are, one corner saying they were NEVER issued to French soldiers and not official kit, the other, like me, saying they did get used by other armies and civilians and were very useful so a soldier would have picked one up. Yes, French soldiers had a leather backpack but would you as a person want to carry it everywhere and struggle to remove it amid rolled blackets and cartridge boxes everytime you wanted to get something?   I bet if you stopped a soldier on the road he would be festooned with Non-issued items, although that dosn't mean he will have them on parade.

It mutated into a clash between parade ground mentality and the campaign look, with the main breadbag hater claiming everyone should have identical kit down to the last button and back then a soldier would have been seriously reprimanded for turning up on parade not in issued kit. Yes I am sure he would. But we as reenactors are not issued identical kit, many can't afford to buy all the kit (except over time, I kept making this point) and some even enjoy having a little personal touch here and there. One guy has a stuffed partidge hanging off his backpack, looks good but is obviously a campaign thing, a bit of forage, but authentic forage never the less. Nor do we march 30 miles a day, get screamed at by Sergeants, steal food off the locals and sleep in a field in the rain at the end of it.. generally.

We build a camp with tents and cooking fires, this suggests life on campaign, and whilst we recreate the lives of Soldiers.. we are not under military discipline and are here because we consent to be and enjoy the hobby and love the history, history that we take seriously.

A breadbag with half a loaf in it also doubles as quite a good pillow, with a greatcoat for a blanket.

I spoke about authenticity earlier and those points still apply. Also about how we always want more recruits to fill the ranks and arguments like the one above would have quite put me off if I thought I was going to be balled out for not turning up with a full and correct head of shako furniture on day one. Everyone makes the most of what they have, no one turns up for drill in a baseball cap.

But each to there own, a friend of mine who runs an Anglo-Saxon group says that in reenactment you 'Get out what you put in'  and there is so much enthusiasm about that people are not purposefully tardy. I am proud that my unit embraces the campaign look and if you want to be involved in more of a parade ground reenactment then their are units out there that will cater for you.

Vive l"Emporeur! Vive L'Breadbag!

Bring up the guns!

I just spoke to someone at the Police. They Black powder licence I was waiting for HAS NEVER EVEN ENTERED THE SYSTEM.  It was February at the latest I sent it and having heard much about backlogs I assumed it was just going through the system, possibly waiting on checks or confirmations etc. Finally I e-mailed them, twice, but didn't hear back, so I phoned and was told there was no record. Maybe it was lost in the post.

I don't mind doing the form again, its the wasted time that makes me cringe. They did say they had my shotgun form but that is of no use unless I have the black powder form.. yes you can use a gun but your not allowed to handle the powder needed to fire it.

Presently I use a dummy musket at displays, which is fine for drill and when firing in line you can simply wait and jolt the gun as if it fired at the same time as your comrades, the noise and smoke will conceal the fact your not actually firing.
In skirmishing, such as at Dover, it is far more apparent that you are pretending, and dummy guns don't even come with a ramrod so you have to pretend to be doing that bit too. You will also die a lot more often or sooner so that the firers can carry on putting on a show. This is understandable as people want to see guns firing and the smoke drifting...

I have no criminal record and no history of mental illness, the only blip that might stop me getting a licence is that I am diabetic. I honesty think this should be no barrier as I would be checking my blood sugar before a battle and generally don't have problems. However my doctor did block me doing a parachute jump once on medical grounds, until I made an appointment and argued my case and she reluctantly relented. I am hoping she won't do the same about this and understand the grant is for using a musket for which I will not have any ammo or powder,  I'm not actually keeping a shotgun around the house.

My advice to anyone would be to do things sooner other than later, and there is no harm in phoning the office to check they have your paperwork, you will not actually be arrested for disturbing their tea. The man I spoke to did seem very nice and somewhat increased my confidence that it would not be another four months till I hear anything. (after this I will probably phone them next week anyway)

On the subject of guns these guys seem leaders in the field Derbyshire arms. I have e-mailed them about ordering a musket in future and they allow you to pay half as a deposit and half on completion, their services are in demand so it is best to order ASAP. At least if the shotgun licence comes through first I can put an order in, you cannot receive any gun without holding a licence.. I suppose I will try and collect it from an event which they are attending when that day comes. If not for the medical factor above I would order one already. At least everything should come through in time for next season!

unseen benefits..

