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28th New York Infantry Regiment

Re-enactor Safety Guidelines Introduction: Participation in historical battle reenactments can be dangerous. You need to know that the people around you know exactly what they are doing; you need to know that your Officers and NCOs know what they are doing; you need to know that the people pointing their firearms at you from across the field know what they are doing. But, most importantly, you need to know that YOU know what you are doing. It does not take much for mistakes to happen. The confusion which envelopes any battle reenactment and the distractions which will occur during battle can provide even the most experienced re-enactor with an opportunity to make a mistake. When a mistake happens within some hobbies it’s no big deal. However, unfortunately, when mistakes happen in context of a battle reenactment, sometimes someone gets hurt. Drill Sessions = Risk Management: Because mistakes can happen, we try to ensure that all participants of reenactments know the School of the Soldier (Hardee Drill Manual, Title Second). The participation of unit members in drill at each event is mandatory and in many instances is a prerequisite to being allowed to take the field. Officers and NCOs take soldiers through the Manual of Arms, marching drill, Loading and Firing procedure during these drill sessions to attempt to iron out any inconsistencies which could potentially cause problems or develop into mistakes on the field of battle. The logic being that if a person makes a mistake during a drill session it can be corrected there and then and will most likely not result in a person being hurt. As in the real army, the only proven way to limit the number of mistakes is through repetition of the drill manual. It is for this reason that in addition to the drill sessions at reenactments throughout the year, we also have a day long drill session in April before the reenacting season starts in May. New members coming into reenacting are provided with additional drill with experienced members of the regiment to make certain that they have a sufficient understanding of the drill manual to participate in battle events. Safety First: In addition to being instructed in the drill manual, re-enactors need to ensure that they are aware of the safety procedures in place at reenactments. A large number of the restrictions in place at reenactments are there as a result of people having previously made mistakes in battles events. A prime example of this is the “No Ramming” rule: As in the real war - where the soldiers put bullets in the barrel with no powder - people at reenactments have in the past rammed but forgotten to remove their ramrods from the barrel before firing. The results caused the universal “No Ramming” rule. At most events, if a person is seen ramming during a battle they will be removed from the battlefield. As a result, we do not follow Hardees Drill Manual to the letter. Certain sections are shortened or removed completely, other sections are added or extended. However, this ability to interpret and change the drill manual in the name of safety has caused a number of variations between different reenacting groups. No single interpretation is incorrect; however, below we will explain the safety regulations in place at reenactments and the changes to Hardees Drill Manual based on the safety restrictions in place with the 28th New York. ...UNDER DEVELOPMENT... THE 10 SAFETY GUIDELINES OF BATTLE REENACTMENTS: 1) Control Your Firearm a. Do not point your gun directly at any person on the field. b. While in line, try not to hit other re-enactors with your firearm. c. Do not throw your firearm while “dying”. 2) Listen for, and follow, instructions from Officers and NCO’s a. At events were multiple infantry units are on the field in close proximity, ensure that the order was directed at your unit. b. Load and Shoulder upon hearing “Cease Fire". i. Stop firing immediately or complete your loading procedure and come to the shoulder. ii. There may be a very good reason why you are stopping firing. c. Whatever color jacket they are wearing. 3) Do not draw your ramrod on the field of battle. a. Ever. 4) Only powder goes down the barrel while on the field. a. No paper. b. No wadding. c. No tompions. 5) Watch your positioning. a. Do not walk in front of the line of fire. b. Battles can be disorienting, try to be aware of what is going on around you. c. Front Rank i. Maintain your position in line when firing. ii. Do not step forwards when firing. iii. Do not kneel unless ordered. iv. Maintain shoulder contact. d. Rear Rank i. Watch your foot placement when firing. ii. Position your firearm correctly when aiming iii. Maintain shoulder contact. iv. Maintain the correct distance from the front rank. v. Always fire over the right shoulder of your file partner. e. Watch for casualties i. Do not step on casualties (Whatever color jacket they are wearing) ii. Do not step on firearms f. Take care when "dying" i. Ensure that the place you intend to “die” does not already contain a casualty ii. Try not to knock other people when you are “dying”. They could be loading or about to fire. iii. Ensure your cartridge box and cap box are fastened shut and that your canteen is properly corked. iv. Watch your bayonet when you “die”, they have a habit of burying themselves in your kidneys if you fall on them. 6) No unsheathed bayonets on the field. a. Ensure that your bayonet scabbard tip is attached securely before you take the field. 7) Only call “Medic” in the event of a real injury. a. Call “Surgeon” when play wounded. 8) Respect your fellow re-enactor a. Rear Rank; When aiming say “Coming Through” or “Coming Over”. b. If you don’t think it is safe to fire or your line of fire is obstructed… DON’T FIRE! c. Elevate when firing at close proximity or over casualties i. Even with nothing in the barrel except for powder, firing at close range can seriously injure the person on the receiving end. ii. Firing over casualties can leave their ears ringing on a good day. Elevate or pass them before firing. d. Do not die or engage in hand-to-hand fighting while your firearm is loaded. 