~150th Battle of Olustee Reenactment~

Annual Reenactment of the
Battle of Olustee or Ocean Pond
Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park, Florida

February 14-16, 2014

Admission Fees Adults - $10 School-age children - $5 Pre-school-age children - FREE

Questions, on matters not answered below, concerning the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park
or the annual reenactment should be directed to: olusteecso@yahoo.com .
A pre-recorded message, listing park hours and events, is available at (386) 758-0400.
A toll-free number for information is also available at 1-877-635-3655.

The above ad comes direct from the website.

http://www.battleofolustee.org/reenactment.html

I plan to attend the event in the next few weeks with my family and a good camera. I attempted to attend the 150th Battle of Chickamauga last September. After driving almost eight hours we arrived in north Georgia to a cold and steady downpour of rain. I have high hopes for this event.

Prep & Paint for Artillery

 

 

 It's been a few weeks since my last update. The holidays have really had me busy at home and at work. In the next couple of days I will give an update on some of my finished projects so far.
First off we will be doing prep work for painting the Artillery.

Using GHQ's line of miniatures for this demo. This particular pack contains 2 light field guns with crew and carriages. The gun tube options in this pack give the option for either 6 lb smoothbores, 3" ordnance rifles, 10 lb Parrots, or 12lb Howitzers.

















Taking the pieces out of the blister pack we see that we have twelve figures, two carriages and two sets of wheels. Using a hobby knife I clean away the flash from the parts.

 

 

 

Next, dry fit the pieces you want to glue. Dry fitting is simply taking the pieces and placing them together to see if they will fit. When you are satisfied with the fit, you can use a small amount of glue to put them together.

I use Super Glue Gel. I find the gel easier to use then liquid. It is less runny in my opinion. This is more or less a matter of preference. Any Permanent Glue will work.


















For the really small pieces I use a simple pair of tweezers to help with placing the gun tubes on the carriages.

















After the glued cannons have set for a few hours I use the same method for painting figures as I would for the cannons. I mount the cannons and the crewmen to individual nails and start with the base coat.

 

This is the finished product.

 

 

More Cannons.

Hardee Hat

Model 1858 Dress Hat. Also known as the "Hardee Hat."


The Model 1858 Dress Hat was the regulation hat for enlisted soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War. The regulation states that the hat should have the brass badge of the branch of service attached to the front. The devices where a Bugle for Infantry, Crossed Sabers for Cavalry and Crossed Cannons for the Artillery branch. The hat was also  trimmed with a wool hat cord that also corresponded with the particular branch of service. The colors where, Sky Blue for Infantry, Gold for Cavalry and Scarlett Red for Artillery. The brim of the hat was pinned up to one side. Cavalrymen and Artillerymen wore the hat pinned to the right while Infantrymen wore the hat pinned to the left.
The hat itself was made of black felt that was very stiff. It was often considered to be too heavy and hot to wear in the summer months. Many soldiers preferred to wear either kepis or slouch hats.

Brigadier General U.S. Grant in Hardee Hat.
Picture Taken during his time in Ohio State Militia
at beginning of Civil War.

There are however, some units of the Civil War who were wearers of the hat. The famous Iron Brigade that consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiments. This Brigade served in the Army of the Potomac and were sometimes referred to as the "Black Hats."

The hat was named after William Joseph Hardee, a career officer in the U.S. Army and Commandant of Cadets at West Point. He published "Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics for the Exercise and Manoeuvres of Troops When Acting as Light Infantry or Riflemen." in 1855. This book was commonly known as "Hardee's Tactics"which became the best-known drill manual of both sides of the Civil War. Hardee was born in Camden County Georgia. Needless to say he resigned his U.S. Army commission and joined the Confederacy in 1861.