What is an "Impression" and Why the Hobby Isn't Dying

     

    Well, preparations for the 250th of Dunmore's War at Prickett's continue. I've been trying to get out in kit and hike and make adjustments. Everything is riding good and the pocket bottle is working great. Thanks Kobuck. Actually I like it in some ways better than the canteen. The canteen always rides at the back and underneath my bedroll strap or tucked behind my knapsack and so accessing it with all the gear over top can be a challenge. Whereas the pocket bottle, riding in the front side of the wallet was easily accessed while on the move. It's these little things that really make a world of difference. 

    As I hiked yesterday, I thought about the word "impression." A funny word to describe putting together an outfit from 250 years ago. It has several definitions depending on how you use it, but the one that suits our purposes goes something like "a graphic or pictorial representation of someone or something." These impressions of ours are supposed to be a window into the past, an illusion that we are indeed militiamen from 1774 or a British soldier, a trader, a longhunter etc. but in reality we are modern men and women working modern jobs in modern society. We try to offset our modernness by going into the woods and trying our hand at some of the skills our forbearers possessed. 

    For the public though, this first "impression" can really shape what they think about our nation's past. It can either perpetuate a stereotype, bolster old myths, or it can make one rethink and form new opinions on what exactly our ancestors looked like while reading the pages of Allen Eckart or thumbing through a Nathaniel Philbrick journalistic account. We become the first and maybe last impression for folks as they wind their way through an event stopping at sutlers and seeing the soldier camps. 

    I've been watching a lot of old movies, which I love. Those old movies sparked the fire for a lot of kids in my dad's generation and the generation before to really dive into history. As cheesy and hokey as some of them could be, it was the impression that really inspired a generation of young people to get excited about history and eventually to build their own impression of just what it might have looked like. From the early adaptation of Last of the Mohicans to Drums Along the Mohawk, Northwest Passage and Unconquered, history was portrayed in very black and white terms. America, its principles, its founders were mythic ideals and heroes who were above reproach. The white man's triumph over the harsh wilderness, the manifest destiny and the taming of the North American continent. Then along came Walt Disney's Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier that leaned heavily into the rugged individual who stands up for what is right and who lends a hand when the going is tough. All good qualities to be sure. But, what of the reality? We'll get to that. This generation raised on Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone on TV (both played by Fess Parker) along with Johnny Tremain, the Light in the Forest etc. grew up to be the first and second waves of what we know as reenactors. Of course Civil War was happening, and the BAR had started, but this group began doing blackpowder shoots, got really into the western fur trade, marched in local bicentennial parades with their unit or muzzleloading club. And in those days, it had a sort of "Mayberry Founders Day Pageant" quality to it all. An impression, albeit an incomplete one. 

    The Bicentennial era really propelled things along though. Out came Sketchbook 76 and the Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, books that would really become the gold standard of the time. And so, black powder shooting began to have another element-the gear that our ancestors wore and carried. Reproductions are being produced and the next layer of the impression starts to be examined. It's not just about shooting a gun anymore, but what did they have on their person. The 20th century saw the rise of the "primitive skills" movement. People who were already involved in that movement easily gravitated towards this new hobby where they could combine skills and their love of history.  People started organizing treks and hunting camps sometimes called a "pack in" where one could put the skills, gear and gun knowledge to the test. Magazines like Muzzleloader became a companion piece to these journeys in history, and it was in the pages of Muzzleloader where I believe the next layer of the impression comes along.

Pack in organized by David Book in Iowa, 1979

      

    Mark Baker. His name has become synonymous in our hobby with walnut dyed smocks and hunting shirts worn by "long hunters." His impact can't be overstated in my opinion. Mark was a schoolteacher by trade and his writing style was polished but with a charming down home style that really brought a homespun yarn to life. He took his readers along on his adventures into the woods and really showed a whole new group of people what was possible and how history could be accessed in a very hands on way. A term that was eventually coined was "historical trekking" and so the Trekker era began. It exists as its own thing in the broader world of reenacting. Remember, groups like the BAR, NWTA etc were doing historical reenacting, but this was confined to a weekend at a public site, talking with tourists who came to see the sutlers and the two o'clock battle. Mark was doing this stuff without an audience aside from the readers who hung on his every word and who took this new impression and ran with it. Suddenly it was "the look." Everybody was dying smocks with walnuts and rolling their top shirt sleeve up over their undershirt sleeve. The Coalition of Historical Trekkers was formed and its members were regulars at Caesars Creek, Manskers Station, Martins Station and Bledsoe's.  

