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Blankets for Your Confederate Impression

By Austin Williams, 33rd VA Co. H The following article was published in the inaugural November 1, 2024 issue of the “Living History Gazette.” Read the entire issue here. It is an abbreviated version of the four part article on Confederate blankets available here, with recommendations added specific to the living historian. Anyone interest in …

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Blankets of the Army of Northern Virginia – Chapter Two

This is Chapter Two of a four chapter article. See Chapter One, Chapter Three, and Chapter Four. For a brief summary of this article, adapted to address the needs of living historians, see Blankets for Your Confederate Impression published in the ‘Living History Gazette.’  Development of the British Blanket Industry Confident though Benjamin might have …

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Instructions for Skirmishers: The Assembly and The Rally

By Austin Williams, 33rd Virginia Co. H The following is the first of a three part primer on skirmish drill, covering deployments and general principles, movement and firing, and reforming. These articles are intended to be a general introduction or refresher and should not be viewed as a replacement for reading the original manuals. Wherever …

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Instructions for Skirmishers: Movement and Firing

By Austin Williams, 33rd Virginia Co. H The following is the first of a three part primer on skirmish drill, covering deployments and general principles, movement and firing, and reforming. These articles are intended to be a general introduction or refresher and should not be viewed as a replacement for reading the original manuals. Wherever …

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Fit for Effective Service: Virginia Arms Her Stonewall Brigade

By Austin Williams, 33rd Virginia Co. H During Virginia’s secession debate in early April 1861, the state’s former governor Henry Wise dismissed concerns that the South lacked adequate modern weapons to win a war. Clutching a sword bayonet-tipped rifle as he spoke, Wise confidently stated that “it was not the improved arm, but the improved …

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