How Ambrose Burnside Entered My Life

Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Burnside. The man--nay, legend--who bestowed the word 'sideburns' upon the English language. Described by Bruce Catton thusly:

[H]e was modest; in an army many of whose generals were insufferable prima donnas, Burnside never mistook himself for Napoleon. Physically he was impressive: tall, just a little stout, wearing what was probably the most artistic and awe-inspiring set of whiskers in all that bewhiskered Army. He customarily wore a high, bell-crowned felt hat with the brim turned down and a double-breasted, knee-length frock coat, belted at the waist—a costume which, unfortunately, is apt to strike the modern eye as being very much like that of a beefy city cop of the 1880s.

He epically lost the Battle of Fredericksburg. He epically lost the Battle of the Crater. In fact, he just wasn't a very good general.

However, for whatever leadership skills he lacked, Ambrose Burnside made up for them by being a master gunsmith.

OK--maybe 'master gunsmith' is too much. But we was a gunsmith, and he created, in 1857, one of the finest Union carbines of the war. In fact, he left the Army in order to perfect the gun (and became a general--and the head of the Army of the Potomac--due to the gun's, and thereby his own, name recognition).

So where do I come in?

Well, this past weekend was the annual Sauerman Family Reunion, held at the old family farm. My Great Great Uncle George (my great-granfather's brother) was the proprietor of the Sauerman Curiosity Shop, in addition to being the seven-time international hay champion. He collected random items from far and wide, including an old pony express saddle, an alligator skin, a collection of bird eggs (including a giant ostrich one that we still have today), and a pair of klogs. Additionally, he must've acquired a gun.

Yes, that's right. Cousin Jack--feeling the need to return to the farm what had once been a part of it (he took it when the family was dividing up George's belongings after he died in 1954--he had never had children)--brought us a fifth model, 1863, working-condition Burnside carbine.

Now, I can put it alongside my (inauthentic) Civil War muskets. All I wonder, though, is what the gun's story is. The Sauermans came to the States in 1854, and some of them may have joined up in the Civil War. The gun might've seen real action. It might've been held by a relative so long ago.

Unfortunately, Uncle George is long gone, and Jack never learned the story. My grandpa didn't recognize the gun at all. So, it looks like the mystery may be lost to time. In the meanwhile, however, I now have a really, really cool toy.

Skirmish Drill

So, this weekend, one thing that we worked on was the drill for the civil war skirmisher. When most of us think of a skirmisher, we think of some guy hiding behind a tree, sneakily trying to catch some hits on the other side. During the Civil War, however, units would actually be sent forward in staggered line, alternately shooting (when in front) and loading (when in the rear). They would take cover behind trees or rocks if possible, though if those options weren't available, they would crouch or splay out on their stomachs to avoid enemy fire. An excellent history of the skirmish can be found here.

Below, however, I have placed an excellent drill, made by the 10th Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteers, Co. G. Follow it, and you can see the basics of a skirmish drill in all three steps: deployment, advancing, and retreat. As a note, skrimishers would retreat, usually not because they had lost so many men, but because the rest of the army was coming up from the rear in support.

Guns...Are...Awesome

I've been Civil War reenacting for some time now. In fact, I'm about to begin my seventh season on the field. It's strange to believe that it's been that long; it seems like just yesterday I was in Florida, reading The Killer Angels and trying to convince my dad to do it. In all that time, however, I have never done one thing that I've really, really wanted to try: actually shoot a Minié ball from a Civil War era rifle.

That is, I never had done it.

This weekend was the annual Spring Drill, where we all come out of our holes and remember how to march. We had about 12-15 guys on Saturday, which was a great turnout. My group is the 44th Tennessee, Company K, though we have a sister company on the Yankee side that we like to fall in with--the 49th Indiana, Company F. This year's drill was held at the 49th's Captain's home in Brownsburg, Indiana. For most of the day we were separate, though we spent some time combined on bayonet drill (more on that in a future post) and did a squad competition to see who remembered commands the best. Near the end of the day, one of the guys from the 49th said that they'd be doing some live firing and that if anyone wanted to try it out, he'd be happy to let them use his gun(s). How, I ask, could I resist that kind of opportunity?

