Napoleonic and American Civil War Re Enactment, Stonham Barns, 3rd & 4th June 2023

Hello There! This Summer I noticed a number of new events advertised at Stonham Barns, in Suffolk. So I planned to visit the venue after duly applying for the correct VISAs and being suitably armed to cross the border to 'The Other'!

The large display ground held two large camp sites along with a display arena. There was a readily visible timetable which included discussions of medical services contemporary to the American Civil War, displays of drill and firing, a skirmish and many stalls which displayed memorabilia of their respective times.

I took a few photos of the many flags on show, to get a better idea of the shapes they make for further wargames command units.

Here some Union re enactors show off some of their drill. The point that caught my eye were the varied shades of the Union blue trousers. After talking to one of the re enactors I found that the two colours that make up this colour faded at different rates. This means that some have a definite green hue to them as the blue in the cloths fades faster than the green. I have included this in the figures I have painted by adding Vallejo 'Sky Green' to the blue mix. This looks quite effective!

The Confederate troops had a small cannon and a limber with them. The uniforms of the artillery crew was very mixed and eclectic.

Here the Confederate troops march to the display area for the skirmish. The photo here shows how mixed and varied their uniforms are.

The Union firing line had a maximum of twenty men but the amount of smoke their fire arms created was immense!

A small group of men worked in open order to distract Confederate fire. Here they march off to their left flank.

Here are a few small studies of men kneeling and firing which also shows how their equipment is slung and hangs.

Here again is an example of the smoke being blown across the display area.

The Confederate firing line was more dispersed and in open order. Again the smoke spreads across the arena.

The diversity of shades and colours can be seen here, in the Confederate uniforms.

Here I managed to get the timing just right to see the amount of smoke generated from the instant of firing.

Encouragement from their officer as the Confederates continue firing. The day was not very windy but the flag was very 'mobile'.

I wondered if in this study, if there was a ball in the barrel if the firer would have been pushed over backwards due to his small stance?

The Union line, this time from more of a distance, continue firing but with out the support of the 'Live music'!

Further loading and firing pictures. This time the Confederates.

The cannon produced even more smoke but took a noticeable long time to load!

Further loading and firing poses. I do not fancy painting those check trousers on a 28mm figure! Again various uniform shades.

One Union re enactor was a 'Bucktail'

A bigger details of the Union firing line.

The Confederate officer.

The Confederate flag advanced with their line to put the Union troops under pressure.

At the end of the skirmish the troops from both sides paid homage to the dead of the Civil War and carried out clearing their firearms.

Here is the Union flag hanging naturally as the breeze subsided.

Further group photos showed the various shades of even Union uniforms.

The sergeant and officer of the Union troops.

There were many tents in both camps and this is a small fraction of them.

There were many stalls and equipment displays across the showground and here are some photos for details that you may be interested in.

Many canteens were covered in a felt material. I believe as the material got wet, the moisture evaporated and cooled the contents.

Example of a soldiers kit.

Musket balls of various calibres and Minie bullets.

Equipment for making bullets and muskets balls,

Here equipment for a cannon.

The fragility of this piece of equipment and its potential volatility is probably why it is so rare! 

I do not fancy any of this hitting you at speed.

Some re enactors were happy to have the details of their equipment photographed.

Here are a number of flags moving in the breeze, to help you curl your model flags in a realistic manner!

Now on to the Napoleonic camp!

Here are details of the 95th Rifles unit.

The first thing that caught my eye here was the colour of the equipment! I have seen artillery equipment painted in a much stronger blue but that does not appear to be correct after all!

There was a Royal Artillery contingent present with rocket equipment on view along with a small camp and uniforms.

The 9th (East Norfolk) Foot were also present.

The views of the piping on the back of the artillery uniforms are the bane of figure painters!

The small French contingent were very helpful and talkative. As my first interest is the French they held many items so I could photograph them more clearly.

This drummers coat had sky blue facings and was intended for a drummer boy.

Here is the lining of the inside of a French Line infantryman's coat.

Lastly a photo to show the 'indigo' of the French uniform.

Overall it was a massively enjoyable day and the re enactors were, without exception, approachable and helpful.