SW0135 Longtime Reenactor Shares Trade Knowledge for Accurate SW Presentations

Seminole Wars Authority

Listeners to our last podcast enjoyed a discussion about 19th Century Seminole Men’s Clothing – and what an enterprise it is to recreate them. Unfortunately, the 1991 spiral-bound book is out of print and hard to obtain.

That is, until now.

Enter living history enthusiast and researcher James Flaherty. Jim is a friend of the key individuals behind the Seminole Men’s clothing book – Rick Obermeyer and Pete Thompson.

He has attended and participated in various Seminole War reenactments and events since the 1980s. Jim is also an artisan who hand crafts period accoutrements, leather items and clothing.

Hence, Jim’s new book is Seminole Wars-era Clothing. He and fellow historical enthusiasts penned entries featuring everything one needs to know about crafting period-appropriate clothing. This includes Seminole men and women; American civilian men and women; and military service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps.

Jim tells why he wrote this book and why this book needed to be written. He dedicates it to living history reenactors, hobbyists, and students of the trade. But any general reader will find it fascinating how he takes one on a journey from written accounts and painted images to obtaining materials and piecing together the clothing items one by one.

Jim Flaherty is a member of the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists, the Seminole Wars Foundation, the Dade Battlefield Society, and the Morse Telegraph Club. Image captures are below.
Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Fla.

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