Some people set up targets and hay bales about 25 yards away from where we'd be shooting from. I watched for a bit before gathering the guts to ask if I could go next. The guy was really nice and asked if I'd like to shoot both guns. "Both?" I inquired.

Apparently, he owned not only an 1853 Enfield rifle (.577 caliber, the second most common gun in the Civil War, behind the 1861 Springfield, which I own; see photo below for the Enfield):


But also an 1842 Springfield (probably the prettiest gun of the war, and the last .69 caliber rifle ever made--see below):


The Enfield shot your typical Minié ball. It is easier to aim, since there are two sights--one right past the hammer and one at the end of the barrel. I hit the bales pretty easily (by then, the targets had been blown away). It also has a relatively minor kick.

The 1842 Springfield, however, was a knockout. It is smoothbore, so not rifled, which means that it becomes very inaccurate very quickly. Additionally, it uses the 'buck and ball' round--one .69 caliber lead ball with three .40 caliber 'bucks', or smaller balls. The effect is similar to that of a modern shotgun: deadly at close range, though increasingly useless further away.



Using these weapons, you suddenly realize how horrifying the experience of a soldier must really have been. The shots have more of a delay than modern guns, meaning that there is a noticeable time lapse between seeing the smoke come out of the barrel and seeing the effects of the bullet. To imagine a literal torrent of lead is awful. It turned out not only to be a fun time shooting cool old weapons. Instead, it led to a realization and a greater respect on my part for what a man in the Civil War had to expect. After all, that is one of the main reasons to be a reenactor; you want to be able to vividly relive at least a bit of what your ancestors went through, and, ultimately, you want the public today to undertand what kind of pains and sacrifices were made almost 150 years ago.

We're coming up very soon to an important anniversary. On April 9, we commemorate the 'traditional' end of the war, with General Lee's surrender to General Grant at Appomattox. Soon after, on April 15, we remember the first--and probably most profound--assassination of a president in U.S. history. It's good to take some time to reflect on how important that era was to what we are today.

Slate Goes Reenactor!

Once humans spent most of their days doing useful things with their hands, and I realized that we were designed to get a deep satisfaction from this. As Hughes put it, "You have the feeling people were supposed to do this kind of work, rather than data entry, which is amazingly horrible."

An article today on Slate magazine about Emily Yoffe's 'brief, inspiring career as a historical re-enactor'. In it, she discusses her time portraying a colonial farm woman at the Claude Moore Colonial Farm in McLean, Virginia. The place is apparently right across the street from the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. How weird. I love the strange juxtapositions that inevitably arise when reenacting.

It's cool to hear someone else discuss it. One of the best parts of recreating the past is when you get the 'high'--the feeling that you really are where you up to then had only been pretending to be. She got it through the mundane tasks of growing tobacco and dealing with livestock.

Reenacting helps you remember that there was a time, not so far back, when people lived with a purpose that was more than waiting for the weekend. I had a class a few years ago about American demographics in marketing. Robert Fogel taught it, and he showed us how the average American in 1800 only had about 30 minutes of free time each day, whereas the average American today has around eight hours. That's amazing when you think about it. Additionally, 50% of a typical family income was used to pay for food. Today, it hovers around 10%. Disposable income for the masses is a relatively recent phenomenon. People in the past worked hard, not to make a living, but to survive.

Long and short of it, historical reenacting is fun and educational--practically and emotionally--and everyone should try it out at some point.

Sweet Tintype from Gettysburg

So, I'm a Civil War reenactor. It's an awesome hobby, and anyone who is interested should contact me about it--I can definitely get you connected. This year, my Dad, my cousin, and I went to the 145th Gettysburg reenactment. As per our usual M.O., we were in the North, so portrayed Confederates. Hopefully this fall we'll be able to go down to Atlanta and be Yankees. Right now I'm dealing with a pretty bad gun malfunction (1862 Richmond...I'm not too pleased with it), so I may be out for the rest of the season. If anyone has a spare (and cheap) 1853 Enfield lying around, let me know.

But, back to Gettysburg. Since it was a national, there were tons of sutlers around, and there were two guys doing ambrotypes and tintypes with all the old equipment. We got a tintype made. I think it turned out really well. See?Three pretty good looking privates from the 44th Tennessee, Co. K, no? I'm the one on the far right.