This is a neophyte type question for those of you accustomed to taking a clerical impression to the field. I’ve read that clerk supplies and forms can be carried in a haversack.  What would the adequately stocked clerk have in his haversack under campaign conditions?  My concern is more about a company level clerk than one associated with a higher headquarters.

For the typical weekend reenactment, company clerk’s clerical duties should pretty much revolve around the following paperwork.

Morning Report, Rosters (“Form 2” in Kautz), Provision Return (Shown as form 15 in Kautz but 13 in the Revised Regulations, Subsistence Department.), Return of Killed, Wounded, and Missing:  “Form 21” in Kautz, blank paper, Invoices and Receipts, Pass and the Guard Reports.  I would take five or six copies of each form with you but that’s about all you should need for the weekend. Now if you’re not on campaign then you would have more books and items under your disposal.  You should also carry a couple pencils, and steel pens with ink.   All of the clerking items should fit in a spare haversack or your knapsack.  I am sure Mike Shaffner will post his research on army clerking which is a great read and very informative.  

Hope this helps,  

--Last edited by hendrickms24 on 2007-09-25 09:08:37 --

Thanks, Mark.

Yes indeed, "The School of the Clerk" has been a life saver.

Is there a CD ROM out there that contains all for the appropriate paperwork and how do I get my hands on one? Didn't CJ Daley carry them at one time.

"My nib's a mess"

CJ Daley does not have any in stock right now but you could try his source which is the Sullivan Press.  I have never had any problem with order from Sullivan but heard that others have from time to time.  

http://www.sullivanpress.com/

Quote :

GrumpyDave wrote : Is there a CD ROM out there that contains all for the appropriate paperwork and how do I get my hands on one?

Grump,

Bob Sullivan sells CD's for both Federal and Confederate Forms.

I forgot to add that Mike Shaffner's School of the clerk has some appropriate paperwork included in his research. Use the link below to access his research.


http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9874

Grumpy, I have a copy of the Bob Sullivan CD of Federal forms.  It is nicely done.

You can also find "School of the Clerk" at the Scriveners Mess under "files."  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScrivenersMess/  It is a wonderful resource.  

--Last edited by Curtis Makamson on 2007-09-25 12:24:01 --

Sullivan's CDs (there are ones for both US and CS) present collections of facsimiles of actual forms.  Part II of "School" presents a couple of dozen forms in either Word or pdf format that myself and others developed for use in reenactments.  The repro forms are as close as we could make them to the forms in Kautz or the Regulations, but they're not facsimiles.  On the other hand, they include a number of forms that aren't in the CD collection and, in their Word versions, can be modified to create still other forms in the Regs.

I recommend all of the above. :-)

As for what to take into the field, I've covered it as well as I could in "School" -- it pretty much depends on the scenario.  This would range from a full set of the appropriate books -- with such basic office supplies as pen, ink, eraser, and office tape -- to some scraps of paper and a pencil.  During active operations in the field, you might be reduced to very little, yet still have responsibility for keeping track of people and property, issuing passes and receipts, & c., all of which data you would post to the official books when the wagons caught up and time permitted.

These days, before events, I usually get copies of the forms I know I'll need:  always morning reports, sometimes rosters, ration and casualty returns, and usually -- if only to be prepared -- passes, invoices, and receipts.  Blank paper is always useful for making out forms on the spot from the examples in the Regs, if necessary, and just generally for writing (the certification for lost ordnance in Kautz and the OD instructions is in fact just a memo).  

I may also bring a sample of other forms (descrïptive list, inventory of effects, final statement, & c.) for general firper or to show to spectators at a living history (some folks are actually interested in that stuff).

For living histories I may also bring passes and oaths of allegiance for spectators to sign.  The look on their faces when handed a loaded dip pen is generally priceless.

At the company level a handful of forms will fit into a portfolio.  Above that, I try to cram what I need into a little desk I slapped together a few years ago.  Ideally, I'd like to have a repro chest for forms and supplies made from an ordnance box, and a reproduction of an actual government-manufactured desk.  The journal of the Company of Military Historians has published articles that provide enough detail to make both.  Big problem is that even stuff made cheaply back then takes better materials and more skill than I have readily at hand.  Still, I hope to get some time over the holidays to try.

Hope this helps and thanks all for the kind words for "School."

I take with me a small leather portfolio which holds essential forms and blank paper, and one of Carter & Jasper's "lap desks" (a small rectangular box with a sliding lid) which contains spare pen holders, nibs, wipes, and reading glasses. Both of these fit neatly in a haversack along with a Silliman traveling inkwell. In my blouse pocket, a small journal, and, hanging from one of my buttons, a porte-crayon. That just about covers it.

