C & D Jarnagin Co.

A typical Civil War Reenactment takes place over a weekend with the reenactors camping on site while spectators view the event on Saturday and Sunday. There are various characters set up as authentic Silversmiths making horse shoes, women in period clothing cooking over fires and tents set up as a general store. The average reenactments that go on around Corinth, Farmington and Shiloh are authentic. These general stores sell authentic reproduction period pieces made by skilled craftsmen.
Total immersion events are made up solely of «hard-​core authentic» reenactors, who often refer to them as «Events By Us and For Us» or «EBUFU». This would be the equivalent of Unilocal’s OYE, CMYE and EYE.
As the names imply, these events are held for the personal edification of the reenactors involved, allowing them to spend an extended time marching, eating, and generally living like actual soldiers of the Civil War. Total immersion events generally require participants to meet a high standard of authenticity and are closed to the public.
These dedicated reenactment soldiers and women are committed to upholding the authenticity of their dress, shoes, silverware, canteens, belts with correct buckles and coats with period buttons. They pay attention to the details of the times. Each war or battle had different details that weren’t seen in other battles and these reenactors rely on skilled craftsmen and craftswomen, for complete attention to detail and full knowledge of the items needed, for their accuracy.
There are such craftsmen here in Corinth at C and D Jarnigan Co, on Wick Street. David Jarnagin, with training in tool and dye technology and industrial engineering allows him to make patterns and molds necessary for the staff to make a quality item.
Carolyn Jarnagin, co-​founder, has many years of sewing and business management skills. Her knowledge of fabrics has also allowed her to work with the textile industry to get reproduced the best fabric as close to the original fabrics as possible.
Many of the their items are hand worked, hand soldered, and riveted — the craft of the tinsmith (or tinker) is rapidly disappearing. The silverware in a photo I posted shows the use of wood and rivets.
When they form the shoes, it is on «Straight Last» meaning there will be no left or right when new. The new owner has to wear the shoe on the same foot to form them to their feet properly and they are so finely crafted the shoes will give many years of use. Looking at the photo I added they don’t look comfortable.
They have a shoe called ‘Corinth Shoes’, the shoes were not made here in Corinth but rather dug out of a well. They came out of a well near where Lowe’s is now located. In 1862 there was a Cavalry camp located in that area and these shoes belonged to one of the Federal troops that occupied Corinth after the capture in May of 1862. Jarnigan reproduces their Corinth shoe from this original.
That is just one example of how they assure they are authentic in their reproductions. By using period photos, shoes dug up from old battle fields, feedback from museums and history teachers/​professionals, artifacts found in various states of America.
You may not be into reenactments but enjoy that period, Jarnigan’s is a wonderful place to shop for interior décor for your house or to buy gifts for people who enjoy antiques. These are new items but they have a certain quality about them that begs to be displayed and admired for their beauty, like a piece of art.