    During this phase, the Internet became a thing and suddenly information that was only available through the library or by visiting a museum or an archive was suddenly available to the masses.  In some cases brand new information surfaced for the first time, and in other cases, information was reexamined and new conclusions were made based on more adjacent sources being cross referenced and more eyes being put on the source material. The forum wars raged on how far to push "authenticity." Sites like Ticonderoga threw out the old playbook of annual encampments centered around the two O'clock battle in favor of a more immersive and intimate view into the daily life and times of those who lived in and around Ticonderoga from the days of the French and Indian War to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. This caused a large swath of people to feel alienated and hurt by the tightening of the standards. In contrast, sites like Vincennes continue the founders day pageant model that more resembles a pre-1840s renaissance faire than the market fairs of Locust Grove and Manskers Station of old. People like Nathan Kobuck began writing blogs and trying to push for a more detailed look into the long hunter trade of the 1760s. Others pushed back, clinging to the notion of the rugged individual trekking through the woods on foot with a knapsack and a Wilde blanket. 

    As we are coming into the post pandemic years, I feel we are in the next phase and that brings me to the phrase that I hear often, "the hobby is dying." This comment is usually made by the generation that proceeded us or people who attend run of the mill, two o'clock battle events. I understand why that is the feeling, but I have a different view. I think the hobby is in great shape, it's just changing. Younger people just aren't as enamored with the old format. They want to build on the Mark Baker format, hitting the woods, using the gear, doing events that are immersive or one offs where a specific impression is built and you do that, unlike the old days where your impression was your impression and you chose your events based on that. Now the idea is to pick the event and then build the impression. Not just some generic thing, but really researching and putting together something that fits the needs of the event. Much like what we are doing for Pricketts. It's the culmination of all of the little niches with in the hobby coming together and creating an impression that is more well thought out, that relies on the work of our forbearers and pushes us to new and better heights. An impression that will give future generations a better idea of the nuances and details and will flesh out the silhouettes and caricatures of bygone films and movies that inspired that first generation to take up a muzzleloader and throw on a coonskin cap and figure it out. Honoring their legacy is important and moving forward doesn't take away what they did, it enhances it and makes it all the more important.

   The Impression I get is that young people are very hungry for history, and the Impression that we do could either be a turnoff, or a turn on. Authenticity is attractive, so let's attract the next generation and give them the best impression we can.  

    

Preparations for Dunmore's War and did I mention I don't Shave between events?

DISCLAIMER: I don't shave my beard between events. But I DO shave for events and you should to. 

    As I write this on the morning of August 16th, I am thinking of Dunmore's War and the preparations I need to make as the 250th anniversary event at Pricketts Fort looms not very far in the future. The Dunmore campaign is something I have always wanted to reenact and portray. My 7th Great Grandfather, Francis Cooper was stationed at Glade Hollow Fort in modern day Russell County, Virginia.  

    So the question is, what should one take with them on Indian Campaign? I'm a sucker for a good gear post about lists of items one decides to take with them. I've made lists of basic backcountry gear in previous posts, but I'm going to try to dig a littler deeper this time around and see what happens. 

    I'm going with a cocked hat for this one, and a red cockade (which I have to make still) based on the following description : 

"My Brother Jams went with Dumore as a Lieutenant.  He raised some of his men in our county.  They had Cockades of red ribond. I admired the looks of these soldiers so much I would have been glad to have went with them if I had been old enough." -Westward Into Kentucky: The Narrative of Daniel Trabue p42

    Hunting shirt of natural linen and red leggings. In some instances blue leggings were issued. I am trying to pair down my gear a great deal from what I normally take. I want it to feel like the descriptions I've read of going on Indian Campaign. This will be a fun challenge. I think when we approach this stuff, we want to bring all our toys with us, cause let's face it, we accumulate a lot of gear and pieces of clothing in this hobby. So leaving stuff behind can make us second guess and think "But what if I need that?" or "What if I want to wear that?"

