Items That Should Be Used Properly, or Avoided Altogether
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Eye Wear – Modern glasses stand out like a house on far, and ruin an impression. Spectacles were not common during the period, especially in armies with an average age of 28! If you are "optically challenged," wear contacts. If you must wear glasses, purchase period frames, and have your prescription lenses installed in them. Period sunglasses did exist, but were extremely rare. Do not use them.

Watches – Watches were not common among enlisted men. They had plenty of officers and noncommissioned officers to tell them when it was time to do something! Those men, who possessed a watch, carried a pocket watch. For whatever reason, some reenactors feel naked without wearing a wristwatch. They forget that when they raise their musket to fire, or when they raise their arm at all, their wristwatch emerges in all its farbe glory! Wristwatches were not developed until the twentieth century. They also ruin an impression. Do not wear them.

Bandanas – Handkerchiefs were commonly used, but not worn by soldiers. Bandanas were worn by pirates and cowboys. Do not wear them.

Ear Plugs – There may be a need for earplugs in the artillery, but the need for them in the infantry is questionable. However, there is documentation of some soldiers going into battle using cotton, from a field they just marched through, to plug their ears. If you have sensitive ears, you can wear flesh tone earplugs or use wax.

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