Authentic Watches for Civil War Reenactors
Reliable, authentic, and not that expensive!
Can (or should) we use original watches for Civil War reenacting and living history? Aren't original watches very old, rare, and fragile?
Original watches from Victorian era, especially American models, are surprisingly robust, strong, and reliable, and while there are many exceptional rare and valuable makes and models, many appropriate and authentic key-wind and key-set watches are found between $200-$300. In other words, not that much more than Chinese-made reproduction, or inappropriate pocket watch from later periods.
Watches are among the very few pieces of surviving material culture that are still being used by reenactors. Almost everything else we use is a modern reproduction. While there are some challenges and considerations involved with using an original watch, they have to be dropped or very roughly mishandled to break or damage them.
There are no reproduction mechanical watches available today that come close to matching the appearance and function of original Victorian-era watches. In fact, modern reproduction pocket watches all look pretty much horrible, and will ruin an otherwise excellent impression.
Corporal D. Monroe (20th Mich.) secures his watch chain with the T-bar exposed outside his waistcoat
"I Must Have a Watch"
Highly desired by all ranks
The late 1850s and early 1860s were the first era in which an ordinary working man could afford a watch. They were highly prized status symbols and even a quick glance through period photographs and CDVs will reveal a large percentage of soldiers, from privates to senior officers, deliberately posing in such a way as to showcase their watches or watch chains.
Keeping the pieces running in the field or during campaign was a constant struggle; countless period sources express frustration at shoddy repair work, the unavailability of qualified watchmakers, and the comparative ease in which period watches broke down in the field. Many watchmakers went to war. Sergeant James Beitel did a brisk business selling and repairing watches in camp, and his letters are rich in fortunate detail about the overwhelming demand for watches and watch repair in the Army of the Potomac. He faithfully recorded the prices fetched for the watches he sold: as low as $4 for French (Swiss?) watches, which were not considered desirable, and as much as $15 for a reliable, strong runner.
Officers and NCOs usually required a timekeeper for duty
Sergeant George Oscar French, 11th Vermont Infantry, asked for a watch in an 1862 letter: " I must have a watch for my duty as Sergt requires it for I must know when to post guard." In a later letter, he mentions how happy he was with his new watch: "my watch runs like a bird & $18 would not buy it today."
The unidentified soldier in the photo on the left (from the Library of Congress Civil War image collection) is in a private's frock coat without stripes, but even this regular soldier proudly displays his watch, probably worth several months pay, instead of the more typical military pose with a pistol, rifle, or knife.
Carrying Watches in the 1860s
Period watches were always attached to a chain or another sort of tether, to rescue the watch in case it was dropped. Chains were most commonly made out of silver, but gold was common, along with other base materials. Watch chains made from human hair were also popular in the 1860s, but definitely underrepresented in the hobby today!
Whatever style chain you prefer, you'll need one to secure the watch. The most common method is to use a T-bar through a buttonhole. There were other attachments used, including rings around buttons.
Usually the watch was carried in a waistcoat pocket, and the pocket was commonly lined with silk or another fabric that would produce very little lint. Period photos also show watches carried on the inside pocket of a frock coat, or in various other arrangements. One primary source from a watchmaker turned soldier in the Army of the Potomac describes "leather protectors" sold for carrying watches.
Watch chains of the 1860's were usually about 12 inches long and most commonly used a T-bar. A correct watch chain for a key-wind watch will also have a smaller chain attached to the larger chain, a few links from the T-bar. This smaller chain was used to hold the watch key. When keys became obsolete with later stem-wind watches, people started adding "fobs" or medallions to these short chains, instead of the now-useless keys.
First Sergeant William Pollock of the 140th PA, making a point to display his fancy watch chain.
Ideal Reenacting Watches
While you can use an original watch made prior to 1865 for reenacting, these actual Civil-War dated watches are highly desirable collectibles and therefore they are very expensive. Fortunately, the major American watchmaking companies (Waltham, Elgin, Illinois, etc.) continued producing nearly identical versions of Civil War-era watches for several decades. For instance, the Waltham Model 1857 remained in production long after the Civil War ended. Even later models like the Waltham Model 1877 still look and function like those from the 1860s.
This means we can use key-wind watches from the 1870s and 1880s, in common and readily available models that are extremely rugged and reliable, but not as collectible (and therefore not that expensive). Usually, the only way to tell they are not Civil War vintage is to open them up and look up the serial numbers.
Key Wind and Key Set
In the 1860s, the overwhelming majority of watches required a key to wind them up and set the time. A small fraction, probably less than 1%, of Civil War era watches were "keyless" and wound and set from the stem. Some European imports were "pin-set." By and large, however, it is safe to say that Civil War watches were key wind and key set, and the authentic reenacting watch should also use keys. Besides the authenticity, it is just so cool to pop open the back of a watch, insert a key, and wind it up.