Participants will portray citizens of Travis
County, Texas in late April 1862. Participants will develop impressions such as the town doctor, an itinerant worker, a new
arrival, a wealthy widow or a family down on their luck, and develop detailed backgrounds for these impressions.
The aim of this event is to enable participants
to experience a semi-immersion Civil War event in Texas. The nature of the event means that interaction will be largely unscripted
and unpredictable, allowing all participants to react in character as events naturally unfold. The public may be in attendance,
which will also give us an opportunity to interact with them as a person from 1862.
There may be some scripted activities during
the day; those that would naturally have been known to the participants, such as a town meeting or church service will be
made known to all participants. However, some activities may only be known by the organizer and primary participants in order
to maintain a spontaneous natural flow to the event.
The event will officially begin at 7:00 a.m.
on Saturday April 28 and end at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday April 29.
Structure and Household Information
Participants who have
registered by the deadline and wish to stay on site will be assigned to structures based on their impressions. The deadline
for structure assignment will be strictly enforced. Detailed information about each structure is available here.
The registration form allows for participants
to name other participants they wish to be housed with. Participants
are urged to remain in close contact with the members of their households before the event.
Households
and military companies may register together; however, a photo and impression information must be submitted on each member.
It is also understood that the primary registrant verifies that all members of their household or company has read, understands
and agrees to comply with the guidelines and the primary registrant will be responsible for the conduct of their household
or company.
Each structure will have a “head of household”.
This individual(s) will be responsible for:
Coordinating their household’s impression(s) if applicable,
Ensuring that their household continues to meet the event guidelines throughout the
weekend,
Coordinating food needs for their household,
Seeing that the structure is returned to its original condition and provide a list of
any issues regarding the structure to the organizer after the event.
Cooking and Food
Each household and/or participant will be responsible
for his or her own food and meal preparation. This will provide an opportunity for each participant to decide on the foods
that best fit his or her impression and each household to work together to decide what meals and foods are appropriate.
Cooking will be allowed in most of the structures
in the fireplaces and in pits on the grounds provided fireplaces are swept clean and pits are refilled after the event.
Arrival Information
Arrival at the site may begin at 3:00 pm on
Friday. Pre-registration is required, no walk-ons will be admitted.
As the event begins at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday,
it is highly encouraged that participants arrive before then. If you must arrive after 7:00 a.m. be aware that no modern vehicles
will be allowed within the site boundaries. Modern items that you require during the event may be brought in ONLY if they
can be hidden from view even as you bring them on site. You must also be in period clothes within the boundaries of the site
after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Leaving Early
The event will end at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday;
no modern vehicles will be allowed on site before then. Participants must also remain in period dress between 7:00 a.m. Saturday
and 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. If you need to leave the event early due to an emergency, contact the event coordinator and we will
find help to pack you up with as little disruption to the event as possible.
First Person
This event is an opportunity to live, as much
as possible for a short time, in 1861. To facilitate this for all participants, first person is strongly encouraged within
the site perimeters, except during an emergency. This means that anything you say should be what your character might have
said. Often times reenactors tend to do “telegraph” first person, which is trying to talk about their modern life
by using ‘old timey’ phrases, such as "I'll telegraph you when I get home." or "I got this
at Mr. Walton's mercantile." meaning Wal-Mart. Please try to refrain from discussions about modern activities with
other participants and the public at all times.
Living history and public education are the
whole purpose for this event. Be prepared to interact with other participants and the public.
