Tents are sold without poles--these must be purchased separately from sutlers, made by your favorite carpenter, or homemade. When you purchase your tent, ask the merchant to provide information on the dimensions of the poles you will need for your tent. Most sutlers will gladly supply this information, and some also provide detailed drawings for constructing your tent supports.
Your choice of poles will be influenced by the type of impression you do and the materials that are available. Refugees and most civilians would use rustic poles cut from the surrounding woods, with the bark still attached. Impressions of profitable or well funded businesses/organizations might use milled lumber.
Rustic natural poles, with or without bark, are the number one choice for authenticity, but some folks do not have access to this material. Natural, rustic poles also have the drawback of splitting rather more frequently than milled lumber.
Milled lumber will be the only choice for many. Usually, 2 x 2 inch birch or fir lumber is adequate to support your tent, and is light for ease of transportation. Some larger tents will require 2 x 4 inch lumber for the end poles and ridge beam. When you construct your poles, be sure that no lumber markings are visible on your finished product--sand out these marks or paint over them. For durability, finish your poles with a marine quality, clear, satin varnish or polymer. You can also paint your poles in period correct colors with a flat finish.
Purchase the hand-forged iron stakes available at sutlers for $1.00 to 2.00 each. In addition to being period correct, these are the only kind of stakes that will stand up to frequent use on a variety of ground types. (While you are at it, purchase some for use with your "normal" Coleman camping tents-if you have ever used those cheapo plastic or aluminum stakes, you know they are practically worthless and break all to easily.)
These stakes can really take it. The only ground I've seen too hard for these stakes was at an event on an airbase--we theorized it must have been a nuclear test ground--some of my stakes are still there, embedded in the hardpan where they will give some archaeologist pause for thought in a future era.
When setting stakes, be sure to angle them away from the direction of pull--this keeps the stakes from pulling out of the ground in windy weather. To remove your stakes, just use one of the stakes as a pry-bar, it is just the right shape for the job. When the stake is loosened, pull it out in the direction you set it-it will slide right out.
Be sure to take a look at the tents set up by other reenactors. You will view a delightful array of clever devices for making your tent more comfortable and home-like. Most often you will see clever iron hooks and brackets for hanging clothes or lanterns on. Some are very low-tech solutions, such as holes drilled along the ridge beam through which sections of rope or chain may be attached, on which to hang clothes or lanterns.
Some blacksmith/sutlers sell an array of delightful devices to customize your tent with. Among them are removable shelf brackets, hooks, clever lantern attachments, and even specialized lanterns and chandeliers.
Wall tents call for 8-10 short poles along the side-walls of the tent, and an equal number of stakes to hold down the walls. Many reenactors use a clever shortcut for erecting the walls which eliminate the need for stakes.
Building the poles: In each wall-support pole (approx 41" in length), drill a 1/4 inch hole, 2" deep in the center of the top and bottom of each pole. Insert a section of 1/4 inch rod, 4 inches long in each hole (I add a few drops of glue before inserting the rod).
When erecting your tent, one section of rod at the end of your wall pole goes through the stake loop and into the ground, thus eliminating the need for stakes on the side walls.
Even the ridge pole for the basic A-frame tent is 9 feet long-too long for some cars or trucks. There are a variety of methods for creating folding or break-down ridge-poles for tents, too many to list here. Ask some reenactors if you can view their solution. In a recent examination of 12 A-frame tents in the 72NY camp no two tents used the same method of ridge-beam construction, so you can see there are a multiplicity of methods available. Examine many and choose the method that will work for you.
Image courtesy of Carson Collection