The  Minstrel Boys

Recreating the role of the Irish in the American Civil War 1861-65

Left: The Surgeon’s Tent.

 

Right: Recruit under instruction.

 

Below Left: Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

 

Below Right: Minstrel Boys and Scalawags portray a Confederate Campaign camp.

Around the Camp Fire I.

In the days before state benefits, a soldier’s wife and children often followed him to the battlefield.

A soldier reads a copy of ‘Harper’s Weekly’ a popular newspaper of the 1860s.

Army camps often attracted undesirables such as this carpetbagger, thankfully sent on his way by the camp commendant.

Click Here for More………....

Above: Drill, drill and more drill. The soldiers in camp praticed constantly. Moving in rank and file was the quickest way to get large bodies of men around the battlefield with the least amount of fuss.

Right: A soldier and his pipe. Union soldiers would often trade coffee for tobacco from their Reb counterparts during periods when the rival armies were encamped close to each other.

SOLDIERS SPENT VERY LITTLE TIME ACTUALLY FIGHTING. MOST TIME WAS SPENT IN CAMP DOING THE MUNDANE EVERYDAY TASKS NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL AND PRACTISING THEIR MARCHING AND WEAPON’S DRILL.