Soldiers Aid Impression

[Miss Lisa]

Hi, Everyone,

I know there are people on this board who run a Soldiers' Aid Post impression, and I am hoping they can help me.  SOSCAN (The Southern Skirmish Association) in the UK (Southern refers to location in the UK, not sympathies particularly) is setting up a Town Square Project to try to raise authenticity standards and interaction with the public, especially on the civillian side.  I was hoping to set up what at present I am calling a "Soldiers' Aid Post", though perhaps that is not the right name.  I am NOT aiming for a Canteen.  More a "home from home" idea, with maybe a cooling drink, also things to read, stationery, telegraph forms, railroad passes (Is there a reprint of a timetable available anywhere???) help with writing and reading letters if required, civilised conversation and maybe some simple plain sewing and repairs available.  Does this sound like the sort of thing that is feasable, perhaps in winter quarters or a town just behind the lines???  

My own character is based on a little family history and local history - my family come from Woolwich, famous for the Arsenal, the Dockyard, and the Royal Artillery, also the cadet Academy and the home of the Herbert Hospital, the first purpose built military hospital in the UK, built under the guidance of Florence Nightingale.  There is also a long history of progressive social welfare and active protestantism of various sorts in the town.  My father's family the Burnetts came from Scotland in the 1690's to work in the Gun Foundry, and I'm using this as the basis for my character sketch, in which I, a widow, accompany my brother as his companion to the States when he is called to advise re ordnance (I am expecting that as an older female i would not be expected to know too much about the details of this "Consultancy", though I was planning on having  a few manuals of various sorts around for colour).

I hope some of you will be able to give me some feedback on how and if this will work, and supplies I might need .  I have the following -

Trader's style authentic tent.  
Chair and table plus assorted boxes
Stationery, including patriotic envelopes and stamps
pencils
pen and ink
Original books - History of the Crimean War, Napoleonic War and Pilgrim's Progress, and CofE prayer Book
Telegraph Forms
Railway passes.
Sewing equipment -needles, thread,scissors etc.

Any and all suggestions welcome,

Thank you very much.

Regards,

Lisa Jackson

[Joanna Jones]

Lisa - I am not sure if you are thinking of me and my friends - we have a Soldier's Aid Society - which is different - we portray the homefront in Minnesota and the work that would have been done to collect food and supplies to be sent to the front - but our location is nowhere near the front lines (sometimes we are at mainstream battles but even then we are talking about sending things to the troops from our home in Minnesota)

I am afraid at least I am not going to be much help!

Have you researched to see if these kind of places existed?  Winter quarters might be problematic in the summer 

Hope you find good answers!

[Miss Lisa]

Hi, Joanna, thanks for your speedy reply.

The research I have undertaken so far indicates that the Christian Commission undertook work of this nature, and I suspect that there were similar Southern efforts (I'm hoping people on this board can point me to suitable research places for that!).  I think the Sanitary Commission may also have sent people out but not clear about that.

As our re-enactments are not nearly so large as those in the US, a "catch all" type of impression is required which would cater to the soldiers directly.  But might parcels have been distributed from such centres, and "comfort packages"?  I have just been reading "No Idle Hands", a history of knitting in the US, which suggested to me that comforts were distributed in this way (parceled up by the sort of group you ae representing, I think) - but who distributed them at the other end???   (Thinks.......)

Regards,

Miss Lisa

[mmescher]

For contents of boxes from home, check out the article by my wife, Virginia, on boxes.  If you go to our website, raggedsoldier.com, go to the menu item "Articles:  Virginia's Veranda", click on "Archived Articles", and go to the article "Comforts from Home."  That article contains quite a bit of discussion about the content of soldiers' boxes.

Michael Mescher

[kanawha seamstress]

I am at work right now and do not have my research handy to site my source but I do recall reading that the US Christian Commission set up recreation tents, so to speak, close to the soldiers and offered them period magazines, bibles, local newspapers, and other literary works to read.  They also had paper and writing utensils handy for those who wanted to write a letter home.  If I remember correctly, this was actually the onset of what would soon become the YMCA, or Young Mens Christian Association.  With that being said, I am inclined to believe that it would have been mostly men who were in charge of these recreational tents, and not necesarrily women.  I can't say for sure, but I don't believe that these types of tents would have been the "norm," in that they would not be following the troops from battlefielf to battlefield.  If anything this would have most likely occured when the soldiers were stationed somewhere for a longer period of time, or perhaps winter quarters. 

And I second what Mr. Mescher said, his wife's article on the topic has some very good information in it.