Dressed in garments from the era, Neil and Kathleen Coddington, spoke about the civil war Nov. 28 at The Helfrich Spring Grist Mill, in Whitehall.

The Civil War reenactors and historians are members of the 153rd Pennsylvania's Volunteer Infantry. Their talk was hosted by the Whitehall Historic Preservation Society.

"The common foot soldier carried 70 pounds of equipment, including the riffle, pack and boots," said Neil Coddington. "Now the common soldier was about 5 foot 6 [inches] to 5 foot 7 [inches] and weighed 143 pounds, so he carried nearly half of his weight."

Coddington went through items a foot soldier carried with authentic and replica displays he brought along. Some of the items a common foot soldier carried included a tin cup, playing cards, a canteen and a haversack.

Officers carried much of the same items a foot soldier did, but could bring more personal items. Some of the personal items an officer would carry included a telescope, a shaving kit, powdered toothpaste and a china cup instead of a tin cup.

Kathleen Coddington spoke about the duties women fulfilled during war time.

Women usually stayed home and maintained the home but, during the war, women had to take over many of the responsibilities of the man.

During the Civil War, women formed different aid groups to assist the soldiers.

Women would knit gloves and socks, create bars of soap and send homemade treats to the soldiers, she said.