Apart from the actual taking part and meeting lots of agreeable people I have noticed other benefits to doing reenactment.

I am eating a bit better, whilst I have never been into junkfood and favour going down the organic route whenever possible I still regularly ate things like chocolate or cakes and have noticed a marked decrease in this (real patisserie croissants don't count), infact anything that comes in a colourful or plastc packet tends to be avoided.

Having another interest in life that you feel a passion for is just good for your mood and adds to contentment. If I do overtime at work (not often) I can chant 'shako vouchers, shako vouchers, shako vouchers' and it will all seem more worth while.

Putting an event on the calendar is another thing to look forward to.
I am not a natural administrator, I had an office job once but they got suspicious at how often my inbox caught fire in a mysterious lighter fluid explosion incident, especially as I don't smoke...
My lovely Wife is usually the facilitator of holidays and now I have just organised a flight to Leipzig and hotel accomodation at the end, and have an enveloped marked 'Liepzig, important bits of paper.'    I am more organised.

Better budget. This might seem strange given its not a cheap interest but I have been saving money I would normally spend on other hobbies and putting it into this. I have even sold some old clutter and sold on a festival ticket to pay a large chunk of the above trip.

I am more concerned with maintaining good health, opting to make a few more trips on my bike other than a bus or train or to walk a bit further before stopping, opting for the smaller portion when cooking. I want to keep marching and fighting for years to come and keep a fairly flat look to the front of my uniform, no tum pooching out!

Must resist grecian 2000 though.

The Tricolor cliffs of Dover.

Well, I DID go to Dover. I am quite a good traveller, as long as I am being conveyed in the right direction I feel things are going well, and if there is a delay that I can do nothing about then just sit and wait for a bit.

I soon got up on the Heights, a former fort overlooking the harbour, it covers quite an area but much has fallen into disrepair, hence the existence of the preservation society who run this event.
It was a fairly relaxed affair, other than representing a French camp and chatting to visitors the main event was a skirmish in the afternoon. Before then there was a bit of drill, and I wandered about the site, chatted to the British surgeon and shared a spot of snuff, and enjoyed the view. There was also a lovely bit of story telling from John to a bunch of kids, all about soup!

Also tried on the Curassier gear from our display, wow, If I ever win the lottery (I do buy a ticket about every 12 months..) or inherit a huge fortune from a mysterious relative then I would be tempted to try and put a unit together, with my four warhorses from my personal stables, in the grounds of my castle.  I am a great natural horseman and went on a hack once in Cornwall and didn't fall off once.

I digress.  The skirmish!  as usual we were outnumbered so had to hide in an abandoned barracks until we could sneak up some steps to the main area which had a sort of dry moat around which the public stood, the sentry was shot and a brisk fire put the unfortunate Highlanders out of action and we tried to rouse the residents of Dover to throw off the shackles of entrenched Monarchy but they were not having any of it. Then the Foot guards came on and an enjoyable shoot out ensued with us firing at will (poor old Will). I managed to get shot twice but the kindly Highland Doctor revived me the first time 'Aaagh yes, you've been shot in the timetable.'  
He needn't have troubled cos at the end I found myself hoisted up besides a comarade and despite appeals to the crowd for leniency were shot as infilitrators, they could have just sent us to the detention centre down the road, but no.
Back from the dead we formed up and gave a mighty 'Vive l"Empereur! or three, followed by the British officer attempting to lead his men in a rendition of 'God save the King..' except with a rather stumbling 'don't really know the words/I'll just look at my feet' response from his men that I found very amusing. Superior French elan indeed!

Immediately afterwards the Surgeon from the footguards gave a talk/demonstration on battlefield surgery with a patient having one of his legs amputated and carried away whilst his mother wept (then had a stiff drink). Great show. I think as a smaller event audience participation was vamped up, at Hunton it didn't really matter if the public were there or not, you mainly listened out for orders and watched the goings on in front of you, the set up here was much like being on a stage.

