Discipline & reenactors
Peter Knupfer (PKNUPFER@KSUVM.BITNET)
Tue, 5 Oct 1993 17:59:50 ECT
I did not say that black troops were treated the same as white troops; I
did not argue that black troops did not face harsh discipline; I did say
that black troops would not put up with whipping on a gun carriage as
standard procedure for disciplining AWOLs. I will gladly reconsider my
position when I see evidence of whipping black troops as standard
discipline at any time during the war. Hanging by the thumbs? Of course.
Running the gauntlet? Yup. Being strapped to gun carriages in the sun?
Plenty of evidence of that. _Glory_ chose to use whipping as its punishment
of choice because it is a very effective dramatic device that speaks directly
to the horros of slavery and to the sensitivities of a modern audience. Recog-
nizing that fact hardly blinds one to the inequities of USCT service. Nor does
it leave us ignorant of the increased harshness and bloodiness of army service
in the campaigns later in the war, conditions that draftees, POWs, and the
wounded also faced. (In the case of POWs, deliberate cruelty could be dem-
onstrated.)
Reenactors: I have been involved in reenactments and stand by my characteriza-
tion. I think reenactments are fun, and the people I've met at them are lots
of fun, even if in the quirky sort of way one finds among aficionados. But
the median age in 1860 was about 19; how many reenactors fit that picture?
I don't recall referring to reenactors as "fools" or "hicks" -- I just think
they do not make very good actors because a passion for accuracy makes them
over-rehearse and micromanage the messiness and confusion of a Civil War
battle.