9) Know the risks. 10) Take your time. a. If you are not able to finish loading in time for a volley, DON’T RUSH. Finish loading in your own time and wait for the next volley. 11) Be safe. The Safety Rules Explained Courtesy when Firing in Line Any person on the front rank needs to be aware that, when firing, they may have firearms positioned on either side of their head. It is for this reason, that front rank personnel need to maintain their position in line and try to limit unnecessary movement. This is especially relevant when a unit is carrying out independant firing, as the person on the front rank may well be loading while the people on the rear rank are firing through the front rank. However, the rear rank also has a responsibility to let people on the front rank know when they are going to be firing past them. For this reason, whenever firing at will, it is common practice for people on the rear rank to let their file partner on the front rank know when they are about to aim, by calling out one of the following: "Coming Through" "Over" "Coming Over" Kneeling in line while firing Under certain circumstances the front rank of a company will be ordered to kneel. This is usually done to take cover behind breastworks and involves the entire line. When ordered to stand, from kneeling, the front rank should take care to avoid disrupting the rear rank as they may be in the process of loading. Within the close line formation, the front rank should never kneel unless they receive a direct order to kneel. The reason for this is simple, if you kneel without an order and then decide to stand up again, you have no idea what the person behind you is doing, your file partner behind you has no idea what you are doing and, more importantly, they may be in the process of firing at that time. In addition, when standing up from the kneel, it is common behavior to lean forward to balance yourself. If you lean forward in line you immediately put yourself in the position of being in front of the line of fire and risk injury. As for the rear rank, if the front rank HAS received orders to kneel, it is still expected that the rear rank will inform their file partner when they are firing by calling out "Coming through" or "Coming Over". Positioning Feet While Firing The 1860's era firearms in use at Civil War Reenactments are muzzle loading percussion muskets. When fired, the flash from the barrel of these weapons projects in a cone about 45 degrees from the direction of fire. The heat and pressure from the end of a Springfield or Enfield is enough to blow apart a sealed can of baked beans at 6 foot. In addition to this, the percussion cap at the trigger end has been known to split or cause a blast of its own. Below you can see the muzzle flash and cap igniting during our night firing at Heritage Square. To put it into scale, the flash from the end of the barrel is about 8 foot long and bear in mind that, if you are on the rear rank, the blast from the cap will be within only a few inches of another persons ear. It is with this in mind that it is important that people in line maintain their positions. The people on the front rank are obviously in a more vulnerable position than people on the rear rank. When firing, the correct foot positioning, as per Hardees, is as follows: Upon hearing the order "Ready" both ranks drop their right foot back to form a 'T' with their left foot as seen in the photograph below. In order to maintain the correct distance between the ranks The left foot does not move. Both ranks position their weapon as specified in Hardees, with the end of the barrel at eye level, as shown below. Upon hearing the order "Aim", the front rank maintains the foot 'T' in order to prevent any unwanted movement. The rear rank positions his right foot 8 inches to the right to shift their center of gravity off to the right of his file partner on the front rank. The person on the rear rank also needs to ensure that both the muzzle and the hammer are away from the front rank. This is accomplished by the rear rank ensuring that the heads of the people on their front rank are positioned centrally along the barrel, between the second and third bands of their firearm. This can be seen in the following picture. As you can see, when done correctly, both the percussion cap and the end of the barrel are well away from the person on the front rank. With the front rank maintaining their position in line and the rear rank keep an eye on the positioning of his feet and also of the positioning of his firearm, nobody gets hurt. However, lets look at the consequences of doing it wrong. Anybody who has experience with firearms knows that the recoil can be reduced by bracing yourself. This usually involves stepping forward or leaning into the shot. When taken in context of a battle reenactment, when firing in a close line formation over another persons shoulder, this can cause obvious problems. Before anything, lets just point out that the following situations have ALL been seen during battle reenactments, however, usually are spotted and corrected before anyone could get hurt. Front Rank Stepping Forwards: The front rank man steps forward with their left foot to steady themselves against the recoil of the weapon. The results are that the front rank person is positioned to far forwards and their left hand (steadying their barrel) is usually in front of the muzzle of the rear rank man. One comment about this would be that if the man on the rear rank is watching the positioning of his firearm with regards to the front rank, he will know that it is unsafe to fire and this situation can usually be avoided. Rear Rank Stepping Backwards: Unable to steady himself by stepping into the shot, the rear