    So let's break down what I am carrying. It's still probably too much, but maybe I just overthink it. 

    First I have my shot pouch and horn. Just a basic pouch, inside is a cuttoe knife, patching for cleaning, and a few blank cartridges as I am not going to carry roundball at an event for safety reasons. From the bag hangs my Kyle Wilyard trade knife. 

    

    Next up, I have my tobacco pouch of muskrat and pipe in a native style. It also contains my flint and steel and fire kit. I based carrying this on a Cresswell account and I think it would have been a plausible item to have. He writes: 

Sunday, October 1st, 1775. Took leave of most of my acquaintances in town. Mr. Douglas gave me an Indian Tobacco pouch made of a Mink Skin adorned with porcupine quills.

     Next is my wallet with bags for dried foods and such. This will eventually contain parched corn, jerked meat, dried peas and bread along with a little flower or cornmeal. It will also house my horn spoon and bowl. In a previous article, Matthew Fennwald wrote about a "Wallet Well Stored" which I recommend and will provide some good period accounts of goods carried on Indian Campaigns. 

Moving along we have my water bottle, or pocket bottle. Kobuck has been writing and advocating for such for a while now and I'm going to take him up on it and see how this works. I can't find any evidence for canteens being issued so I'm leaving my wooden behind this trip I think (although I did carry it on my hike today.) 

    This time around I am going to ditch the knapsack that I usually like to carry (because of all that space for junk I don't need) and I am going to just carry a blanket on a tumpline. Inside the blanket will be a knit cap, extra shirt and maybe a jacket. Tied to the tumpline will be my trade kettle for cooking. 

    As my side arm, I am carrying a hunting sword rather than a tomahawk.

    That basically rounds out the gear. Now, how should one carry this gear. Carrying gear is all about strategy and common sense. I'm always amazed at how many guys I've seen over the years would show up to an event with gear hanging sloppily all over them, haversacks that hung so low at the knee that I highly doubt they had ever really been in the woods. If they had, that would snag on everything. So, a balance between high and tight, but loose enough to be able to get it on and off easily must be struck. 

    

Yes, I have a beard. Yes, I will shave for the event. 

    I put on my gear in this order. 

-Horn and Bag

-Canteen (if carried) 

-Hunting sword 

-Blanket roll 

    The order is based on the importance of the gear. If I have to make a run for it and I want to shed gear, my most important gear is going to be my shot pouch and horn, so it stays close to the body and everything else can be shed as I run from whatever danger. Obviously a scenario I don't want to experience. 

 

    The kettle ended up riding really nicely hung from the blanket roll and I was extremely comfortable. I love when I really nail tying up the bedroll. It's aesthetically pleasing and it makes hiking that much more enjoyable when everything is riding comfortably. 

    Hiked a mile on a local trail and everything really worked and functioned. Still tweaking and wanting to add a bit more on the practical side of things, but overall I am pleased with the outcome. 

    

    Thanks to my best reenacting buddy who also happens to be my beautiful wife for enabling the weirdness and taking pictures. She's the best. 

 

    

    

    

    

New Faces and Memories of Yesteryear

    It was a pleasure to attend the annual CLA show in Lexington KY this past weekend. Eileen and I were so glad to see so many fiends and as usual the after party at the Fennewald Air B&B was off the chain. The fried fish was excellent and I stuffed myself. 

Dillon Householder, Artist 

    

    One of the highlights was a new face in the reenacting/maker scene, Dillon Householder. Dillon hails from Florida and this was his first time attending the show. His items were on display in the new guy section of the show and what an excellent assortment. His silver work is beautiful, quillwork is on point, just a great set of goods for a guy who just recently found this hobby. And it was this meeting that prompted me to get excited and nostalgic. 

