Walking the Berkshires

Of Apples and Trees

I went to my children's school last week to give a living history presentation on the American Revolution.  Far from being mortified by their father in geeky clothes, they were utterly thrilled by the visit and apparently basked in the glow of minor celebrity.  Reenacting is cool, at least in their K-8 school.

We've been talking about having them join us for an event this year, and what that would mean for them to participate in this hobby.  It looks like we will all be going June 9th and 10th to Rockford Plantation in Lancaster PA.  In addition to casting about for various items of clothing and securing a spare tent, we've talked about camp safety and etiquette and things they could do as part of their impression of Colonial children in a military camp.  They understand it is a privilege and really want to take part, so we'll give it a try.

Emily plays the flute and for Christmas received a student fife, practice book and CD.  She finds it challenging without keys to press but is making steady progress and there will be opportunities for her to observe and interact with fife players in camp.  Elias has asked for cartridge paper so he can demonstrate how to roll cartridges.

They will do fine.  And maybe, get bitten by the reenacting bug that got their Dad when he was even younger than they, but had to wait decades to act upon it in earnest.

 

 

Training Day 2012

The 1st NJ Regt. (Continental) held its 2012 Training Day to kick off the reenacting season at Washington Crossing State Park.  As we will be depicting militia at an event in August, some of us wore our civilian kit instead of our blue uniform coats.  Mine is a work in progress.  The hat and accouterments are quite different from my normal Continental wear - a brown wool felt fantail, a brown 19 hole belly box and a gray "snapsack" - and a spruce green wool civilian frock coat and brown wool weskit are on order.  I will be wearing my fascine knife in place of my bayonet as well.

Several of us had the chance to take the company out for a drive, and suddenly my mind went completely blank when called upon to give my first commands.  After a lurching start I found my groove, but it was an abject lesson in knowing what to say as well as what to do.  Privates are not meant to think or even to anticipate commands, but it is another matter entirely for those who give them.

We had a good turnout, including three military school cadets and half a dozen women of the regiment.  It should be a great year.

Jockey Hollow

In 1779-1780 Washington's main army spent the worst winter - not only of the war but of the entire 18th century -  in the hills south of Morristown, New Jersey.  Known as Jockey Hollow, the encampment ultimately housed more than 10,000 soldiers of the Continental Army in 1,200 log huts which they had to build for themselves by clearing more than 600 acres of trees while enduring severe cold and relentless snow storms. 

It was a winter like none other ever recorded East of the Mississippi.  New York Harbor froze to a depth of 18 feet, and Long Island Sound could be crossed in sleighs.  Jockey Hollow was literally buried in snow as the men began to arrive and the storms continued to pound the encampment while the huts were under construction.  Army Surgeon James Thatcher recorded;

"[We] endured one of the most tremendous snow-storms ever remembered; no man could endure its violence many minutes without danger of his life...the sufferings of the poor soldiers can scarcely be described, while on duty they are unavoidably exposed to all the inclemency of snows and severe cold; at night they now have a bed of straw, and a single blanket to each man; they are badly clad, and some are destitute of shoes...the soldiers are so enfeebled from cold, as to be almost unable to perform their military duty."

The men slept six to a tent until they were able to construct log huts for 12 men measuring 14' x 16'.  The regimental officers had huts, located further up the hillsides from those of the men, accommodating 2-4 officers and had chimneys on either end, but these were not fully completed until February.  The roads, such as they were, were impassable much of the time, which prevented essential supplies from reaching the troops.  Connecticut private Joseph Plumb Martin later recalled;

"The deep snow was the keystone in the arch of starvation. We were absolutely, literally starved. For four days and as many nights I did not put a single morsel into my mouth except a little black birch bark I gnawed off a limb. Some boiled and ate their shoes. Some officers killed a pet dog for food. If this was not starving, I wonder what was."

