To the Prospective Recruit:

The 18th Indiana Light Artillery / Lumsden's Alabama Battery is always seeking like-minded, committed living historians who have a strong desire to live the life of a light artilleryman in the American Civil War. While the hobby has many artillery units nationwide, we believe the added dimension of the horses allows our members to experience first-hand the thrills, challenges and frankly hard work involved in Civil War light artillery. As you might expect, particularly if you have experience in any equine activity, working with and caring for our hooved membership can make for very long days at events, and there are hazards associated simply by working in and around horse-drawn guns and caissons.  The 18th Indiana is completely committed to the safety of both our human and equine membership, as well as those with whom we share the road or field.  In terms of safety, we simply do not cut corners.  With that said, it remains remarkably rewarding, and many of us think serving as a cannoneer or driver on a horse-drawn gun at an authentic event simply as good as it gets in our hobby! Second only to safety, we are committed to authenticity in our personal, unit and tactical impression.  We are privileged to enjoy an excellent reputation for authenticity which has manifested itself in invitations to numerous high quality "authentic" events throughout our region.  Anyone who has been seriously involved in Civil War living history is no doubt aware most units have authenticity standards. While we do not maintain a listing of approved vendors of authentic goods, we do encourage our membership to consult the "Authentic Campaigner" website "resources" section for a comprehensive listing of folks who have a great reputation for authentic goods and customer service.

In summary, all our members are expected to comply with a few established principles which we've found are critical to a safe, efficient and authentic experience for both our members, and those who observe us in the field. These are generally always going to apply:
1)  Be prepared for "campaign-style" existence, sleeping on the gun, and living out of your haversack and knapsack, just as light artillerymen on campaign did. While our families may certainly attend these events as spectators, they are not permitted to remain overnight in the military camping areas unless they can represent themselves as period-correct, male living historians at all times.  If not, they should confine their presence to the event's established spectator areas.
2)  Be capable, at a minimum, of meeting published event material authenticity standards, which are usually known well in advance.
3)  Be prepared for 16+ hour event days. The horses add fun and realism, but they also add a lot of work.  You'll typically be assisting with feeding, watering, grooming, harnessing/unharnessing, post-event harness cleaning & horse watch duties that usually mean you don't get to bed until quite late, are up very early, and don't leave an event till hours
after the last infantryman has headed for home.
4)  Light artillery cannoneers rarely ride the caisson and limber, therefore they must be in good enough physical condition to march alongside for several miles, at their position, with the horses at a "walk," during the march which usually accompanies most authentic events.
5)  This business of horse-drawn artillery is not cheap therefore our members must be willing to contribute financially to to the unit to help offset the very high costs involved in transportation and maintenance of the gun, caisson and at least twelve horses.  Typically we are each expected to contribute $40-$70 prior an the event, depending on distance involved and length of the event. This fee is separate from any event's individual registration fee.  Good news is, car-pooling can usually be arranged to help off-set your personal travel costs.

Finally, your attitude is probably the most important thing you'll need to bring. We are privileged to have a remarkably diverse membership from all over the Southeastern U.S., but we all share a common desire to constantly improve our impression and are always willing to "put our shoulder to the wheel" in order to get the job done!

If you'd like to know more about how you can join us, e-mail Kent
Oestenstad.