Reliving the Civil War: 2nd Edition [Paperback]

R. Lee Hadden (Author), Robert Lee Hadden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0811729125 | ISBN-13: 978-0811729123 | Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Edition: 2

16-page b/w photo section, 6 x 9
Updated information on sutlers and organizations
New index with subject headings for easy reference
As Civil War reenacting continues to grow, beginners and enthusiasts need an up-to-date source and guidebook that will keep pace with advances and changes in the hobby. This second edition of the highly successful Reliving the Civil War improves on the firstwith new information on civilian reenacting (especially concerning women and children), a revised bibliography, and updated addresses of sutlers, organizations, and magazines. Also included are expanded discussions regarding virtual regiments, hard-core authenticity, and women in the ranks.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A well-written, informative, and reader-friendly book that is a must-have for reenactors! It receives a perfect rating of 10 oak leaves." -- Living History

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 2 edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811729125
• ISBN-13: 978-0811729123
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Hadden was born in 1951, and spent most of his childhood in Greenville, North Carolina. He graduated from Rose High School, and went on to get a BA, a BS and an MLS from the University of North Carolina, the University of the State of New York and East Carolina University. He also got a Certificate of Studies from the Europaisches Institut, and experimental school sponsored by East Carolina Universiity at the Haus Steineck in Bonn, Germany.

For thirty years he has been a librarian, with experiences mostly in the medical and physical sciences librarianship. For a while, he had some expertise in starting science libraries from scratch, and worked overseas initiating library services at the King Fah'd General Hospital Medical Library in Al Bahah, and the King Khaleed Eye Specialist Hospital Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He then worked as a supervisory librarian at the US Army Garrison Camp Page in Chuncon, and the US Army Garrison Camp Long in Wonchu, South Korea. Afterwards, he began professional library services at the Regional Medical Library at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.

After a period of time at an US Army Ballistics Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland, and a few years at the Computer Resource Center at the University of Michigan, he worked for fourteen years as a Reference Librarian at the US Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia. Since 2004 he has been a map librarian with the Army Geospatial Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Mr. Hadden's writings have been on several subjects. He has been a Civil War Reenactor for over thirty years, and his book, "Reliving the Civil War, a Reenactor's Handbook," was a History Book Club Alternate Selection, and is available electronically from NetLibrary.com. Other writings include articles on the battle of Gettysburg, specifically on the 19th Maine, the 24th Michigan, and the 26th North Carolina regiments involved in that battle.
Mr. Hadden has also written on family history, with his "Shamrock and the Fleur de Lys"

In addition, Mr. Hadden has also written several books and reports on earth sciences, specifically in geology and speleology. These include works on the geology of Liberia and Somalia. This also includes special reports on the caves of Afghanistan and a bibliography on the geology and the battle of Guadalcanal.

On of his favorite articles concerns the "peter monkeys," young men who mined the cave dirt from caves in Virginia during the Civil War, in order to make gunpowder for the Confederacy. In a combination of history, reenacting, chemistry and speleology, we reproduced the manufacturing process and evaluated it for productivity.

While at the US Geological Survey Library, Mr. Hadden became interested in two special collections held there. The first was a collection of books by Dr. George Frederick Kunz, and Mr. Hadden is working on a biography of this 19th century mineralogist, and former vice-president of Tiffany & Co.

Also, he was intrigued by a special collection of maps, reports and books that had been stolen by the German army during World War II, and subsequently hidden in a salt mine in Heringen, in Central Germany. There the materials, called "the Heringen Collection", was found by George Patton's troops and eventually given to the USGS Library. Mr. Hadden has written several articles on this collection.

Mr. Hadden is currently working on history of the 4th North Carolina. He is married and lives in Sterling, VA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, informative, and reader-friendly., September 13, 1999

By 

d20 Gamemaster - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reliving the Civil War (Paperback)

Reliving the Civil War: A Reenactor's Handbook is more than its title conveys. Although it was designed for newcomers to living history and Civil War reenactment, it is also a great reference for the experienced reenactor and for those interested in Civil War history.

It is obvious from R. Hadden's writing that he is in love with reenacting. An experienced reenactor himself, he shares his knowledge with the reader in this entertaining, educational, and well-crafted book.

"Reenacting is as old as human society, religion, and drama," he begins somewhat philosophically. From their beginning, reenactments gave history "life, taste, and smell, something significantly missing from dry academic tomes."

The book provides information on several different aspects of reenacting, including a brief history of the trials and tribulations faced in the formation of the hobby. He gives knowledgeable advice for dealing with spectators: the old, the young, the informed, and the ignorant. He even includes a section containing strange and "silly" questions asked by spectators.

And Hadden knows how to answer all the questions. He discusses everything from wearing (and not wearing) undergarments, to the new trend of virtual reenacting on the World Wide Web. He gives advice on speaking, manners and etiquette, and purchasing equipment and clothing. In his section on infantry reenactment, he provides a useful list of the high and low prices one should expect when purchasing essential equipment and clothing. He also provides sketches of Confederate and Union rank insignias and 16 pages of informative photographs.

Throughout the book, Hadden emphasizes the reenactor's role as a teacher. He says that audience participation and visual aids are the best ways for people to learn about the time period. He also stresses the importance of authenticity in reenacting. In an effort not to mislead spectators, a reenactor should thoroughly research the person he is portraying and/or the regiment in which he is participating.

In addition to information on military reenactment, he also provides advice on civilian reenactment for men, women, and children, including information on clothing and roles. The book also contains several appendices with additional information on rules and regulations, taxes, organizations, and periodicals, a glossary of reenactment terminology, and a detailed bibliography for further research.

Reliving the Civil War is a well-written, informative, and reader-friendly book that is a must-have for reenactors!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for new fish, December 9, 2003

By 

Patrick Salland (Parker, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reliving the Civil War: 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This is a great book for those of you who want to start reenacting. It is a perfect resource for those of you who are new to the hobby and have no idea what exactly to do and you want to do it right! This book will get you off to an incredible start and I suggest you buy it before you set foot on the field. I personally received this book for Christmas four years after I started reenacting. It had a lot of good info, but I thought a large part of it was kind of duh to those of us who have been reenacting for a while. So if you're already well entrenched as a reenactor and aren't planning on starting a new impression anytime soon but want to expand and improve your current one this doesn't really help you.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "virtual teacher" for the new reenactor, April 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Reliving the Civil War: 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This book is a definite for anyone starting out in Civil War reenactment. If your first experience is anything like mine, you'll be given a thousand pieces of information and advice, from twenty different people, all on your first day in. After arriving home from that first event, you'll be asking "But why do they do this, and that, and this other thing?" "What does it mean when they say that?" and etc. Simply put, this book has the answers.