Good day indeed. Next stop Eastbourne redoubt next month where we shall meet the Foot guards once again. I will now return to drinking tea.

Oddments.

A friend of mine has started supplying all manner of cutlery and plates and cups at Laura's historic homewares. One of the first things you should get hold off is something to eat and drink out of.

I have also had dealings with A stitch in time, a tailoring comany that specialise in Napoleonic gear, I met one of the guys and he is familiar with most established regiments and might well know what exactly you need more than you do! Competitive prices and you can e-mail with details of what you want and get a quote.

Topical but not strictly reenactmenty I recommend everyone to read about General Lasalle. This guy is almost unbelieveable, his life reads like a work of fiction, romantic assignations behind enemy lines, bluffing armies into surrender, duelling, drinking, music making, cheeking Napoleon and generally being a rogue, but also a fantastic cavalry commander despite that.

May have had my first set back in that the one day event at Dover is a real arse to get to and back on a Sunday by public transport, with engineering work on, which would make next event about six weeks away! yikes, better see if I can make some of the others.

Authenticity.

After the show at Hunton I was talking to a local farmer, he was selling cider, and he took a break to come down to watch and said he enjoyed it but he told me how there was a woman nearby who moaned several times about 'How there should be far more dead and how could they stand there shooting and not hit anyone..'  The musket was not a very acurate weapon but she was right, in the real battle more people would have fallen, so are we being unauthentic?

..We don't have hundreds of soldiers to replace the dead.. and the show would be over very quickly if each volley claimed a half dozen victims. Compromises must be made for practical reasons. We are the first to admit many of us are too old or too short sighted, or too big or too female to be serving French soldiers but this is another compromise made so people can enjoy it, some people start late, others don't want to stop.

From my experience in wargaming I have always been fairly relaxed about uniforms and authenticity, as long as it looks about right, and would never be bothered if someones 15mm tall Roman legionaires had the wrong sandals on or some such. Indeed I tend to feel people who do are a bit fussy and should get over it, and I wondered if in reenactment I would be chided for being not exactly right or wearing the wrong shoe laces.  I need not have worried.

Other than asking for any modern stuff to be put away when a site opens to the public I have not yet heard anyone asked to go and change something, this is because people WANT to be authentic and so look to there own gear. If you just want to dress up and fire guns there are plenty of other ways to do it. I was worried about my (ebay) trousers having thin stripes that were probably machined in, and possibly with synthetic thread, nor are they actually breeches but the important thing is they are linen and could have been around, and no one from the public has paid much attention to my trousers, yet.

Another great thing about the 45eme is that generally portray the troops in the field, campaign dress, so kit gets lost and replaced, clothes get faded or repaired, equipment and gear gets picked up or looted along the way. Another bonus is not polishing and shining everything for parades! Leave that to the Coldstream guards, they do that sort of thing, and some of them enjoy it I'm sure.

'Sacre Bleu! is Napoleon getting out of a Ford Mondeo, better get a picture or the boys will say 'Picture or it didn't happen.'

I have found I am actually quite fussy in other ways.. I only really want to use things I could carry and I don't like to eat or drink anything during the weekend that I might not have had 'back then'. No ice creams. No coffee unless it was made in the camp (and no tea at all). No fizzy drinks.
I confess I may sneak off and send a text to report that I'm not actually dead.. or take a photo with my phone when not in camp and certainly not on the field! but other than that I also become iliterate for the weekend. I have a couple of old books that might pass mustard but I also feel they should be things published before 1815, which I don't have, so I don't read. Its quite a nice change as normally I spend a lot of time using a phone, or a computer or reading a book or a paper. 

To anyone uncertain about this aspect again I say just ask and people will put you on the right path and if something can't be changed it can usually be hidden or adapted. You will find that if you want to be authentic then the rest will follow.

Hunton!

I hadn't originally planned to go to Hunton court 'Battle of the nations' but after Woolaton I wanted to get more events in and it fell on my long weekend, followed by a bank holiday.

