Civil War Stories

[Kat Quatermass]

Is anyone aware of any freely available to tell Civil War stories, that have a strength of shape (ie not some events waiting to have a story made out of them).
I don't usually tell in any genre other than folk tale, wonder tale or myth (I'm aiming for Epic, but it is in snippets so far) but we have a date on our training tour where one teacher is being asked by another for a certain type of story, and I wanted to help out if I could...

any advice, much appreciated

[Kevin Walker]

Hi Kat.
I have worked in the Civil War era....I presume you are talking about the English Civil War? But I worked in the role playing way where I took on the character of a war looter who meets up with the students and really just talked about life. He was quite an unpleasant character too! Had a great time. We were in the kitchen of Oakwell hall in West Yorkshire, supposedly waiting for the steward of the house to arrive. Near the end of the session I got one of the kids to stand near the door and look out for him whilst I filled my bag with silver and cuttelry and then left with the line..."I hope you can explain to the steward where all his pocessions have gone".......the children were horrified!! Great fun. They all heaved a huge sigh of relief when I returned to the room, minus my shaggy wig! Great stories to tell are Charles hiding in the Boscome Oak......Charles in prison before his execution when he says goodbye to his children.....Prince Rupert and his standard poodle Boy going into battle......but I am afraid they are not written down anywhere. Let me know if I can be of any help.
By the way...another funny. When I was playing this character the press came for a photo and asked me where my lute was!! The foto is on my website www.bardictraditions.com

[Kat Quatermass]

Hi Kevin,

sounds like fun - and great prompts for English Civil War stories... but no, am studying in Tennessee so it is American Civil War prompts I am looking for.
I've been looking into the "telling in role" thing a bit recently - not for me - but one of my classmates here is working with a Revolutionary War re-enactment group - shall point him at your website to get some ideas!

[Kevin Walker]

Sorry Kat...but yes, if I can be of any help to you colleague, just point him my way.

Are you studying storytelling?

[Kat Quatermass]

Yes, Masters Program in Storytelling at ETSU. Needed a break from life in local government

[Kevin Walker]

Fantastic...well done you. Good luck with it all.

[Lois Sprengnether Keel (LoiS)]

Prowl a bit The Civil War group. It is the American Civil War. There are 10 of us there. You may get ideas from the various postings there. Possibly some questions for individuals will also pop into your head. B.A. Botkin's A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore may also help you. The biggest problem in just picking a Civil War story is that reenactment is far more personal than just telling an ordinary story. You need to fit the person even if the story already has a shape. Yes, shape is important as real life isn't neatly plotted, but you may find that those of us involved in Civil War stories have also worked with our material to the point where it becomes highly personal to us.

[Kat Quatermass]

Thanks so much Lois, didn't notice it was there. I know just what you mean about re-enactment storytelling - I used to do Live Role Play in few different fantasy settings and in terms of the storytelling (though not the historical accuracy!) it works in a similar way to re-enactment.
For immediate purposes though I won't be telling first person, just exploring events in a legend type way. That Civil War Treasury looks like a perfect place to start!