23rd - 25th September, 2022
Homestead Hollow, 2022
The company was invited and attended the trade show/arts and crafts exhibition in Springville, AL.
At this particular event, the company held a living history which was extremely well attended given the nature and the size of the venue.
We were quite honored to have been afforded the opportunity to share our love of history with so many different people from across Alabama.
Captain's Headquarters
Our company broke our encampment into three distinct stations for sharing information about the lives of men in the period with the overall idea of expressing a winter encampment. The first of the areas of interest was the officers field headquarters in which we used a 10x10 fly and 9x7 A-Frame tent. Most of the boxes used were of a period correct construction; however, other implements, such as the chairs and table were not.
We do our best to be as loyal to authenticity of the period as possible; however, achieving such authenticity is a long process and requires a great deal of time in each particular facet of one's impression. I do feel that our company does a fair and balanced job in our efforts to respectfully present the past to others.
Uniforms, Weapons, & Equipment Display:
Uniforms:
The Company's Uniform Display was inclusive of a basic Confederate Soldiers kit from the war. Our display included the following items:
Frock Coat / Shell Jacket (B&B Tart)
Trousers (B&B Tart)
Wool Socks
Kepis Assorted (Avery Miller)
Coverlette (South Union Mills)
Federal Issue Overcoat
Single-Bag Knap Sack (Missouri Boot & Shoe)
Jefferson Brogans (South Union Mills)
Weapons:
The Company Weapon Display was inclusive of period weapons which included:
1842 Springfield Musket
1861 Springfield Rifled Musket
1853 P Enfield Rifled Musket
Cook & Brothers Musketoon
Equipment:
The Company Equipment display includes everyday items carried by a Confederate Soldier on Campaign in the field. It included the following:
Leather Accouterments (Belt, Cartridge Box / Tins, Shield Front Cap Pouch, Enfield Bayonet & Bayonet Sheath and Frog) (Carry Davidson)
Period Plate, Knife, 3 Pong Fork, Spoon
Tin Cup (Axel Ulrich)
Lye Soap (South Union Mills)
Lucifers
Pipe, Tabacco Pouch
Assortment of Poke Sacks with Period Foods and Items
Confederate Pattern Tin Canteen (Axel Ulrich)
Tin Mucket (Axel Ulrich)
Cooking With the Quartermaster:
The Quartermaster Sergeant spent much of the time engaged in cooking items that, though not period, contributed to the company coffers in order to assist financing future needs.
The fair presented to spectators included hoe cake, fried biscuits with powdered sugar and honey, as well as peach cobbler.
Donations generated from the samples given at the event were more than sufficient to reimburse our costs for the event. Other items cooked were a Taco Pasta Friday evening and a Cabbage and Beef Stew (Period) which both proved to be very popular with all in attendance.
We are quite lucky to be so well fed in our company. I might add that though much of the food we eat in our camp is more modern in nature and non-period, we do have the capability to produce period correct food and recipes on appropriate occasions.
Final Thoughts on Homestead Hollow:
Homestead Hollow was a wonderful opportunity for the Company to share our passion for our history and to share our hobby with many spectators from around the state. We utilized the opportunity to recruit, to teach, and to answer questions about the hobby itself, the lives of those who lived the War, and how they lived as well as why they carried the equipment they did and wore what they wore. To share our history with others is an honor and privilege and we all very much are dedicated to it, thus making these events important, as history is better learned when it can be seen and experienced.
Comments