    I love when new people come in to the hobby, and I especially love when they're ate up with it to the point that Dillon is. It's fun seeing people discover this wild and crazy hobby that we do. You could tell he found his community. And I watched as the community embraced and encouraged him. Dillon approaches it exactly the way you hope a new guy would. With eyes wide open, with great enthusiasm, with good questions and with a willingness to listen to us "self proclaimed experts." In all seriousness though, it's so often that people coming into the hobby ask for advice over and over and then simply ignore it when given. So it's refreshing. I certainly don't pretend to know everything, but I'm pretty sure Kobuck does. So read his new article in Muzzleloader! It's really awesome! (This message was not paid for or approved by Kobuck)

    As Dillon and I have talked, we talked about this hobby being kind of a weird lifestyle for a lot of us. That it's literally what we wake up thinking about in some capacity, and go to bed thinking about at night. We put on our gear and go for hikes in the woods, or just pull it out and work on it, tweak it etc. For me, it has been a lifestyle starting from my earliest memories....

     Dad started doing living history in the 1970s and from there started a business that has been a staple of the hobby for many years. He had a lot of vision about what he would do as a vendor. He was the first trader to sell out of a marquee to his knowledge. Donlyn Meyers of Smoke and Fire always said it was true. He was the first to bring a wedge tent and set it up at a Western Fur Trade event causing Charlie Hanson of the Fur Trade Museum to exclaim in the middle of a camp full of Tipis and baker lean-tos,  "That's the most accurate tent here." Dad had an eye for detail and it showed in his first store where he sold reproduction clothing, camp gear and accoutrements. He also had a nose for antiques and in the latter half of his trading days he was known for one of kinds, old tools, center seam blankets and a variety of other goods. 

Dads first catalog, 1983

     I was born in 1990 and after some time away from the 18th century side of the hobby, Dad took me to my first Colonia-ish event in June of 1999 when I was 8 years old and from that point on, the 18th century world of reenacting, trekking, and living history has been a dominant force in my life. Meeting people like Dillon pulls you back to those early days of discovery as you watch someone who's learning about this for the first time. 

     I'm always a little sorry for people who find the hobby later in life. It's been so amazing growing up in it, especially as a kid cause your imagination is so open and ready to be stimulated. I can still remember that time so vividly. But at the same time, I am also extremely jealous, because that time of discovery is so cool. I love learning, and I hope I never stop, but that first time you discover something is truly special. 

    To Dillon and all the new people that come after him, enjoy this time. It's the best. 

    

    

A Response to "Tales from the Brown Side"

   Well, it would seem that the days of the forum wars are still alive, but they've changed venues. I was recently made aware of a post that was made in a certain Facebook group that I will leave unnamed, but suffice to say made me feel attacked. As a "younger friend", I felt it my duty to respond to some of the things in this post that was entitled "Tales from the Brown Side", a sort of defense of 1990s reenacting and culture. 

 Before I take issue with the original post, I want to clear up a few things. I have an incredible amount of respect for Mark Baker and the many others who pushed this hobby forward. My own father was one of them. He never went in for the walnut dye, but he was part of the 80s and 90s reenacting scene and much of what he did then was pretty progressive for its time. I was born into this hobby. I look at the stuff I was wearing in the 2000s with horror, but also with great nostalgia! It was an incredible time in this hobby. Truly. I watch Last of the Mohicans on the regular and I'm instantly transported to those times as a young person falling in love with history and with living history. So with all of that said, I would now like to discuss what I see as problematic with the claims being made. I'll go roughly line by line. 

Okay, I'm just going to say it. I'm personally tired of hearing about how bad reenactors in the 1990s were and how many research atrocities were "committed as if they were willful acts against humanity.

 While I understand there are some strongly worded critiques of 1990s reenacting, I don't think any of us are equating it as willful acts against humanity. Rather, why would anyone want to go back to doing it that way when so much research has come to light. 

Some of our younger friends need to remember that we lived in "a time before the internet" One must remember we didn't have the interwebs to hash out any of this and relied on dog-eared xeroxes passed hand over hand, rare books, "Books of Buckskinning,"On the Trail," and "Muzzleloader" magazines.