Compared to these extreme privations, the weekend encampments I have participated in at Jockey Hollow this mild winter bear little resemblance to what those men survived in 1779-1780 (and extraordinarily, fewer of them succumbed to starvation and illness here than died at Valley Forge two years before).  Nonetheless, there is something profoundly visceral about living and working in one of the five reconstructed huts on the very site where the Pennsylvania Line encamped at Jockey Hollow.  Little things, like the way the doors are aligned to take advantage of maximum afternoon sunlight, or the effort it takes to keep a fire going all night long, make this kind of living history experience more instructive for those of us who undertake it than the battle recreations that are also part of our hobby. Using period tools and techniques to build a roof without nails, or cooking the kinds of rations that soldiers ate (when they had them), add greatly to the experience.  The fact that none of us is at risk of starvation or freezing to death and can go home after a less than fully comfortable night or two in the huts only underscores our amazement and admiration at what the men we portray did under horrendous conditions for months on end.

For a number of years, members of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment and invited reenactor guests have enjoyed a special connection as volunteers at this site and an excellent partnership with the National Park Service.  They are able to work on the huts, slowing bringing them closer to the way the originals were likely constructed based on ongoing historical research and archaeology.  They interact with hundreds of park visitors at the huts, including many who are truly engaged and interested in what they are doing and what we have to share.  I have been able to participate as one of these reenactors last December and earlier this month and look forward to doing so again in the future.

Living in the Past

I cannot make a living doing this, but it sure is fun.

235th Anniversary March from the Crossing and Battles of Trenton

I was among those hardy souls who made it the full 9 1/2 miles from Washington's Crossing to Trenton on New Years Eve Day.  You can read the After Action Report I wrote for my fellow marchers in the 1st NJ here.   I'll only add that our hosts for this event from Outwater's Militia and the Old Barracks Museum did an outstanding job!

While my left knee still reminds me that I did something highly unusual in straight last shoes last weekend, I would not have missed it for anything.

I wore my spatterdash gaiters, with the buttoned moved yet again to attempt a tight fit, with mixed results.  Still, they stayed in place, which is the main thing, and protected the lower part of my knit wool mustard yellow stockings that are my favortie winter wear.  It was a warm day, reaching the high 40s, but I was still glad to have fingerless gloves in the afternoon when the temperature started to drop.  I also wore my new Benjamin Warner model knapsack that I sewed myself from a Stuart Lilie kit.  The extra weight was not an issue, especially because I was able to sling my musket rather than carry it at the shoulder.

It was murder on the feet, but my stoclings held up and my shoes did not wear out and that was remarkable given the hard surfaces we travelled.  We followed in the footsteps of General Greene's Column from McKonkey's Ferry and had a running fight down the streets of Trenton leapfrogging by platoons and hitting the Hessians (and their allies from the Crown Forces) from several sides.  I greatly admire those who portrayed the Germans at this event, and rarely get to see so many Hessians in one place.  Nor was it common for the Jersey Brigade to field nearly 20 men together, as was the case for the first of two battles that day. 

I've posted a fair number of images from the March and Battles on Facebook which can be viewed here and here and my friend Janice Erikson Smith has an album there with some great images of the streetfighting and battles from the sidelines.  For those who don't do Facebook, here is a taste of what was an exhausting but also thrilling end to 2011.

 

My Year in Reenacting: 2011

When I knew for certain back in the fall of 2009 that my marriage was not going to continue, I started to ask myself questions about what I wanted in my uncertain future.  I knew I needed friends, and something to do I was passionate about.  I thought it might be time to get back into reenacting, since it had been nearly three decades since my brief stint as a Northern Confederate.  My interest in family history and the Revolutionary War period, not to mention a connection made through this blog to a fellow student of history who was also a reenactor, made joining the 1st New Jersey (Continental Line) a potential good fit, and early this year I started to pull together my kit and delve in to this new hobby.

It has exceeded my every expectation.  The dedication of my fellow living historians, the comraderie and welcome I received has been a true pleasure to experience.  An unexpected bonus is the willingness of my new partner to find a way to be involved in this hobby on terms that work for her and allow us to participate as fully as we wish.