What's the typical way to carry pens in such a way that the nibs are protected from damage, for example if you need to carry them in your pocket or loose in a haversack? I hope one doesn't have to pull the nibs out, but even so, was there a typical style of case either for the whole pens or the nibs alone?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

The portfolio mentioned above (from Dixie Leather Works) holds pens nicely. I also made a "scabbard" from a spare piece of trouser-leg wool. An eyeglass case or a ink-eraser sleeve will work as well.

If it's one of those things where whatever works will do, then I guess I'm pretty well set. When I needed to solve the problem and couldn't find an answer, I made a tubular paste-board case just big enough to hold two pens and a pencil, and that seemed to do the job even being tossed around in my pocket with my inkwell.

The concept of a spill-proof ink container, with a glass bottle inside a hard shell, sealed against the top with a rubber "spring" at its base, never would have occurred to me, yet seems to have been the standard solution for that, although with numerous variations in minor details.

I was just curious if there was some similar standard solution to the nib-protection issue, that was common in the period but not self-evident to us modern folks.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

If there was a "standard" way to carry pens, I'd be interested in seeing it. The roll-up field desk (formerly reproduced by Haversack Depot) is the closest thing I've ever seen, but I doubt that many people had them.

I've got a couple of small tin and brass nib cases to hold spare nibs, but nothing specifically to hold whole pens. I've also got dip pens which have caps like modern pens, but these are almost certainly post-war.

Perhaps further research will unearth something.

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I "discovered" the best way for me to keep them intact was to "reverse nibs".  Take the nib out of the pen holder, and carefully reinsert it into the holder backwards so only the rounded end portrudes (if that).

Noah,

Thanks for such a great idea.  It's such a simple and smart thing to do that I would never have though of it.    

Check this out:  http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscia%2Fscia0002%2F&tif=00217.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABF2204-0002-28

"Bagley's Patent Extension Penholder and Pencil" combines a mechanical pencil and a pen, both with retractable points.  I actually have one of these, though I don't take it into the field.  After 150 years the pencil head is a little wobbly, but the extending penholder works just fine -- a Gillott 303 fits, but most other nibs are too broad.

I've done the nib reversal trick with a crowquill, but wouldn't dare do it with any of the penholders I've made.  Doubtless a good penholder that's not too gunked up with dried ink would be a different story.  For what it's worth, I usually carry a couple of pens & holders in a small pasteboard box.

This is one of those homely little details that people didn't seem to feel a need to mention in their letters or journals, but it's nice to know that there's a growing group of reenactors who will be looking out for such.

I have a couple of the non-retractable versions - the pencil (which is a regular pencil cut to about three inches in length) and the pen are mounted in the same piece - you pull it out of the holder and reverse it, depending on which end you need. On the other end is an eraser, also reversible to a plain metal tip. So you can have a pen with a plain tip, or a pencil with an eraser. I'm pretty sure that these are post-war, as well.

One must be careful when reversing nibs - I damaged a couple by trying to push them in further than they wanted to go.

I don’t know if this is a correct technique for Civil War.  The artists who did this were of the Impressionist (art) period in France.  The date was 1865 - 70.  They made pen carriers out of bamboo.  Actually, it was a single section of bamboo, open at one end and closed at the opposite by the naturally occurring solid joint in the cane.  They would cut a single section of cane with enough interior diameter and length to accommodate a pen staff with point.  Rest the staff against the solid end of the section.  Include enough length in the bamboo section for a small cork to close the open end after the pen is in place.  A bit of trial and error will get a length so the inserted cork is close enough to the pen point to keep movement at a minimum.  With the staff against the solid end of the section, the pen point would be close to the more forgiving cork.

In addition to this, they cut a small length of the next cane section (against which the staff is resting) to accommodate another small cork and extra points.  So, a single piece of cane with two small corks.  In one end is the pen and staff.  In the opposite end are extra pen points.

From the May 21, 1864 Scientific American we have a descrïption of something remotely similar -- I suspect there were all kinds of inventions for dealing with this problem.  This solution may or may not involve bamboo, but I kind of like the idea:

42,599.—Combination of Pen-holder, Pen-case and
Money-safe.—W. E. Rose, Wankon, Iowa:
I claim a circular case or box, provided with a recess to contain a pen when not in use, and also provided with a hole to receive the pen when in use, all arranged to form a combined pen-case and pen-holder, substantially as described.
I further claim the coin or money recess in said box to form a combined pen-case, pen-holder, and porte-monnale, substantially as set forth.
[The object of this invention is to obtain a portable device for the pocket, or one which may be suspended on a neck chain, and be capable of being used as a pen-holder, pen-case and porte-monnaie, and at the same time be simple in construction.]