rank man steps backwards instead. The hands of the man on the front rank are again within danger, however, this time, if the rear rank person is doing it wrong on the field, generally he won't notice until it is too late. A more common version of this would be the Rear Rank Stepping Forwards. Knowing that he is not to step backwards, however wanting to steady himself, the rear rank person leans into the shot or takes a step forwards with his right foot when ordered to Aim. The consequences of this would be that the percussion cap would be right next to the ear of the person on the front rank. While this is not as dangerous as other mistakes, it can leave powder burns on the face and ear of the front rank and leaves ears ringing very badly. Their are very few reenactors who have not experienced this first hand at one time or another. Lastly we come to Rear Rank Stepping Backwards AND the Front Rank Stepping Forwards: This really does not require any description. It is a combination of the first two potential errors and, if you look back to the size of the flash on the night-firing picture, is a highly dangerous situation. Thankfully, this combination of errors is very rare and is so extreme that NCO's and Officers usually notice and resolve the issue before it causes problems. Reenactors are drilled regularly to minimize the chances of this sort of situation occurring. Obviously, the errors involving people on the rear rank are more difficult to be noticed by the front rank and can cause more harm, however, it is for this reason that people new to reenacting are put on the front rank until they are experienced in battle reenactments. Calling for assistance. However infrequently it may occur, there is no point denying that during historical battle reenactments people occasionally experience injuries... However, at reenactments, during battles, we have a number of people who also are portraying a person who has been injured in battle. At events, we always have medical personnel standing by to assist people who do experience real injury during the battles. How do we tell apart the real calls for assistance from people calling for assistance within the role of reenactor? The answer is by having different calls to denote one from the other, as follows: "Surgeon!" The call Surgeon is used by people who have been "shot" and are pretending to be wounded. Generally, these people are assisted back from the front by other reenactors or given their last rights. "Medic!" This is the universal call for a person who has experienced a REAL injury. Hearing anyone calling for a "Medic" will most likely bring a battle to an immediate halt and will result in medical personnel being brought onto the field to help whoever is calling for assistance. Control Your Firearm. Within the drill manual used at historical reenactments one of the main themes which is repeated throughout is the requirement of the people in line to be in control of their weapon. It should, in effect, by an extension of your body while you are on the field and you need to know where it is, where it is pointing and where in the loading procedure it is at all times. It needs to be remembered that the firearms in use are real weapons. As a result the rules which would be used on the shooting range, and while hunting, also are upheld on the battlefield: - Do not point your gun directly at any person on the field - This is obviously important if you are loaded, however is equally important if you are unloaded. You might know that your firearm is unloaded, but the person at who you are pointing your gun does not know. What if you misfired your last shot without noticing? - While in line, try not to hit other reenactors with your firearm - Firstly, you are carrying around a 10lb lump of wood and metal and if dropped on another persons head, can hurt. Secondly, if in line and firing, you might knock their weapon and disrupt their loading or firing procedure. - Do not throw your firearm while "dying" - Keep hold of your weapon when you are dying. During a battle where large numbers of people can be lying on the ground as casualties a thrown or dropped firearm can cause serious injury to a person lying on the floor. - Know if your gun is loaded - As it is important that a person is unloaded prior to dying or getting involved in hand-to-hand fighting, people need to be aware of whether or not they are loaded. If you forget whether you are loaded; prime your weapon and fire. Alternatively, invert the firearm to tip out any powder which may be in the barrel. Watch for Casualties. When firing, marching, fighting or dying on the battlefield at historical battle reenactments always bear in mind the presence of casualties on the field. Whatever color of jacket they are wearing they are reenactors and as such need to be watched out for as much as the men in line next to you. In many cases additional care needs to be warranted to casualties as they are unable to move out of your way if you are firing directly over them. As strange as it may sound, the man lying dead at your feet on the battlefield may be chatting with you around a fireplace later that evening. - If you are going to "die" check the ground that you intend to fall onto to ensure that no casualties already occupy that space. Falling back onto a person can cause serious injury to both yourself and the person onto whom you fall. - Stepping on a casualty or on any of their equipment is regarded as very disrespectful. Remember that the equipment and firearms which these people have on the field are as expensive as your own and, in some instances, the weapons may be originals from the 1860s. - Elevate your weapon significantly or move past casualties before firing. Many reenactors may take offense to being fired over if they regard themselves to be unnecessarily at risk. - Breaking stride or formation to avoid stepping on groups of casualties is encouraged and strongly recommended. First, Control Yourself. It's