From Training Day in early April at Washington's Crossing (in ill-made breeches) to the 9 1/2 mile march we made from there to Trenton just yesterday, I certainly jumped in with both feet this year.  Among the many highlights were singing at Wyoming (and the songs and broadsheets that came after); getting to know some of our honored adversaries in the 35th Regt of Foote, especially its sometimes batman;  the crab feast at Mt. Harmon that made up for the theft of the King's sausages; Hut weekend at Jockey Hollow and the chance to live and work as the Continentals did (in much better weather), cooking brisket for our comrades at Cold Spring; rowing the Battoe Moon by moonlight; Constant Belcher (that fraud!); and the footsore march to Trenton. 

I also enjoyed the chance to stand guard at Mt. Harmon, the large-scale engagements at the full Line events, and finding opportunities to enage with the public.  I'm looking forward to finding ways to do more of that in camp next year, and give them as good an experience there as we try to do on the field.

I truly appreciate the wonderful craftsmanship and service provided by many sutlers in this hobby.  Special props to Mona Hubardtt who knits the finest linen and wool stockings available, J. J. for the excellent and affordable regimental coat; Charlie of Charlie's Boatworks in Frenchboro, ME for collaborating on the wonderful soldier's box; David Hannon of Minuteman Armoury; Pete and Wendy from Middlesex Village Trading Company; James Moore of 18th Century Bibles for their superior offerings; and Ted and Sue Huesken of Rancocas Merchant along with our own 1st NJ.  You do a tremendous service to our hobby and appreciation of the material culture of this period and we could not do it without people like you.

To Larry, and David, and William, and Marie, and Tom, and Heather; and George, and Scott, and Paul, Thad; and Talya; and especially all my good friends in the 1st and 2nd Jersey; I raise my tricorn in a Happy New Year's "Huzzah!"  I'll see you in the field come Spring, if not before.

Fort Mifflin RevWar Reenactment 2011

Talya and I travelled to Philadelphia last weekend to take part in a Revolutionary War Reenactment at Fort Mifflin, located just north of the airport on what was once called Mud Island.  The site was a key position during the Philadelphia campaign in 1777 and endured a massive bombardment that took the lives of nearly 1/3 of its defenders.  The original fort was destroyed, but L'Enfant laid out a new one in 1796 that was expanded in the early 19th century and remained in use until the 1950s.

This is an annual event that involves tactical demonstrations and short battles and includes overnight accomodations in bombproof casements that once houses Confederate prisoners.  There is no tented encampment and much less for the noncombatant members of the unit to do, but Talya made it work for her by electing to spend the night with our friends in the City, while I got the full after hours experience.

There is usually light attendance from our regiment at Fort Mifflin (it being much more of a 2nd NJ tradition), but still was surprisingly well represented on Saturday.  We had five muskets and 3 distaff, along with two children, and one of our number showed up later that night having deserted us for the privateers.  We fell out with the 2nd NJ , and took part in their revels that evening.  No evidence of the ghosts that are said to infest the place.  Perhaps a werewolf in sheep's clothing (please consult image of Capt. Murphy, below for evidence).

These pictures were taken either by me or by Talya Leodari.   Good times.

Mount Harmon Revolutionary War Weekend 2011

(Photo credit: T. Leodari) If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Talya and I between us have five hundred thousand things to say about the extraordinary Revolutionary War weekend we and hundreds of die-hard reenactors pulled off at Mount Harmon Plantation on Maryland's Eastern Shore on September 23-25th.  The weather was appalling to start with and yet the weekend itself was free of rain until we all had packed and gone.  The downpours of Friday made a morass of the roads and caused many of those we expected to join us to turn around or stay at home. We got our tent set up during a brief lull in the rain, but as we retreated under canvas that night it was not at all clear that there would be a reenactment at all come morning.

What joy to awake to an overcast, humid but rain free sunrise and a sea of tents that appeared to have mushroomed overnight!   I would guess that between the Whig and Royalist forces we fielded about 500 men at arms in all branches of service with another 100 or so distaff besides, or about a third fewer than expected for this national event for the Continental Line and British Brigade.  Still, it was enough to make a fine show of things.  Our Spanish co-belligerents from Puerto Rico even made the trip!  The dragoons on the American side numbered about 20, and both troops were heavily engaged.  I would hazard a guess that none of those who stood up to their massed charges will ever feel smug and secure in their squares in future. (Photo credit: T. Leodari).