Things I had learnt from Woolaton. Take booze (I actually wasn't sure what the view on drinking was, I was soon put right). Take food that can be cooked on a fire. Take notes. The later because people say things like 'Bob Smith makes those for about ten pounds', and you don't know who Bob Smith is and/or can't remember his name to look up later, same with companies. I have a little black leather book and pencil for this although it still mainly contains little sketches of camp life.

Hunton court, near Maidstone. Blessed with a lift up I arrived about five minutes before a parade of both armies in honour of the family whose land the event was on and a pretty good display it made too (must check my shirt is tucked in..).  Soon after there was drill. I remembered things from last time and am sure that if any of you bump into me and say 'Fix!' my shoulders will straighten and my head will snap forward. First casualty of the weekend was the person next to me feinting, it was a turning out to be a hot day!

 I can (usually) spot roughly where I am in these photos by being next to Brian, the tall bloke in the bearskin. A remarkable thing about changing formation is how often you can find youself in a different place just from a simple change.

The battle that afternoon was a sizeable affair even having localised skirmishes within it, a redoubt was assailed on the right whilst we advanced and drove off some Belgiums, one of whom got a musket butt in the head from me. Close combat is fun and rather polite, people signalling by gestures 'Go on then smash me in the face!'  We then over ran a gun position at the end.

After the dust had settled I had to go an guard the powder wagon, and enjoyed watching some Brunswickers trying to break a fallen tree up using only their bare hands, there was some falling off involved.
Then a lovely regimental dinner, two tables, good food, great company, an abundance of wine. This is the fantastic social side of it, the battle is perhaps an hour and a half but a summer evening is four or five hours of merriment. Athough only my second outing the unit was taking on the feel of a family, and I am not generally a family person but here are people you actually have things in common with, of all different ages,  including Mouton the dog, and you eat together, camp together, drill together, fight together.
I went to gather firewood afterwards with an axe and ended up chopping a fallen tree in half with the help of a redcoat, John of the East Essex, just like those encounters between piquets where enemies become friends. We carried the wood back and he joined us for a drink.

Next day ran quite like the first, without the parade, and making sure everyone had enough water, and this time I got it from a Belgium, seemed only fair. Sergeant Willie got promoted beforehand and the cry of Vive Willie! ran out along with 'Willie, willie, willie - OI OI OI!'  Even L'Emporeur found it funny.

After the battle the French flag was lowered and people started moving off, I find it a bit strange when people disppear into a tent and re-appear in jeans and a T-shirt. Who is this? are it's you.  Au revoir!

That Conversation.

As noted people love to come up to talk to you and if you are not prepared for this you should either not take up reenactment, stand next to someone who loves talking or pretend to be actually French and go 'pardon?' To every question.

My first blog post covered most of why I wanted to take up reenactment, a keen interest in the era and military history, and just experiencing how it was instead of just reading about it, anecdotal history and memoires have always been my favourite form of history book and here you can live that life.. or as close as a fairly comfortable approximation will allow short of half rations, fatigue, dysentry and various afflictions of the camp.. or being shot.. will allow.

One guy at Woolaton was almost flabberghasted that we all wanted to be French. THE ENEMY! I can answer this on several levels, firstly without French reenactors there would be no events, nothing beyond parade ground displays, it takes two sides to put on a battle and the French are usually outnumbered. Secondly being French I can go to practically ALL Napoleonic events, the French are everywhere.. Spain, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Eygpt, they even got to Ireland! 
Also I tend to root for the underdog. Being the ones to win on a given day is especially sweet when the crowd started off booing you and rooting for the redcoats. I also get the impression that life in the French camp is more relaxed and uniforms more of a campaign look, certainly in the 45eme no one minds if your not a chocolate box soldier.

Plus French uniforms; way cooler!

The hobby needs more French, certain British regiments *coughs* are quite oversubscribed so join the conquerors of Europe instead.