 I remember this time, and yes, things were much more limited. But I'm always struck at how much WAS available and how much of it was simply ignored. A good example is Mark Baker having access to the Bayton, Wharton and Morgans papers, yet ignoring the purchase lists. And that's not a dig at Mark Baker, I just think his priorities were different. 5 people could read the same document and each will come away having noticed something different. This is why the consensus of multiple researchers is so important. 

The accusation of the existence of a 1990s "Longhunter uniform in walnut" is as valid as it ever was, including the current trend. It's clear to me a new one has taken its place, derived from some wholesome and some faulty historical research methods. Mostly faulty.

 Im not sure what trend he's talking about but I think I do. However, I see so much diversity in outfits now, more than what I remember seeing in the 90s and 00s at Manskers Station. Lots of color, lots of variations of garments. I think it's great. Faulty research methods? Have you read Neal Hursts paper on hunting shirts?

I remember the excitement of finding a new artifact, drawing, or first-hand account to better my impression. Sure, I too ended up looking like Daniel Day for a while, or Mark, but it was all part of evolution. I was always mentored, always improving, always encouraged.

 This is a common sentiment amongst people who tend to glorify the 90s. The 'always improving' idea. While we should always be improving, this just seems to counter his point. He's basically admitting that we are correct in our assessment, and while he's saying he improved, that might be fine for him, but most people didn't and willfully ignored loads of great research. "Well that was before the internet" is said by guys who mostly still dress that way. Imagine if your doctor was like "Yeah, but that was before anesthesia, now bite on this" as you try to explain that new techniques have been discovered and then he proceeded to operate on you. Just because something was done in the 90s at Manskers Station with good intentions doesn't mean that critiques of it aren't warranted. 

I'm not claiming that the new look is terribly wrong, but just as in the "days of walnuts," there is a new generational "look" appearing. This look seems to me to be derived from largely late-war military garments that appear as a few extant examples, and first-hand Revolutionary War military accounts. In short, much of the regional, cultural, and vocational context is missing or extrapolated as justifications, where clearl more research is needed. Some of it is ignored.

The focus of the hobby seems to also have swung to bespoke clothes/gear, over experimental archaeology, learning the crafts, and skills practice. Hang about the fort, over application of colonial woods craft. I love me some fine gear, lord knows I've spent a fortune on it. I love a good event and fine museum interpretation and historic sites. Don't we all??? So why crap on those who came before you? Many wouldn't be here if it wasn't for some of us doing the preliminary research. Yeah, things can improve and always do, when this many people are passionate about something.

 The "new look" is simply what happens when more information becomes available and more research is put together to form a consensus. It looks "uniform" because for most of human history this is how people dressed, uniformly. While there was plenty of variety on the frontier, the goal is typically to do the most common things while leaving the one off or odd impressions alone as to not start trends that never existed historically. Again, I think the hobby has never looked more diverse. 

 As far as the focus of the hobby, well, in the 18th century items were bespoke primarily with some mass production on a small scale. I'm not sure what events you are attending where bespoke clothing and gear is being geeked out over while we just hang around the fort vs the experimental and skills aspect. I do both and many many people do. Maybe they just aren't going to the tired old Market Faire/2 O'clock battle style events anymore. I don't know. 

 He ends the post talking about how in the good old days things were a tad nicer. I'm assuming he means more open, polite etc. I don't think it was, we just didn't have the Internet to platform every person with any opinion. 

My conclusion is this. The hobby has progressed leaps and bounds since the 1990s. Nobody I know that writes about this is knocking what was done then and most of them, like me has a great nostalgia and respect for it. They just don't want to see it continuing to be done when there are so much better options available today. They want to save people the trouble, spending money on gear they don't need or that is just not correct to begin with. Are there jerks out there? Of course, on both sides. But one has to actually asses the information being shared, not the attitude of the person sharing it.  

And for fun, here I am in 2003 or 2004. Dressed terribly. Hat could be better, some kind of strange wool overshirt with my dads old waistcoat. Just all around not a good representation of anything really, but nobody would have questioned it at Manskers Station in 1999. 

