Joseph Wells Drummer

Joseph Wells 15 year old Drummer 32nd Iowa Co. B

May I call you Joseph?
Just call me Little Joe or just Jose

Jose what is your real name?
Tanner Creery

What do you do in real life?
Practice drumming and go to school in North Fayette Middle School in Fayette, IA

How long have you been reenacting?
After Keokuk about a year.

Jose, what is your role in the unit?
I drum the orders and cadence for the unit.

What is the history behind your persona?
Company D 18th Iowa Infantry died in Louisiana of dysentery while he was fighting. He was my great, great, great, great grandfather.

Why did you pick this role to portray?
I was too, young to carry a rifle with the infantry so I decided to be a drummer instead.

Do you like this portrayal?
Yes, I like it very much.

Do you think you will quit drumming when you get old enough to carry a rifle?
Maybe, or maybe I will continue to drum when we have enough me to take the field. We don't have any other drummers and I really like what I am doing.

What did you do to prepare for your role?
I learned to drum at the age of 11. I had to get a musician's uniform with the blue trim (has the uniform on), a period drum and sticks, I had to learn the special cadences for the orders.

Do you really drum out orders?
Yes, Each cadence means something different. I can tell them (the men) to march, forward and retreat, commence and cease firing, fire by the piece or fire at will. Just all different things.

Where did you find your equipment?
We found it in Oregon. The first drum I had we accidentally got a Revolutionary War Drum,
so we exchanged it for this one.

How does this drum differ from the drums of the 21st century?
This drum is made of mostly wood. It is painted red with the eagle emblem on it and says Reg. US Infantry. It has a single line braided rope that also forms a strap so you can carry it
on your back when you are not drumming. To tighten the head there are leather adjusters with brass brads on hemp rope lines. [The 21st century drums have metal screws with wing nut tighteners.]

That is very interesting Joe. What is your favorite reenactment and why?
Claremont or Usher's Ferry because they are really close to history as living history events. Usher's Ferry is in a 1860's town. And Claremont you are really close to the roots of reenacting, doing things they would have really done.

Claremont is a period correct encampment style living history.
yep, and it also gets me closer to my ancestor Jose Wells.

Capt. Elias Jaycox, Surgeon 16th US Medical Corps.

May I call you Doc?
"OK"

What is your real name?
"Don Evans"

Why did you pick the role of a Civil War Surgeon?
"I thought the surgeons of the Civil War had a very important role in the outcome of the Civil War by healing soldiers and getting them back out to their families or back on the line to fight. The history student of today needs to know about their contribution to the war effort and the contributions they made in medical advances."

How long have you been reenacting?
"I started 9 years ago (1996) as a private in the 32nd Iowa Co. B volunteers. I moved up to quartermaster later and then moved into medical field as a steward. In 1999 I became a surgeon."

What did you do to prepare for your role of surgeon?
"I began volunteering as a patient first. I also began reading publications on surgeons and how they performed their duties. I practiced some surgeries and talked with fellow surgeons from other units as well as my own. I watched a lot of surgeries being performed and watched the surgeons prepare the patients for surgery. That helped a lot seeing them do it."

What is the history behind your persona?
"The person I portray was my Great, Great Grandfather. However he wasn't a surgeon. The surgeon part is a composite of many surgeons. This surgeon was educated at Rush Medial College in the 1840's and joined the army as a surgeon in the 1850's."

Do you really do surgeries?
"No. All our surgeries are staged to simulate actual surgeries performed in the field hospital. These surgeries include head injuries and traumas, internal surgeries (invasive surgery to remove bullets and foreign matter imbedded in soft tissue without bone damage) and amputations."

Why did you amputate so much?
"Amputations were performed by necessity. There were often so many wounded that if we performed a resection on shattered bone it would take hours in which other men would die. We also found that when we amputated right away instead of waiting until the soldier made it to the main hospital he was more likely to live."

Where do you get your medical stuff?
"The instruments I get at antique stores or on e-bay. Other items I get at flea markets, garage sales, and some are home made. Sometimes other surgeons have extras they are willing to sell."

As a field surgeon did you use anesthesia?
"Yes"

What kind?
"Ether and chloroform were used pretty widely in both north and south. I prefer chloroform, though."

Why?
"Ether has a short shelf life, is hard to transport and can be explosive if exposed to flame. I like my cigars and I like my fingers right where they are. Sometimes we have to perform surgeries at night and use lanterns and candles for light. That wouldn't work too well with ether! "

What is your favorite reenactment and why?
"The next one I am going to, because it gives me a new set of people to teach about Civil War Surgeons."

Now that you have that out of your system, do you really have a favorite?
"If I had to pick just one it would have to be Boscobell, Wisconsin. They have a huge community involvement to put on the reenactment as well as coming out to watch the show. The whole town turns out! Because of that they get a lot of reenactors and the event keeps growing every year. When there are a lot of reenactors we have more opportunities to do medial demonstrations."

And you like doing medical demonstrations?
"Yes, all surgeons like doing demonstrations when there is a large audience and lots of reenactors as patients."

Thank you for your time Doc.
"You are welcome anytime."