Brief
History:
Volunteer
Company
Joining the ranks and feel the excitement of the charge;
smell the smoke of battle; enjoy the camaraderie of camp life; drill
in the same maneuvers; march in the same formations; sing the same
songs around a campfire; eat the same rations. You wont be reading
it in a book, you will be living it, experiencing it, bringing history
alive.
The Volunteer Company was formed in November 2002 in
an effort to group together as many of the 'progressive' re-enactors
of the society together in one unit.
You will meet people from all walks of life and from
all over the UK and Europe who share common interests in history. We
also travel across to America to re-enact with our good friends in
the States, to enjoy living history on the same grounds that the men
and women of the period lived and died on.
The
Volunteer Company was formed to provide an improved and more authentic
alternative for re-enactors within the Southern Skirmish Association
(hereafter called Soskan). As such, it is expected that members of
the Volunteer Company and men who fall in with us are interested
in an authentic living history experience. The group impression is
of an infantry unit as it might appear in the field, be it Confederate
or Union, Eastern or Western theatre. Unless a weekend scenario dictates
otherwise, the impression is that of soldiers on campaign or at a
picket post.
Our
Mission Statement:
The primary impression shall be that of a typical soldier
for the time period of late 1862 through early 1864, with soldiers
striving for the most accurate impression, appropriate to the unit
portrayed as defined by the event scenario and time period in question.
The Volunteer Company will provide to both its members
and the public an impression of a unit consistent with the best available
documented historical research and sources of authentic uniforms, Accoutrements,
weapons, and other equipment. Limitations of historical accuracy in
the impression will be confined in general to those imposed by concerns
for the health and safety of its members.
Improvement to our re-enacting impression should be
an ongoing process. Members are highly encouraged to upgrade their
clothing and equipment as promptly as their circumstances allow. Although
attitude is more important that equipment, an increased attention to
correct construction and materials is both instructive and necessary
in order to achieve the look of the soldiers we attempt to portray.
Our aim should be to portray the common soldier in
the American Civil War. Our rank structure will be set accordingly
to the amount of soldiers present at each event. However, it is expected
that there will be at least one graded Officer of the unit whose duty
it is to oversee the running of the company and to act as intermediary
between the Army commanders and also the Executive Committee of SOSKAN.
With regard to the specifics of our portrayal of Civil
War soldiers, our mission can be summarised in the following statements:
VOLUNTEER
COMPANY 