Just a Hobby Always be aware that, although we are portraying the army of the 1860's we are all volunteers and this is a hobby. At the end of the day, we are here to enjoy ourselves and nobody can make you do something that you naturally believe to be dangerous. Take Your Time One of the quickest ways to make mistakes during historical battle reenactments is to rush during loading and firing. One of the best ways to avoid making mistakes is to load and fire at your own speed. On the field of battle, safety is placed higher than speed. If you are only partially loaded and the next order comes to fire, continue loading at your own time, maintain your position in the line to allow people to fire around you and wait for the next volley. Safety First 1) If you are given an order which you believe is dangerous, don't do it. In most cases, the NCO's on the line will see the issue and counter the order to prevent a problem from occuring. 2) If you are ordered to fire and you can clearly see that your view is blocked by other reenactors, inform your nearest NCO. It may be that the officer giving the orders can not clearly see the obstruction. Know the Risks. Every person involved in historical battle reenactments is using a real firearm. As such, the same risks which a shooter on a range or hunting trip faces are experienced at reenactments. Many people who get involved in civil war reenacting have a history in shooting, however, firing blanks is different in a number of ways. One of the largest differences to bear in mind is that as you are not ramming a bullet the loading time is significantly faster and the regular reenactor can load and fire up to twice the speed of a person who is also loading a bullet. The result of this is that the barrel gets very hot as it is not given the time to cool down between shots. Another, more scientific, point to bear in mind is that with no bullet in the barrel and no ramming, there is less compression of the powder and more of the energy produced by the gunpowder igniting is transferred directly into heat. The result is that the barrel gets extremely hot during battles. (note. Many people use leather straps wrapped around the barrel to provide additional protection from the heat) Interestingly, the answer to the question "How do you know when to die?" that causes the most confusion among people is "When the barrel gets hot, I die!". The reason for this is due to a rare, but encountered, issue where, under certain circumstances, the barrel can heat up to the point that it can ignite gunpowder when the next charge is poured into the barrel. As a result of this risk a number of rules are in place to help prevent injury in the instances where this problem occurs: - When pouring powder down the barrel, the firearm must be pointing straight up to minimize the impact if a round discharges prematurely. - When loading, the cartridge should be gripped between your thumb and index finger and the other fingers kept well away from the mussle of the firearm. - When in line a regiment may be ordered to rest in line. In this case, the people in the line can be more relaxed with regards to their stance while still maintining the line. It is good practice to get into the habit of not placing your hand over the end of your firearm under these circumstances. Universal Rules. Their are a number of rules which cross boundaries and are regarded as universal rules with regards to historical battle reenactments. These are rules which are obeyed no matter your regiment, regional affiliation, army, national affiliation or historical period are understood to be standing rules on the field of battle. They are rules which have been introduced as a result of real life reenacting experiences on the field over the years and in several instances have been introduced following fatalities on the field. They are the only real worldwide LAWS of reenacting, as follows: No Ramming While on the field, under no circumstances will a person be allowed to draw or use their ramrod. This is one place where reenacting takes a massive tangent from the drill manuals; It only takes a single lapse in concentration during loading for a person to forget they have left their rammer in the barrel of their firearm and you've got a projectile heading towards the opposition. One note for this would be that certain units allow people (even recommend) to ram their first shot prior to entering the field of battle. However, this is not recognised or used by the 28th New York under any circumstances. No Bayonets Under no circumstances are bayonets allowed to be drawn on the battlefield. Bayonets are 15 inches of sharpened steel and will not be forgiving during hand-to-hand fighting. Many civil war reenactors are drilled in the use of firearms, however the risk involved with using a bayonet is far higher than many people will accept. One condition to this has been seen (although it is still not justified). That condition involved a train raid with prisoners and armed guards where the bayonet fixed or unfixed was a sign as to whether the guard was, respectively, loaded or unloaded. Again, the 28th New York does not recognise the use of bayonets during battles under any circumstances. No Close Combat While Loaded This is really just common sense. In situations where a person finds themselves in close combat (hand-to-hand fighting) with another soldier they must not be loaded. If they see a situation where hand-to-hand fighting may develop, they must clear into the air prior to engaging the enemy. Their are no circumstances under which this will be tolerated, especially not by the person with whom you are fighting. If you are loaded and find yourself unable to fire prior to the opposition engaging, either kneel down with your firearm pointing skywards or (the preferable option) advise your opponent that you are loaded and surrender... As a prisoner, your captor will then instruct you as to how they would like you to clear.