Civil War Sleeping Bag

I'm glad to see these reenactments still alive and well thank you 🇺🇲

As a 15 yo kid in the scouts, our families were living in Malaya since our fathers were assigned to an Australian Air Force base at Butterworth. The Army gave us scouts a lot of army gear which was pretty good. We lived on Penang Island. On a scout hike across the Island through jungle so thick you often had to crawl through it, we would pitch camp and sleep right in the jungle. The army gave us ponchos, these were a type of rain coat where if you tied two of them together and a rope between two trees, made a sort of tent for two scouts. To sleep, we dug a 'hip hole' just a small hollow out of the ground that was from our hip to our shoulders. We filled the hole with leaves and placed a ground sheet down on it. A blanket on top and that was it. It was very comfortable. We also dug a small ditch all around the tent with one corner leading down slope so if it rained during the night, it kept the inside dry. It was fun apart from the fact that snakes and crawlies would come in during the night. Kids have no fear :)

Fart Sacks was my nickname back in high school, now I know why they called me that: I was named after a civil war era sleeping bag. Thanks for all the great and informative videos!

Back when I was in the Army I did something similar with a poncho and a poncho liner and it did a pretty good job at keeping me warm and dry during the night as well as not taking up a lot of room in my rucksack. Granted, as soon as I got issued the Gore-Tex bivey cover and sleep system I started using that except for during the summer when it was a little too warm at night.

Hey Ethan! Carl from the 4th. /wave As to 'fart sack', I think the old marching song says it best, "Forty miles a day, On beans and hay, In the Regular Army-O'.... 😉😁🤣

Very cool. Never seen this in my 25 year reenacting career.

Glad to see you guys keeping the hobby alive. A number of years ago, some feared the hobby was declining and not attracking enough younger recruits. Although numbers may be down, quality is up. I first did a CW impression in late 1976...shortly after I compeleted my 4 yr. service in the military. I was basically a mainstreamer but did have both Union and Confederate wools. Stayed active in it up to about 1986. And off and on until 1992. This all the while when completing night college, a 2 year stint in the Army National Guard, and even through Reserve OCS where I had mustanged on to a commission. Your lead-in thumb nail caught my attention as not a lot of people ever heard the term 'fart sack'. I first heard it in boot camp in 1972. The sack was actually a mattress cover used to carry all you issued gear on the first day or so of boot camp. We were also called 'Turkeys" because of all the different colored civilian attire each company wore until uniform tailor completion

Very interesting. Thank you for showing this.

I spent 2 years in the US Army. My comfort was not the Army's 1st priority. I was trained by tough men under tough conditions. Not everyone could deal with it. I have manned a machine-gun, in cold wet muddy fighting positions in driving rain and sleet. A heavy rubberized rain poncho with a poncho liner & a wool blanket will get a man through a freezing night. You learn little tricks.

Thanks for the tip captain!

You guys are the best! I admire your historical accuracy as a reenactor and major in history I truly appreciate historical accuracy. I have been watching your channel for a few weeks now and it took me this long to realize you are apart of the Washington Civil War association. I myself reenact in Organ with the Northwest Civil War Council. The next Washington event I attend I will definitely be checking the Units to see if your unit is there.

What a great adventure to be involved with

Awesome vid!

Definitely using that next winter for my campaigner impression

Where can I find the documentation on this??

A pard and I slept with India blanket and wool blanket below us and one each on top. We slept close, but did not spoon Slept till reveille. Best sleep I ever got as reenactor. I wish I would have learned the feet and head in the corner method. Think I would have slept much warmer solo.

Great one, we all suffered from the cold and moist. Could it be an idea to fold the blanket over on the other side ? I mean to have the open part of the blanket on the opposite side of the open part of the gum blanket, to prevent air from going inside the blanket

Great tip Cpt. Whitehall. I thought of taking one of my blankets and either adding buttons or sewing it into a partial sleeping bag for those cold nights. if it gets under 50 degrees, I'll put on long underwhere for extra warmth and of course a sleeping hat. take care and I'll be looking forward to seeing the USSS Co. D's adventures this summer. -- LT 1st Minn Sharpshooters.

Thank you.

I see you followed Archie Bunker's advance about always leaving a fla, "in case of gastrations!" ;) I've done this before in my earlier reenacting career. Really a great solution during the campaigner events.