Face to the North and Real Sudden Like, Turn Left : Travels to the Illinois Country and the Old Stick Ball Game

  In about a week, we will be heading west. How is it I am heading west? Well, you know...

 I am really excited to get back to Fort De Chartres, a place I have been going since I was around 8 years old. It was the first Colonial event that my dad took me too that I remember vividly. That time so many years ago was for the June Rendezvous. It was everything you expect a rendezvous to be. Plenty of dead animal hats and loads of fantasy impressions of "mountain men", but man, I was hooked. Within the first 24 hours I had made friends with a bunch of the kids in the fort and we formed our own militia and spent the remainder of the weekend running all over the Fort fighting the rival kid militia. What amazing times! 

  This time, I will be heading there with more expensive clothing, more expensive gear and my wonderful wife, but the goal will be much the same. To enjoy and experience good times with goods friends and play at history. 

 One of the great aspects of 18th century living history is the game the natives call "baggatoway" or "the little brother of war". I was introduced to this game early on in my reenacting life at the spring Fort De Chartres event and at Fort Niagara where Gene Tesdahl, or "Henri" as he is known to a great many of us, took me as his little brother and showed me the game. I grew very fond of it and wanted to play at every opportunity. One year, Henri presented me with my very own stick, made of hickory and very thick on the end as he thought my vigorous play demanded it. It's a unique one and very special to me. 

 I don't run like I used to, but I look forward to the ball game at De Chartres in a little over a week. I mostly let the young guys get in there and fight for the ball and stay near the goal and defend. We'll see. 

 I wanted to feature my pal Chris Jones work here as well. He's been making some mighty fine sticks as of late. You can find him on instagram @linensstroudsandduffels 

 Do you have any great stick ball memories? Post them in the comments! 

 

Fort Niagara, 2011

Martins Station 2023

Martins Station, 2023

For Niagara, 2011

Martins Station 2023

The Basic Backcountry Kit Part 1: Clothing

 I thought I would jump off the last post and discuss what to my mind is the most basic kit for the Backcountry since that is our focus here. Now this kit will get you through the Spring, Summer and Fall but will not include items needed for the winter months. 

 These items are the most versatile items that can be made or purchased and will allow a number of impressions including, militia, civilian hunter and early war continental line. Note that none of these categories are historical ones, but they are modern and for our purposes. Theres no such thing as a "militia kit" in the period. You brought what you had and in SOME instances you would be provided with some things and so it's important to look at returns and such from the period to determine this sort of thing. It's also important to note that "brought what you had" doesn't mean your giant machine sewn F&I waistcoat worn as an outer garment. 

 The basic kit should include the following : 

  Clothing 

A good round hat shows up so many times in period images and for the backcountry is better suited to the woods than a cocked hat. 

A body shirt, easy enough to procure. Make sure the cuffs are thin. Also a neckcloth or handkerchief. These can be found at Burnley and Trowbridge or the Virginia Floor Cloth Company. 

A hunting shirt. This is the most versatile garment there is and can be worn for militia duty, civilian hunting or Continental Line. A fine hunting shirt has just become available from South Union Mills. 

A few good quotes on the hunting shirt : 

Washington's General Order July, 24th, 1776 "No dress can be cheaper, nor more convenient, as the wearer may be cool in warm weather and warm in cool weather by putting on under-cloaths which will not change the outward dress, Winter or Summer-besides which it is a dress justly supposed to carry no small terror to the enemy, who think every such persona a complete marksmen"

Capt Andrew Holmes Co. 1st Batt. of Cumberland County Militia- 

Hunting Shirt and leggings of a light lye color, striped jacket, good shoes small brimmed hat. Sept 76

"There whole dress is very singular, and not very materially different from that of the Indians; being a hunting shirt, somewhat resembling a waggoner’s frock, ornamented with a great many fringes, tied around the middle with a broad belt, much decorated also…Their hunting or rifle shirts, they have also died in variety of colors, some yellow, others red, some brown, and many wear them quite white (Smyth 179-180)

Trousers are the next versatile piece of clothing and were the blue jean of the period. The working mans garment. South Union Mills also offers these! Click here

A good pair of leggings. We have an article on leggings which you can read here : Leggings

Make sure they fit well. Blue, Red and Green are great colors to start with. 

