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5th U.S. Volunteer Infantry

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Larned, KS
5th U.S. Volunteer Infantry

We are a re-enacting group that portrays Army life for a frontier soldier during the late Civil War era.

Based out of Larned, Kansas, this group portrays soldiers and civilians from the 5th US Volunteer Infantry as well as other Regular Army units.

05/31/2026

An army marches on its stomach.

Many of us have heard this phrase, but it is easy to reduce the Civil War soldier's diet to a few familiar items: hardtack, salt pork, coffee, and little else. While these certainly formed an important part of military rations, they were not always the only foods soldiers ate, especially while on the march.
Soldiers frequently supplemented their rations through fishing, hunting, foraging, purchasing food from civilians, receiving packages from home, and occasionally "liberating" food from the surrounding countryside. Accounts from both sides of the war are filled with references to apples, berries, chickens, fresh bread, vegetables, and other foods that rarely appear in our camps today. This was not a new system for the army, but was the norm for armies everywhere in the world. When supply lines failed, guys had to be able to find their own supplies. It is worthy to note that they got quite good at it too.

As reenactors, we often portray the ration issue. But what foods do you think deserve more attention as part of the soldier's actual diet in the field?

What is a ration, meal, or food item you would like to see represented more often at events?

📸: Joel F. Carberry

05/18/2026

"It was only a matter of time." https://buff.ly/znhrnnL

05/17/2026

We’re not the Regulars, but we kind of are

When people first hear about us, they often confuse us with the 5th US Infantry and that’s a very fair point to be confused about. Though it’s a minor word change, the addition of “volunteer” in 5th US Volunteer Infantry dramatically changes the history of the unit we’re talking about. The 1st-6th US Volunteer Infantry were what became known as the “Galvanized Yankees” — Confederate prisoners of war who had an opportunity to get out of the Union run prison camps. Initially, only foreign born prisoners were allowed to take the deal to wear the blue and become the Army’s presence on the western frontier. This was the 1st USVI. However, seeing some of their comrades take the opportunity to get out of the prison camps (not much better conditions than Confederate run prison camps), others wanted to join as well. Approval then came saying anyone who wanted to don the blue could take it. However, all of the officers in the USVI would be soldiers who had served the Union from the start, with one exception. Many of these officers, especially at the company level, were very young and often promoted from within enlisted ranks of units already in the west. Like many other new types of soldiers, a lot of people were skeptical of their former enemy joining their side. The choice to have the USVI not fight their former brothers in arms, but instead help occupy and build forts, camps, and stage stations out west proved to be a valuable one as desertion rates were low and the “Galvanized Yankees” proved to be quality fighters. In appearance and discipline, these men were described as being indistinguishable from the US Regulars.

The 1st-6th USVI were short-lived as the whole idea kicked off in 1864 with the last of the USVI being mustered out in November 1866. These are the stories we highlight. Not a flashy history, but instead a story that’s not often claimed by either side. A story that needs to be shared.

📸: Olivia Danielle Photography

05/10/2026

Michael Jordan was once the worst basketball player in the world

Granted, it might have been when he was a toddler, but the point still stands. This idea applies to so many things, including reenacting.

In our recent viral post, two things stood out as reasons why people don’t engage in the reenacting hobby: cost and those in the hobby not being kind, especially to those starting out. Going back to our original analogy, Jordan wouldn’t have become the basketball player he became without practice, coaching, and learning from his teammates. It says a lot about our hobby that it’s not a rare experience for beginners and novices being poorly treated because of the information they don’t know. It’s on us as those who now have more knowledge and experience to gently educate and coach those just starting out to become better and more authentic. After all, there was a point when we were beginners in this hobby and didn’t know any better.

Do better. Be kind. Grow the hobby.

📸: Joel F. Carberry

05/02/2026

Play for free

In our most recent post about creating a better space in the hobby to help it grow, we noticed two major hurdles that people often encounter.
1) The cost of everything. This is completely understandable, especially as people are looking to cut unnecessary things out of their lives. Reenacting can be a very costly hobby, and we understand that.
2) There’s a lot of people currently in the hobby that don’t know how to gently educate newcomers and instead shame them for not knowing what they don’t know. This is a sad truth that needs to change and will have its own post, so keep an eye out for that.

On the note of the first hurdle, we have a great opportunity for anyone in the Kansas area! One of the sites that we help support is Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned, KS. The beauty of this site is not only its original buildings that are still used for events, but also the very deep stores of loaner gear that enable park volunteers to try out the wool and see if they want to dive deeper into the world of Civil War era reenacting/living history. Whether you’re unsure if you want to invest the time and money or if you’re not able to invest the money yet, any time the 5th USVI plays at Fort Larned, we can use their uniforms and equipment.

Just around the corner is one of these times as the 5th USVI seeks to help support Fort Larned and their annual Memorial Day weekend event. All you need to do is bring yourself and we’ll help take care of the rest!