Having studied history any notion of 'them and us' is strange to me, as is the patriotic notion of 'my country; right or wrong.' so that combined with the above makes the French a fine choice.
The ideals of the revolution may have been undermined by the Empire but for many (especially a soldier of my age) memories of fraternite, equalitie, liberte! still cling on whilst the British seem intent on protecting their money/trade and helping the Spanish whose society is practically medieval. The lives of many French commanders read like adventure novels, the Marshals rose from all sorts of backgrounds, the sort of fiction that is Sharpe for the British is actual reality for many French officers, there are so many colourful characters.


vive l'empereur! is a fine thing to shout.

Baptism of fire.

So I left the house in the thin morning light, in kit, sack thrown over one shoulder, with a journey from Brighton to Nottingham ahead. First fail: My connecting train had been cancelled. Fortunately myself and another chap at the station agreed to share a taxi to Brighton and both got our trains okay. Going up in all the kit I had was a practical matter (and quite fun) as I also had a sackful of stuff to carry and didn't want to take a full change of clothes.

A useful thing here was a leather wallet on a string I picked up, you will need to put your tickets, money, phone and cards etc in something that can also be concealed whn required. I had booked an early train although the Saturday was mainly a setting up day for a display on the Sunday and bank holiday Monday, so when I got off the train (leaving the gang of medical/law students on a stag weekend whom I had shared much of the the voyage with, they were like a pack of junior British officers going on leave, football, cricket, drink, rugby, drink etc) I had some time and looked at Nottingham castle, had a drink in ye olde trip to Jerusalem, allegedly Britain's oldest pub and made my way towards Woolaton which lay on the outskirts of Nottingham, so googlemap told me.

I also had 'that' conversation for the first time with a very nice chap when we both got caught in a sudden downpour, 'Why are you dressed like that? Why Napoleonic stuff? and Why French? 

I had memorized the route, roughly, as I realised even with my phone put away when in camp it was unlikely to hold battery life for 48 hours, later I would buy a spare battery and swap it when the first ran low). A couple of people thought I was a pirate and a man with a big moustaches shouted Vive le France! out of his van. 
I arrived. I found the French campsite by Woolaton hall (which you might recognise from Batman) and met Duncan and a couple of others, the first to be putting up tents. Then had a sit down, refilled my canteen and had more of the dry bread and sausage that would become my staple fare.
More folk arrived. The Flag went up. I borrowed the habit, giberne (cartridge belt) shako and musket that would complete my kit. Beer cans cracked open. I felt very welcome, chatted here and there. Then it was off to the pub for dinner.
The backroom was soon full of Frenchmen and women whilst quite coincidently some American WWII reenactors appeared in the main bar, visiting the place where the unit they portray had been billeted. Local people were all very interested.

Back at camp I crashed out under an awning. For several reasons I had no tent (I was kindly offered a plastic tent and an option of sharing but declined), firstly I didn't feel I'd need one, secondly I couldn't afford a proper one and thirdly it would have been a great bundle to carry, also I liked the idea of being a Soldier with his gear on his back and that a tent would have been a bit of a luxury often left behind on the march, if available at all. I slept quite well and awoke at dawn, seeing a stag and hind just standing there in the morning mist.

I am very proud of this picture. First time fully kitted up in the French camp, away in the background you can see the British camp, where they deserve to be at the bottom of the hill! 

Drill. I was a bit worried, drill always seemed complicated and visions of Private Pile from Full metal jacket came into my head. Everyone would be well drilled like a military machine and there would be me struggling to turn the right way as commands were given in French.    It was fine. I made a few mistakes but new guys are put in the back row and always with someone at hand to help, plus much of it is just copying everyone else.. I mainly listened to a gauche or a droit.. for a clue as to which way we would be going.  After this me and a few new or out of practice guys got a go on our own, enough to be able to get by in the event that afternoon.

Firstly we had to be in an artillery display showing the effect of different shot on a body of men, lots of falling down and dying involved. We got a nice big BooOOOooo as we came on. With only twenty minutes till the skirmish we fell out under some trees, it was lovely waiting for the off and making small talk, wondering what would happen.
After an artillery duel we came on and the battle drifted back and forth, I stood in line, second rank and (pretended) to aim and fire, timing my shots with the real shooters around me, smelling the smoke for the first time. Time goes quite quickly, and even standing waiting to go forward is exciting, your world is primarily the people immediately besides you. The French side had the best of it that day, red and green coats lay strewn about the field and we marched back up the hill to our camp.

