Coldwater, Veils, and Gettysburg!

It has been a while since I posted last. Somehow now that summer's here I'm busier than ever! Anyhow, the weekend of May 24th-25th, I was planning on going to Greenfield Village. Last minute, I heard of a reenactment in Coldwater and decided to go there instead, seeing as how I'd been to GFV before. I don't have a lot of pictures, but it was a nice reenactment. Certainly smaller than GFV, but there were several interesting things about it, including the mourning talk we went to and the large amount of artillery present for such a small reenactment. If you've never been to it, consider it recommended! :)

Mourning veil

Fashion veil

I finished a veil for my bonnet the night before and tried it out that day. I am pleased to report that it works splendidly! While bonnet veils are most commonly thought of as mourning veils, such as the one on the right, ladies also used fashion veils (left) for modesty and to keep the sun off their faces. They work rather like sunglasses do today. I didn't feel like I was squinting in the sun at any point during the day. Mission accomplished! Plus, it was just fun to wear. I think veils add a bit of mystery and intrigue to the wearer.

While I am hardly an expert on the matter, it is my understanding that mourning veils are thicker and generally opaque from the outside whereas fashion veils are quite see through and often have a decorative lace edge on them. Fashion veils are often semi-circular or crescent shaped while mourning veils are square or rectangular.

The veil in the picture on the left is an original that was being sold on ebay a while back and the one I based my own veil off. I found some dotted tulle at the fabric store and some black lace and carefully basted the two together.

I wasn't sure how sewing the veil to my bonnet would work, and if the veil didn't work well, I wouldn't want it on all day, so I ended up using straight pins to pin in to the brim of my bonnet, which worked well. It's quite fun to wear!

And one more inspiration picture, just because. :)

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In June, my family took a much-awaited trip out to Gettysburg! I have been wanting to go for a few years now, so I was very excited to go! I finished sewing a dress for Mom in the car on the way out (nothing like procrastination! ;) ), so she and I both wore our period clothing while touring the battlefield. It certainly makes the past come alive - to be in the very place where so much conflict and terror took place wearing the same clothes the citizens of Gettysburg would have worn... I highly recommend it!

Some of the lovely painted buildings in town.

That three-story brick building was the one that Abraham Lincoln slept in the night before he gave his famous address in Gettysburg.

To see the sheer number of graves at the Gettysburg National Cemetery was quite sobering. The picture below shows maybe only a twentieth of the graves there.

The above picture was, if I remember correctly, at Little Round Top, somewhere along the left-most flank of the Union Army the second day of the battle. Colonel Chamberlain was in command of the troops.

The view from the top of Little Round Top. 

Looking up towards Little Round Top. Now imagine that you are an infantryman wearing a wool uniform in the summer heat and you have to climb up there to take the hill while carrying your knapsack on your back and your rifle in your hands. And to top it all off, there are men holed up at the top shooting down on you as you climbed.

 Look familiar?

(Not my picture!)

Monument to the Pennsylvanian troops...

...With a great but very windy view up top!

An original oxidized cannon

This picture shows the 'High Water Mark' of the Confederacy. On the third and final day of the battle of Gettysburg, the Union troops held their position behind the stone wall. While the Confederate forces broke over the wall a few times, the Union ultimately held their ground.

The edge of the forest, a mile away, was where the Confederates started their charge.

Mom and myself. Doesn't she look great? :)

Also while we were in Gettysburg, we stopped by the Jennie Wade house. Jennie Wade was the only civilian to be killed during the battle of Gettysburg. Her sister with a recently born daughter, along with their mother and Jennie stayed in this house as the battle raged on outside. One morning Jennie was kneading bread for the soldiers when a bullet passed through two wooden doors and struck her in the heart, killing her instantly. 

There were still bullet holes in the bricks, both inside and outside. In the picture below you can see some in the mantle above the fireplace.

Jennie Wade is on the right in this picture. 