"Must wear leggings. These are pieces of coarse woollen cloth wrapped round the leg and tied below the knee with a string to prevent the snakes biting you."

-Cresswell Diary 

Buckle Shoes or Moccasins. South Union Mills also carries shoes these days. 

This to my mind is the quintessential backcountry kit when it comes to the clothing. We will get into the gear in the next post! 

If a tree falls in the woods, and nobody is around to hear it, how does documentation get interpreted?

 "He's gonna talk about documentation AGAIN?" Yes...I'm sorry. 

 After doing this blog off and on for a time, I occasionally will get asked for advice from people trying to put together their first "authentic" kit or I'll receive questions about improving on what they have. Frustratingly the advice is rarely followed and after some discourse the person asking will ghost me after I've told him that I can't recommend buying the thing he wanted to buy or making the thing he wanted to make. 

 But a question was posed to me recently in a way that I hadn't thought much about. Unless you've been at this for awhile, research can be daunting. In my experience some folks have an intuitive ability to find good and solid sources and interpret them and others don't. Don't know why this is, but I see it all the time. The question was "If everyone is looking at the same documentation, why does it get interpreted so differently. How is one guy right and the other guy wrong?" Welcome to Protestantism...er, wrong topic. We all have preconceived ideas and notions. But I wanted to take a moment to demonstrate how research moves forward to those who maybe haven't been at this for very long and wonder what all the fuss is about when it comes to documentation. 

 In the 1980s through the 90s, a fellow named Mark Baker took the living history world by storm with his experimental archeology and through his work we really got our first glimpses into a more skills based approach to living history. Not merely dressing up for a parade or to shoot in the primitive area at Friendship but dressing and going out into the wilderness and putting the knowledge, skills, equipment and clothing to the test. This style of living history took on the term "trekking". Mark based his clothing and accoutrements on his research into Morgans Hunters of the 1760s and tried to document what he did to those men. His attempts were good but in a time when the sources available were more difficult to find than simply googling it, some of his choices would be harder to document today or rather the research and our knowledge of 18th century garments have exploded since the dawn of the internet and better access to source material. 

 It should be noted that Mark Baker was not the first to do this stuff, but he was the first to document his experiences in articles and books and so he was the first person to have a wide audience watching him do this stuff. 

 Mark was a pioneer for this hobby. The problem was that most people didn't want to actually examine the source material. They were content to say "Mark Baker did it" and that was all the proof or documentation they needed. It's sort of like when you copy files on computers. You make a copy of the original, then a copy of the copy and then a copy of the copy of the copy and so on until eventually it degrades so badly that it's unrecognizable. That's essentially what people did. There are still guys out there today that have diverged so far from what even Mark was doing that Marks old Muzzleloader articles look current. 

 As you examine the ledgers, paintings and sketches, archeology and extant garments from the 18th century, it becomes more clear that while people like Mark were on the right track, there was still so much to learn. And so others have taken up the mantle and through more thorough investigations different conclusions were brought to light. A consensus starts to be built as more eyes are laid on the source material.  

Below we have two versions of the same person. The first is a person who read some Mark Baker articles, walnut dyed a shirt, rolled his sleeves up over a shirt underneath because he saw Mark Baker do it. The second image is a person who read the actual ledger books and saw the items being bought by Morgans hunters combined with sketches and drawings and archeological evidence from the period and made a more informed choice. Looking at one aspect will never give you the full picture. 

 The person who posed the original question added "How can some people be wrong? Surely they are searching and studying as well." Unfortunately in my experience most folks don't research and study. They just want to have some fun, wear some old timey clothes and go to the woods. Nothing wrong with that either. But, it's all about the approach one takes and the goals one has in mind. 

 If you don't enjoy the research part, I would suggest trusting those who can show you on paper, evidence for what they are doing. If somebody says "I saw someone else do it", then I'd try to steer clear of whatever advice they might give.