Register to volunteer at Fort Larned’s Memorial Day weekend event today: https://forms.office.com/g/DpB8RMRs3s

Register to become a member of the 5th USVI today: https://forms.gle/fyb1vL8ovUCsbDod8

📸: Joel F. Carberry

04/29/2026

The hobby is dying

This is a sentence we hear all too often in the reenacting world. We don’t have the numbers in the ranks we did 20-30 years ago, but what are we doing about it?

Times have changed
A majority of people are no longer seeking chances to participate in reenacting like they used to. Tactics must change to account for this. We now have this wonderful tool of social media to advertise this awesome hobby and the great people in it. But who’s properly utilizing it? If we want the hobby to not only stop dying off, but to grow, we have to take advantage of every tool we can. What other free tool can reach 20,000 people with one posting?

You can’t have a death grip on your people
As we mentioned in our recruitment post last week, we don’t require our members to fall in with us at events. As long as our members are supporting the event, that’s all we care about. Supporting the hobby is way more important than supporting one group. Not only that, but this is a hobby and if people want to try new things to sustain their enjoyment, who are we to stop them? While it may hurt your own numbers initially, it’s an investment that makes your group and others better in the long run.

You need to do things
If a new member’s experience of the hobby is just sitting around the fire talking about the 1-to-1 Picket’s Charge at Gettysburg, no wonder this hobby is dying. New, and especially young, members are looking to do things. Things like drill, fatigue, patrols, picket, guard, and so much more. There is a time to reminisce, but we need to prioritize getting out and doing things.

It’s one thing to preach, it’s another thing to practice. These are just a few of the driving forces behind the 5th USVI and the basis of what we do at events and how we grow as a group. Let’s steer this ship in another direction and start growing this hobby again.

📸: Joel F. Carberry

04/23/2026

A monumental year for the 5th USVI

2026 has proven to be our year. We have gone from simply participating in events to spearheading quality experiences for our members as well as others in the hobby. With more members this year than ever and with our new mentality, we are looking to solidify our name in the Civil War reenacting world this year. If being part of a reenacting group who authentically portrays the Civl War era and brings back fun and spontaneous experiences previously seen in reenacting, the 5th USVI is just the place for you.

Our members have two simple requirements:
- Attend one event from our event calendar. And as long as you’re at the event somewhere, that’s all that counts. We’re here to support the hobby, not just the 5th USVI.
- Give something tangible to support the group. This requirement is only limited by your imagination.

That’s it. No dues, no signing in blood, no huge pressures. We’re here to have fun in addition to bringing proper honor to the original cast.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, fill out our registration form today:
https://forms.gle/fyb1vL8ovUCsbDod8

📸: Joel F. Carberry

04/14/2026

What a way to kick off the year

This last weekend, the 5th USVI and other reenactors from the area came together at Fort Larned National Historic Site to learn how to perform proper guard duty, enjoy garrison life, and immerse ourselves in the past. It was exhausting, but in the best possible way. However, sleeping in original quarters and eating meals prepared by the company cook and post baker certainly helped make it a little easier. Western Kansas gave us almost everything she could for the spring including wind, cold, fog, hot days, and distant lightning.

It was a learning experience for all and if every event turns out like this one, it’s going to be the best year in reenacting yet!

04/06/2026

We’re all farbs

Just about everyone is likely to agree with the statement:
The only people to be 100% accurate and authentic is the original cast who we represent.

Like it or not, none of us will ever truly experience what it was like to be a solder or civilian in the past — we can only experience a sliver of what they did. After all, the goal of an event is for no one to be injured and make sure everyone has an enjoyable time. The people we portray were at best living their lives but more often having the worst day of their lives. And this is why it’s so important to authentically represent and honor those who came before us.

But what’s an acceptable level of inaccuracy since we can’t ever reach 100%? At the end of the day, this is a hobby, so we’re by no means advocating for food related sicknesses, ignoring modern medicine, or fully immersing yourself in the past. However, there are things that can be controlled and contribute to how we represent the original cast.

As our friends in the 11th OVC have told us: seek to limit the number of “farby” items in your impression to three. This covers everything as broad as camp furniture and tents to things as detailed as the weight and weave of your uniform coat. Some items might be obvious to almost everyone such as coolers and air mattresses, but others not so much like the weight and tanning process on leather. It’s not expected that you’ll know 100% of the details 100% of the time, but it should be expected that you’ll take the information you’ve learned and use it to improve yourself and your impression.

So sure, we might not ever be 100% accurate like the original cast was, but it’s important to get as close as possible while still enjoying the experience.

03/26/2026

Time is ticking

Our first event of the year is fast approaching and we’d love for you to join us! Camp 11 at Fort Larned National Historic Site is slated for April 10-12 with registration closing on April 4. Even if you’re brand new to the hobby, we can take advantage of Fort Larned’s deep loaner gear stash and fully outfit you for the weekend. Whether you’re brand new or well experienced, we’d love to have you in the ranks of the 5th USVI as we portray Company C, 3rd US Infantry in a few short weeks. Experience garrison life for yourself as we bring this post to life.

Registration link: https://forms.office.com/g/3NFSvgv3RE

Address

1767 KS Hwy 156
Larned, KS
67550

Website

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