All in all, it was a fun trip. I enjoyed it all, but I think my favorite part was seeing Little Round Top. We watched the movie Gettysburg before we left, so everyone knew what had happened where. Coldwater  is the only reenactment I've been to this year, so I am looking forward to Charlton Park in two more weeks! I'll definitely be there Sunday, not sure about Saturday yet. Until then, dear readers, have a fabulous summer! :)

Bowens Mill

This previous weekend, myself and some of the family headed over to Bowens Mill, for one of the last reenactments of the year. Bowens Mill is a working 1864 Grist Mill and Cider Mill. The site has 19 acres of beautiful wooded property, along with several historic buildings. They have an 1850's schoolhouse, an 1840's house, several log cabins, and the beautiful 1860's Bowens' house, which is still in use today.

The weather was a bit on the chilly side. I wore my bonnet, but I almost could have worn my hood. The majority of the trees had turned, making for some lovely scenery!

The inside of the mill and the knowledgable miller! He ground some corn into cornmeal while we watched, as well as giving us an overview of how the mill worked.

The lovely hitching post

Here you can see another view of my bonnet, a pair of cute little ponies, and the gray yarn that I purchased. I think a pair of proper garters will be first on my list of things to knit!

The 1860's (built and furnished) Bowens' house was also open for touring.

This is how my dream home will look someday...

I had a very fun summer of reenacting. I can say that I am most definitely hooked! I finished a complete set of undergarments, a bonnet and a winter hood, as well as taking apart my bodice and re-fitting it. I still need to take the top of skirt up another inch or two to get my waistline sitting at the proper height, but that can wait until the winter months. 

My cringe worthy, pre-reenacting picture on the left, and the result of a season of reenactments on the right. I, for one, am quite pleased with how far I've come. I hope next year will be just as productive!

The next post will be a peek at my next 1860's work dress! (Or slat bonnet, or apron, depending on which I start on first.) My Halloween costume will make an appearance as well. 

The Van Raalte reenactment

On the 8th Mom and I headed over to the Van Raalte farm, a large 160 acre farm in Holland. The grounds are a mixture of fields and forests of apple trees. The apples were ripe and as you walked beneath them, you could smell the sweet scent of them. (They also tasted pretty good!) I believe the event is a newer one, but it was very well put together. On to the pictures!

One of the Union cannons overlooking the battlefield. The reddish-brown thing in the middle is part of a wooden split-rail fence put up as a prop. 

In addition to the apple trees, there was also a lot of poison ivy!

Some of the lovely cavalry mounts. 

A sign in the Confederate camp.

I'm not sure who set it up, if it was the park who did or something reenactor-related, but there was a tent with 1860's games. Mom and I played the game of Graces for quite some time. Here is a link to more information if you want to learn how to play. 

It was very windy, which is why my skirt looks so weird...

At 11:00 was a concert by the 5th Michigan on the farmhouse steps. You may remember them from my Jackson post. They played quite a few new songs and also some of our favorites.

After the concert we listened to a speech by President and Mrs. Lincoln.

My dress fabric

Southern men marching off to war. 

Led by General Lee! Traveler was taking the day off.

The boys in blue getting ready to meet the Confederates on the battlefield.

Southern artillery

Here you can see one of the fences I referred to earlier.

If I remember correctly, the first part of the battle was Pickett's Charge, while the second part was the battle of Little Round Top. There were three Southern cannons and four Union. One of the Union cannons was sending out a smoke ring with almost every shot! 

The smoke ring is in the middle of the picture, above the trees. This was about a quarter of the spectators - quite a good turn out!

Aren't they a cute couple?

The circa 1870's farmhouse

This reenactment is definitely one I will go to again. It was very nicely organized and well planned in an interesting setting. The only thing that Mom and I agreed on was that there were too many Gators driving around. It takes you out of the 1860's mindset when you have to keep stepping off the road to let one pass. I can see, however, how people who have a hard time walking would miss out on a lot of things on the beautiful grounds if they didn't have the four-wheeled access. It's a fine line to tread.