The site itself is a stunner, and most of the encampment was on well drained sandy soil out on a Peninsula on the Sassafras River.  Notable exceptions to this were the Crown cooking area and the Continental command marquis, which were located on compacted soil and took on the aspect of swamps.  On the other hand, the soil in our own kitchen area was easy to dig, and we had several dug ovens going in a slit trench before long, under the masterful oversight of Pve. Adam Young of the 2nd NJ, who is admirably committed to authenticity as perhaps the raggediest soldier in the Continental Line.

(Photo credit (T. Abbott)  This event was co-hosted by our unit, the 1st NJ Continentals, and we had a strong turn out.  Our Captain, Tom Vogeley was in overall command as Lt. Col. of the Americans, while his wife Heather gave a first person impression of Mary George Loutit, the 18th century owner of the Plantation, dressed in a handmade confection of a dress that looked good enough to eat.  This was also the first event that Talya attended with me as a fully dressed member of the unit, and to her everlasting credit she found in my hobby something that she could make her own and enjoy in her own right as well as for us to share together.  We made some terrific purchases from the "blanket sale" of used items as well as a few well chosen investments from the sutlers, and she went so far as to get measured for stays so it looks like this will be a part of our lives together for some time to come.

This was also the event where I made good on my offer of Maryland Blue-Crabs to the good natured 35th regiment of foot who were also immortalized in balladry after our escape from Wyoming in July.  David Skorka, with the rank of brevet Captain, joined me and our comrade in mirth George Valenta of the 6th PA in serenading the die-hards in orange facings at their own kitchen fly, and made full amends for the sausage incident.  It was the start of an evening of such bonhomie that it was almost a shame to march over a carpet of slain grenadiers the next day.  Almost, but not quite, as the remaining photographs in this post shall attend (both mine and Talya's can be viewed on Facebook through these links). 

If you weren't there, you missed a great one.  See for yourselves.

 

 

Liberty Cap with a Twist

I am now the proud owner of a hand made "Liberty Cap" in a style that was apparently fairly common but which is all but forgotten today.  The classic red Phrygian cap emblazzoned with "Liberty" in white letters is well represented among modern reenactors and patriotic heraldry, but mine is an alternate version, in dark ingigo wool, and it proudly proclaims an historically accurate rebel's love of CONGRESS.

I found some beautiful deep indigo yarn from the Catskill Merino Sheep Farm.  Yes, Merinos were intorduced to the US in 1807, but the wool is gorgeous and my talented friend Janet who knitted it for me said it was a joy to work with.

And now I can stand up with any true Patriot and proclaim my loyalty to that bastion of Liberty, CONGRESS!

Huzzah!

Vikings in Worcester

There was an excellent Viking arms and combat demonstration at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA today.  I went to meet a Facebook friend of a dear friend of mine, who was one of the two fighters who showed us what ten years of ongoing research into the lost martial arts of the Viking Age have allowed them to interpret and reproduce.  Our friend Matthew Marino paired up with Dr. William R. Short, clad in a chain hauberk and wielding a two handed battle ax against his round shield and hand ax for the demonstration.

The Higgins Armory Museum itself is a treasure trove of arms and armor from the bronze age to the 19th century, and along with its extensive European artifacts it contains over 1,000 non western pieces from Africa, the Islamic World, India and Japan.  I was particularly struck by one suit of Turkish chain mail, in which each individual link had the Arabic name of the Shiite Imams in succession from the prophet's daughter Fatima.  There is also ceremonial armor in the collection, along with those used in tournaments and in battle.

The Viking combat style we observed was deconstructed move by move by the participants.  Both Bill and Matt are deeply engaged in depicting this period, and have learned not only to use the body defenses and weapons of the Norse warriors but also to reproduce much of their material culture, including chainmail and wool and leather clothing. Historical interpreters often have a strong DIY ethic, and that seems especially true of these Viking reenactors.  They also are taking their Viking combat skills to the level of other martial arts.