Civil War Reenacting: Bayonets

By Matthew Pizzolato

At a civil war reenactment, after we march out of camp and get into position for a battle, the next thing we do is to hurry up and wait.  We always get there early and have nothing to do but stand around.  Of course, the bayonet comes into use then so that we can stack arms, which is the only use we have for one at a reenactment.

During the War, however, the bayonet was the equivalent of a multi-purpose tool.  While it was used on the battlefield, bayonets are generally believed to have caused between 1% - 2% of the wounds suffered during the conflict.

General John Gordon wrote of the bayonet, "The bristling points and the glitter of bayonets were fearful to look upon as they were leveled in front of a charging line, but they were rarely reddened with blood."

Three-sided socket bayonet

There are many different kinds of bayonets, but the one most commonly used by both sides during the War was the three-sided socket bayonet that fit over the end of the Enfield rifle used by the Confederate forces or the Springfield used by the Union. 

Everyday Use

The bayonet saw much more use during the every day life of the soldier.  They were used around camp as an entrenching tools or tent pegs.  Soldiers used them as roasting spits or even meat tenderizers.  Bayonets sometimes saw service as can openers and fire pokers. 

Bayonet attached to rifle

Once darkness fell, soldiers often drove the pointed ends into the ground and placed a candle in the socket end for reading or writing letters home. 

Their use did not end in camp life.  Bayonets have been recovered that were heated over fires and shaped into hooks.  This use was much gorier.  A lot of soldiers of did not like touching bodies, so these "hooks" were used for dragging dead men from the battlefield. 

Combat Use

When they were used in combat, it was primarily as a weapon of intimidation or of desperation, if the regiment was out of ammunition.  Not many men would withstand a bayonet charge. 

The most popular bayonet charge of the War would probably be the one made by the 20^th Maine at Gettysburg on Little Round Top, but occurrences like that were few and far between.

Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He writes Western fiction featuring his antihero character, Wesley Quaid, that can be found in his story collection, The Wanted Man and the novella Outlaw.  

Matthew is the editor and webmaster of The Western Online, a magazine dedicated to everything Western and can be contacted via his personal website: www.matthew-pizzolato.com or he can be found on Twitter @mattpizzolato.