Fine Tuning the Impression by R. Denton This is "excerpted" from a response I wrote to someone asking for some "fine-tuning" advice for their Federal Impression. I thought we'd include it in the articles, as I'm constantly getting barraged by requests for "more stuff", and "why don't you publish some of them letters Bob?"
So here goes...

Dear Kev,

    Thanks for writing, I'm flattered that you feel our advice will aid you in helping tune your impression, and I'll try my best to give you some hints and suggestions.
    Probably the first place to start is the good ol' 50 yard rule, i.e. "when you're more than 50 yards from the Feds they ALL look good because they ALL look the same!". Unfortunately, when we get close-up, the differences become more apparent, to say the least!
    I know the biggest beef Travy and I have with most bad federal reenactors, is the same as with bad Confed. reenactors-i.e., the clothes and gear are sutler made and of poor quality. Now as I don't know where you got your stuff, I'm gonna assume that its good. But if you need to upgrade, then there are lots of good sources for fed gear and clothes on the The Bully Boys Site. But gear and clothes are only the beginning, so to speak. You can dress anybody up in good stuff, but if their haversack is down to their knees, etc., they still are gonna look like crap, no? And what's even worse, is the "cookie-cutter" hardcore fed/reb impression, so popular these days. This is where everybody has the "perfect" Fed/Reb County Cloth uniform, which fits "perfectly" (i.e. is tailored), the "just right" blanket, the expensive traps at the "just right" level (you get the picture), the perfect smoothbore musket. They still all look the same...not like Civil War soldiers; like hardcores! (Not what we're after).
    Here's some of the things the 37th has used to "structure" our impressions to make them personal and more "realistic".

• Familiarize yourself with photographs, and study them, REALLY study them. Put on your gear and clothes and compare. Do you look like the picture? Be objective and be very critical. DON'T USE TROIANI PRINTS or any other recent paintings! They are most often based on (hardcore) reenactor portrayals, thus they are "third hand". This is a terrible foible of the hardcore movement these days-it was done at the Media Magic Antietam filming last year (i.e.-basing a scene off of a Troiani print! Disgraceful!)

• Don't use clothing that's "fitted". Use standard sizes, especially if you're doing enlisted. Enlisted soldiers wouldn't have any access to tailors to "fit" their clothes. They could make "field" modifications of course (e.g. hemming trousers or jacket sleeves, etc.), but the general fit would have to conform to the standard US Govt. size system.

• Study the supply conditions through the war, which were constantly changing, even for the Federal army. Know where the supply "ebbs" took place, and when (e.g. the Second Manassas Campaign, the Valley Campaign, Sherman's March*, etc.), thus you can really dress down for events portraying these periods. You can shuck your cartridge box, wear slouch or civilian hats, go barefoot or wear really bad shoes. Use your imagination and double check with period accounts.

• Regress to your childhood and re-familiarize yourself with the joys of being dirty! Now we're not talking about smearing mud on your face or trousers, and saying "ok...I'm dirty now!" Nothing looks worse than a just before the event "mud-job", or smearing wet gunpowder/ashes on your face like so much stage makeup. Let your clothes get dirty naturally, or to speed up the process, give them a good mud/dust bath well before the event. Then let them dry and beat out the mud. This is what the soldiers would have done, and it leaves a different mind of dirt "stain" behind. The stuff will "soften" the colors of new clothes, and every time you slap your knee when somebody cracks a joke, a satisfying cloud of dust will issue up out of the fabric! Havin' your face filthy with newly applied dirt doesn't cut it...the soldiers would have gained access to a little water and washed it off (there are numerous pictures of CW soldiers helping each other "wash up" in the morning using a canteen and handkerchief/rag). The dirt/mud thing can be very effective, but its often overdone by the typical hardcore. Be judicious with its application.

• Be willing to use something other than the oh-so-typical Federal Double Bag knapsack. Now I know...b-zillions of them were made and issued to Fed soldiers. But there were many others types. Also, speaking of knapsacks/blankets, etc., wear the knapsack with a blanket roll, or with the blanket folded up inside. It was probably as common as wearing it rolled "perfectly" and strapped to the top of the knapsack. Finally, do NOT "twist-twist-twist" your blanket up into something that looks like a "breadstick" when making a blanket roll (contrary to what some "other" hardcores might tell you). Its uncomfortable, its uncommon (albeit there are a few pics of blanket rolls that look like "breadsticks", but they are clearly the exception to the rule). Its ok to give the blanket one to one and a half twists to "tighten it up" slightly, but don't overdo it!

Well, I hope this helped, and I didn't sound too "preachy". If you have any questions, just write.

Your pard,
Bob Denton
Co.K, 37th VA Inf/Sherman's Swamp Rats

* Here's a pic of Lil'Make (standing at right, below) doing his much lauded Antietam Confederate/Sherman's bummer portrayal.

Note:
• the bashed up flat-top slouch;
• the ripped-out civilian trousers;
• hand-me-down, ripped Fed frock coat;
• ripped, smelly, civilian shirt (can't be seen in this case);
• lack of any traps other than a belt, bayonet scabbard, and canteen;
• hair combed straight down in front of ears (check the period photos on this...) not "swept" back behind them;
• "devil may care" attitude (yup, that affects your portrayal; its the "mindset" thing at work);
• bad body odor (not necessarily part of the CW impression in this case, heh-heh)

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