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"The Indispensable Bayonet"

by Michael Murley

There are a lot of small things that a progressive reenactor can do to really improve his impression or to make himself more comfortable while campaigning. And most do not take a lot of money. A case in point is the bayonet.

Defarbing the Bayonet:

After you have been in the hobby for a while, you realize the importance of the bayonet, which is as essential to the soldier as the musket. After all, you certainly cannot stack arms without it, unless you like bending the ramrod. Unfortunately, the Indian-made reproductions we all have are sorry excuses for bayonets. They can be improved, which is far preferable to using or--worse--using and losing--an original bayonet.

First, take ten minutes with a small flat mill bastard file and some emery cloth and file off the "Made In India" marking on the blade. That is a simple thing, but it does a lot. Then, replace the crummy, stamped locking ring with its farby machine screw with an original locking ring. S&S Firearms, 74-11 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale NY 11385 sells original locking rings. Springfield locking rings are Part No. SS158 and cost $10. Enfield locking rings are Part No. EN58 and cost $15. Their number is 717-497-1100) and yes, they do take credit cards. By the way, their catalog is full of old gun parts.

If you have an Enfield bayonet, you might consider bluing the socket and the shank (but not the blade), as original Enfield bayonets were blued in this fashion. A bottle of cold bluing can be found at most gun shops.
Uses of the Bayonet:

Besides being essential for drill and stacking arms, bayonets make great candlesticks! Another use for it is as a coffee grinder. Many reenactors think that the rifle butt is the only thing soldiers used to grind their coffee beans. The rifle is a large, heavy, clumsy tool with which to mash coffee beans; instead, try putting the beans in your tin boiler and break them with your bayonet socket.

Perhaps the bayonet's greatest utility is in cooking. They can be used as spits on which to roast meat at the campfire (although, make sure the meat is fully cooked before eating). However, many Civil War soldiers preferred pan-frying or boiling their food. Proper skillets, with a stock handle riveted to the stamped pan, are hard to find. However, there is a good replacement for that farby "cold handle" skillet. Fair Oaks Suttler (540-972-7744 sells nice 1858 "smoothside" canteen halves that can serve as both plate and frying pan. Fair Oaks's canteen halves are tinned carbon steel, like the originals. If some "skinner" sutler comes up to you with a stainless steel canteen half, run away!

The veteran soldiers took an unserviceable canteen and either melted the solder in a fire or blew the two halves apart with some gunpowder. A loop of wire placed across the "cut" where the spout had been permitted the veteran to hook his new "frying pan" to the "bump" (i.e. the sight-slot) on his bayonet, thus allowing him to use the bayonet as a handle for his "skillet". To carry it, the canteen half can be tied to the M1858 canteen, or slipped inside the haversack. Many reenacting "sutlers" sell canteen halves. In a recent, informal survey of canteen halves for sale at the Averasboro, NC reenactment, one vendor, Levi Ledbetter, had canteen halves that were sharp along the rim--sharp enough to cut your canteen strap, haversack, or you! This writer recommends the canteen half sold by Fair Oaks Sutler, which costs about $7 apiece and has holes pre-punched across the spout cut-out for you to easily add your own wire, thus enabling you to use your bayonet as an authentic handle for your "skillet".

Wrap-Up:

The bayonet is an indispensable part of your gear. A serious campaign-reenactor, as the old commercial used to say, "wouldn't leave home without it". Think about defarbing your bayonet (and your frying pan) and, when that's done, start exploring all the conveniences this useful tool affords.

Mike Murley is a co-founder and member of The Rowdy Pards http://www.geocities.com/rowdy_pards/