Seating Chairs, stools, etc.
Tables & Work Spaces Trestle tables, folding tables, and more...
Storage Boxes, Trunks & Baskets
Fannie's Easy Sawhorses Project Link Multi-purpose support for tables
Even if you plan to never, ever spend a night in camp, you will need something to sit upon during the day. Don't anticipate that seating will be provided. This is an essential item that should be one of the first acquisitions on your list.
As you see in the drawing above, a variety of chairs were used in Civil War
camps. The two on the right are folding wooden chairs of the era.
Note how the legs are curved rather than straight like modern folding chairs.
The two fellows sitting in the center foreground and background are in regular
wooden chairs that can be found in furniture stores or at yard sales.
The soldier on the far left if sitting in a sling chair. These frames can be
found at thrift stores in the form of old beach chairs. A piece of upholstery
fabric cut 56” x 18” once hemmed, will make a very relaxing seat. Add
a matching footstool by replacing the canvas on a folding camp stool with the
same fabric and you will have yourself a very comfortable lounge chair.
It is perfectly Victorian to trim the edges with decorative tape or fringe.
In the photo of Dr. Letterman, at right, you can see that they are all sitting in folding “director's” chairs. Notice that there are two different styles. The good doctor's chair is the fancier of the two styles shown here. These chair frames can be found quite often second hand and recovered in new canvas or upholstery fabric in a Victorian print. If you buy new chairs make sure the color will work in the Civil War setting.
Tables are dandy items to have around the camp. I've seen a variety of styles and sizes in use at reenactments. I have also seen some very clever methods of customizing tables for easier transportation. Below we discuss a few of the variations.
Folding or Break-down Tables This type of table style is found in myriad varieties, all with the ability to fold up into a compact unit that travels well. Break-down tables generally have legs that detach for transportation.
A wide variety of folding wooden tables are available from most sutlers. Many units have a energetic carpenter who will make a table for you, or who makes and sells tables of their own design. They come in sizes from kitchen table to night stand.
I frequently see folding tables at yard sales, but most are unfortunately of the metal card table variety. If you see a nice wooden folding tables be sure to ask the seller about it, even if it is in use for displaying items. They are usually willing to part with them since wooden tables are more "wobbly" than their sturdy metal counterparts. Please make sure the folding table you purchase has wooden legs. The top can be covered by a tablecloth if it is farby, but the legs cannot be camouflaged.
Miss Vera's beau, Dale, has cunningly crafted a delightful break-down table for her use at the Soldier's Respite. The top of the table is homemade from fir planks. The legs were salvaged from a damaged antique table and they bolt onto the table for use. Under the table top are clever built-in compartments that hold the legs, her establishment's sign, the Faro layout and the dice board. This type of homemade or custom made table represents the pinnacle of design.
Trestle Tables This term generally indicates a table formed of a separate top supported by sawhorses, barrels, boxes or other items. This is about the easiest type of table to build from scratch.
Doors make wonderful tops for trestle tables. Hollow core doors purchased at the hardware store make delightfully large table tops that are light enough to lift. Just cover the top with a table cloth to conceal the modern construction, or finish the wood to appear old and worn. We use a lovely old handmade cedar door salvaged from a demolished mining cabin. Although this table top is sturdy enough to park a truck on, it is terribly heavy to transport. Making your own table top with planks to your custom dimensions works very well.
Support your table with barrels or your storage boxes. A company cook uses the clever solution of salvaged kitchen cabinets to support his tables while providing handy, bug proof storage for foodstuffs. (He also has a good time telling the story of how he salvaged his kitchen furniture from a shelled out farmhouse in Virginia). I use sawhorses because they fold up for easy transportation and were inexpensive to construct. To make your own sawhorses, follow our instructions for Fannie's Easy Sawhorses.
Tables Regular tables, such as kitchen or dining tables with the period look are wonderful to use at reenactments as long as you have room to transport them. Be sure to do some research into the styles of tables in use during the era.
When you first start out its most likely you will be hauling gear around in cardboard boxes. Just make sure you have a blanket or cloth you can use to cover them during the day and remember not to set them on wet ground. It will take a while for you to decide what size and shape you need for a wooden box or trunk.
As civilians you would more likely have used trunks and baskets to store your gear rather than the ammo or rifle crates used by the soldiers. Rather a box made up as a shipping crate from a fancy New York store, for example, that can work for gear storage without looking too out of place. Boxes also make good tables or seating.
You will find it easier to have a few smaller boxes rather than one huge box
that will be too heavy to lift when full. It is handy to have a box or
trunk for each of the following categories: 
With a little luck and some creative thought you can find some wonderful storage possibilities at yard sales and thrift stores. A large wicker trunk can be used as an ice chest cover or storage for clothing. They are often found at yard sales--slight damage or signs of wear will add authenticity, since refugees and traveling civilians would rarely have bright, shiny new baggage. They can also be found at import stores and are occasionally offered as a sale item at large drug stores.
Having a trunk rather than wicker hampers shows the world that you are a person of some financial account. The finer the trunk, the richer the family. Tour old house museums to see trunks styles, they have a number of them on display at the Bidwell Mansion in Chico. You will be better off to have a large wooden box-style trunk made than to buy the Kmart special black foot locker trunk which is not period correct.
For smaller storage, covered baskets of all types are excellent devices for keeping items handy, yet out of sight. To conceal the items within an open basket, cover it with a napkin, hankie or sheeting. Miss Fannie has an enormous lidded basket that cost her only $8.00. Into it goes the first aid kit, purse, matches, candles, flashlight, medicines, water bottles and any other item needed frequently, but that does not fit into a period encampment. She considers it one of the best purchases she ever made, keeping needful items concealed, yet within arms reach.
Photo Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Drawings from the Carson Collection