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Standards of the Columbia Rifles

2.0 BLANKETS, TENTAGE, AND WATERPROOFS

2.1 Blankets
A. U.S. Issue blankets of either brown or gray wool/shoddy or mixed cotton and wool with end-stripes are preferred. Issue blankets should have the letters “US” sewn into the center of the blanket in a period-correct pattern. [EOG/US page 214] Be advised that properly woven mixed cotton and wool blankets (the genuine “emergency issue” style) are authentic but of little value in the field. When damp, the mixed-cloth blankets provide almost no warmth at all and they were largely hated by the original soldiers.
B. Quilts, sleeping bags, etc. are not allowed at any time.
C. Air and/or foam mattresses are forbidden.

2.2 Tentage
A. When on campaign, the Rifles’ “camp” will typically be a bivouac. A bivouac may include the following shelters: pitching shelter tents using bayoneted muskets as uprights, improvised “shebangs”, and other documented types of shelter used by soldiers on campaign. During fair weather, an even more prevalent practice was to bivouac without erecting any shelter at all.
B. Type of Tent: Enlisted men, non-commissioned officers, and company officers shall use no tent larger than a shelter tent unless otherwise dictated by the scenario. Although accounts exist wherein soldiers carried more than one shelter half (sometimes in lieu of a blanket or gum blanket), this is discouraged for enlisted men and NCOs for practical purposes. Officers are allowed one shelter tent (two halves) per officer. The purpose-built triangular end pieces are forbidden, as there is little evidence that they were issued to the troops.
C. Federal-issue Shelter Half: Should not have brass grommets (instead, shelter halves should have two 3/8-inch diameter hand-sewn holes at the corners), and should be 8 oz./yard cotton drilling or fine tabby-weave linen. Each shelter half shall measure approximately 5’-5” by 5’-6”. For 1862-1863 scenarios, the preferred shelter half is the three-panel model with single or double-side reinforcement preferably with bone buttons. Shelter tents for 1864 scenarios should preferably be of two-panel construction with paper-backed tin buttons. Late-war shelter halves may be constructed of “blue line”-type drilling or linen and should have a third set of grommet holes at the bottom of the third seam. Each shelter half should have attached at one upper corner a 6-foot section of rope. Shelter halves shall have rope loops through the grommet holes. Period-style maker-marks on each shelter half are encouraged. [EOG/US page 214]
D. Tent stakes should be of wood; iron tent stakes are not allowed.
E. Shelter tent poles (if used at all) should be wooden tree limbs foraged from a forest rather than brought to the event site. Bark should be left on. Finished timber used for tent poles is forbidden. As an alternative to tree branches, use muskets as upright tent supports.
F. Rope: The preferred rope used with tents is hemp. Manila rope is the minimum acceptable rope on tents.
G. Common tents (“A-tents”) housing a minimum of four men each will be used when appropriate for the scenario portrayed. Common tents shall be approximately six feet in height, eight feet in length, and seven feet in width, and shall have end flaps. Bell tents are not allowed. Handsewn grommet holes with rope loops are encouraged in lieu of brass grommets or canvas loops.

2.3 Gum Blanket/Ground Cloth
A. Federal Issue Rubber Blanket: Gum blankets should have small (3/8-inch diameter) grommets; some sutlers sell these items with incorrect, large grommets. Gum blankets should be made of a rubber-coated drill or muslin material with an uneven pattern of grommets; along one long edge, the grommets were usually placed in a spacing that was supposed to be used for tying the blanket over the soldiers’ shoulders. Since there is no source for gum blankets with properly spaced grommets (yet), the evenly-spaced version is acceptable. Use of ponchos is discouraged because ponchos are over-represented in the ranks of infantry reenactors. [EOG/US page 215]
B. Oilcloths of linseed soaked canvas with black pigment are allowed but not preferred. Note that oilcloths sold by most Vendors feature black, latex house paint in lieu of a pigmented linseed coating. Use of black latex house paint is acceptable. [EOG/US page 215]

0.0 Standards Home

1.0 Uniforms

2.0 Blankets, Tentage and Waterproofs

3.0 Accoutrements and Camp Equipage

4.0 Weapons

5.0 Rations and Cooking

6.0 Camping

7.0 Drill