I was going on holiday the next day and after a bit of chatting and handshaking was on my way back to the station, having had a great weekend.

First faltering steps...

Why the blog?  I recently got into Napoleonic reenactment and thought how helpful it would be to other new recruits, or those considering taking it up, to hear some thoughts, get advice on starting out and where to get kit, things they might need, and generally be encouraged by the great time I have had so far. I called the blog Left foot forward because all movements in French army start with the left foot going forward!

Reeneactment is something I had considered doing several times before, but never got round to it. Napoleonic history and wargaming had long been an interest of mine and whilst I have been happy to fritter away money in dribs and drabs on other hobbies the costs involved in getting kitted up for reenactment as well as potential travel costs (especially as I don't drive) was the main thing stopping me. I also have a job where where I am required to work the majority of weekends and wondered how I would get to attend events short of using up all my holiday or getting lucky with the rota. None of these things would prove insurmountable.

One evening I shot off a few e-mails asking people who run groups off the Napoleonic association website whether they were looking for new people and what advice they could give to someone wanting to start out. The fact that it was the tail end of the bicentenial events surrounding so many battles was also a prompt, the lure of Waterloo 2015 being something I saw as a real big life experience. Also I am not getting any younger, better now than never.

Duncan from the French 45eme was the first to reply and a dialogue started and basic questions answered, a close second was a Prussian landwehr unit but they were based a bit further away and I was already gravitating towards the French point of view. I never considered joining a British regiment and shall record why later on.

I printed off forms for the 45eme and Napoleonic association began getting little bits of kit, McFarthingbowls were a great source of cutlery, cups, a canteen and such like. My first mistake was ordering a sabre-briquet, a short infantry sword which as a line infantryman I would not need but I like swords! I managed to cancel that one in time.  First big purchase was a greatcoat, this was a practical thing because it can cover up a multiple of sins, a habit (uniform jacket) is one of the most expensive bits of kit to get hold of but a coat will do and will also keep you warm, you'll just have to deal with the heat in the summer but remember your a soldier now!   I also sent off my application for a black powder licence, and am still waiting on that 3 months and an e-mail later.

I got my great coat from history in the making who were very helpful, and remember putting the coat on to find it a fine fit and with the canteen and havasack slung over each hip I could already see a passable French soldier taking shape. I had also picked up a couple of pairs of linen trousers off ebay for just a couple of quid, and they have proved fine stand ins for actual white breeches.

I started considering what event to go to first, it was early in the season, the first event was abit far/pricey by train and another consideration loomed for the first time.. a lot of events are at country houses or outside of major towns and for someone without a car you will have to find your own way, look ahead for buses or taxis, use google maps to find options and distances. Also booking train tickets online in advance will save you a tidy sum, always plan travel a few weeks in advance if possible.

 By now I also had a 19th century shirt off ebay and a waistcoat (military vest, white) from Sutlers store. Seeking advice about the former got a mixed reaction, and some condemnation, but the item turned up in good time and I have had no problems with it. Fathingdale's also supplied a cheap bicorne so I wouldn't be bareheaded, going about bareheaded was apparently looked down on.

I also got some black gaiters (can't remember where from) these were also useful as I could wear a normal pair of black leather shoes and get away with it, the bottom covering the laces and detail nicely. Mud and people nipping your heels on the march are also good reasons to have gaiters to keep your shoes on. 

When getting kit, ASK around your group, once you sign up you will doubtless have access to a forum or a facebook group and people will help out, also try to check how long an item will take to arrive, many are bespoke and will have to be made to measure. I just bought a backpack and then noticed an average wait of six months, if you want an item for a particular event you can always ask if they think it will be ready in time. Also regiments want more members and most will have kit to LEND people, infact if you had nothing and wanted to 'try before you buy' most will kit you out and the Napoleonic association will even let you join for one event in case you decide it is not for you. Despite my lovely wife advising me to give it a go before buying into it too much I had already kind of taken the plunge. I would not regret it.

Woolaton, Nottingham would be my first event!