Just a reminder that this forum was created to explore the possibility of starting a group interested in re-enacting that period in the West between the mountain men era and the end of the Civil War. Since this group will include plainsmen, settlers, miners, ranchers, Indian fighters, etc., and because of the time frame involved, we'll never have a completely period correct re-enactment. There will always be a California '49er shooting alongside an 1860s Texas settler next to an 1850s Mexican grandee, all of which sounds like a lot of fun to me.
There is, and always will be as long as I'm involved, an emphasis on historical accuracy within TAPS, but we also need to take into consideration the finished product. What were the exceptions, and what was the norm. A historically accurate group will be made up largely of what was normal for that person in that time. I'm not too keen to see an entire shooting line filled with exceptions.
Caleb