Martins Station Recap, Thoughts on Militia Companies and Billy Heck's Retirement

  

  Eileen and I travelled down to the Cumberland Gap this past weekend and for the first time set up the store. It was a great success and I want to thank all who came by and perused and purchased. It was great to see old friends and new. 

Myself drumming for the forts company circa 2004-05

   

     I want to congratulate Billy Heck on his retirement and just say what a wonderful job he has done over the years making Martins Station one of the most special places to visit and attend events at. I've been coming to Martins since I was 11 years old and it made a huge impact on me. Everything from drumming for the fort militia company under the watchful eye of Captain Titus and the long death marches that are now legend. Getting sold as an indentured servant to the late Wayne Milton and being thrown up on the back of his horse and riding out of the station. Seeing the August County Militia for the first time come sweeping onto the field in relief of the station during one of the Raid events and thinking to myself, I want to do whatever those guys are doing.  Walking into the station on a Friday evening and seeing the common house all lit up and warm with punch and shrub, song and story. It's an atmosphere that few places have and which Billy so meticulously cultivated with the help and support of the reenactors who bought into the vision. Thank you Billy!

Billy Heck 

    Piggy backing off of the Prickett's Dunmore event, I really wanted to bring a bit of that to Martins and we successfully managed to wrangle up about 10 volunteers for a drill outside the fort walls. The militia thing always seemed to be a contentious issue around the hobby in the old days. The idea that militia equalled a certain level of undress, or ill discipline. I would say that while there may be some truth to it, it's largely overblown and over stressed. I think the discipline in some places was probably very ill and in other places very healthy. I think once again we run into this sort of vision of the rugged individual that this blog has spent its life trying to temper with a more nuanced and sometimes downright opposite direction. Just like the life of the modern day Martins Station and the vision Billy Heck cultivated over those years, no amount of rugged individualism could have carried us through the tumultuous years of the American Revolution. It took individuals coming together for a common purpose that brought us what we have today. Martins Station was a labor of love for so many individuals who came together to create a wonderful atmosphere and environment that has stood for the last 25 years. 

    In 1777 the militia regulations in Virginia read : 

"There shall be a private muster of every company once in every month, except the months of January and February, at such convenient time and place as the captain, or next commanding officer, shall appoint, and a general muster in each county, on some day in the months of April and October, in every year, to be appointed by the county lieutenant, or other commanding officer: For notifying the time and place whereof, the captains, or next commanding officers, shall have power to order so many of their serjeants as they shall think fit to give notice to every person belonging to the company of the time and place of such general or private muster, as the case may be; and if any serjeant, so appointed, shall fail in his duty, he shall forfeit and pay forty shillings for every such failure. Every officer and soldier shall appear at his respective muster-field by eleven o’clock in the forenoon, armed or accoutred as follows: The county lieutenant, colonels, lieutenant colonels, and major, with a sword; every captain and lieutenant with a firelock and bayonet, a cartouch box, a sword, and three charges of powder and ball; every ensign with a sword; every non-commissioned officer and private with a rifle and tomahawk, or good firelock and bayonet, with a pouch and horn, or a cartouch or cartridge box, and with three charges of powder and ball; and, moreover, each of the said officers and soldiers shall constantly keep one pound of powder and four pounds of ball, to be produced whenever called for by his commanding officer."

    Not exactly a bunch of Natty Bumpos running around. This document goes on to discuss fines that could be levied if one didn't do ones duty. This was an every day part of life and so meeting for a monthly muster, one would have gotten decently proficient at drill and would have understood and known what was expected. 

    Martins Station is a place where the balance between the myth and the reality comes together. I was always glad that Billy, Titus and the others really made sure that the militia element was well represented. Titus was a disciplinarian and he always gave you a sense of realism that I've rarely experienced. His whole manner was the 18th century and he made sure that everyone around him was there with him. 

Kyle Willyard has done an excellent job of filling his shoes and making sure the fort garrison is always well ordered. 

    

        Nobody is ever truly on their own hook, not now and not out on the frontier of 18th century Virginia. Billy Heck, individual he may be, was supported by many other individuals and a vision was realized and continues to be realized by all those that continue to attend and be inspired by Martins Station. Now more than ever, let this be a lesson to us as we continue to realize the vision of our forbearers.     

Dunmore's War 250th at Pricketts Fort

     Men from across Augusta County assembled at Prickett's Fort this past weekend to defend the frontier at the behest of Lord Dunmore. This year marked the 250th anniversary of the war known as Dunmore's War that took place in the year 1774. This pivotal moment in history was a part of the build up towards Revolution and it was a pleasure to be able to participate in something that I myself had direct ancestors involved with. 

    We arrived at the fort Friday afternoon and saw many familiar faces as we settled in for the evening. In the morning scouts were assembled and were sent out away from the fort to hopefully bring word of any native presence in the area. 

Captain Ervin sending out the scouts

    

    Next the Forts company was assembled for morning drill and exemptions were given to several men who were employed in other places but that contributed to the overall well being of the garrison. Some of them, a Mr. Kobuck and Mr. Bertolino claimed to be employed out of Fort Pitt and were being held against their will. The ladies of the fort offered their services in mending and darning clothing. 

Beckie and Eileen 

    The forts garrison then assembled and took instruction from Captain Ervin. This really was excellent and I think we were really able to capture the feel of a local garrison that has been called into service. We performed our drill using the 64' manual of arms and once the rust was knocked off, we were very proficient in executing it. 

    

    Then once again in the afternoon Captain Kraus took over for some light infantry training and we did a lot of fun maneuvers. 

    

    Upon the completion of drill our sections were assigned walls in the fort in the event of an attack. The scouts arrived later in the afternoon and we were informed of a potential threat so everyone man hurried to his post on the wall and within a minute the whole fort was secure and prepared for the enemy. The women grabbed axes and were stationed near the center building in the event of a breach in the defenses. 

    Afterwards we settled in for the evening and had an excellent meal prepared by the commissary. Bill and Heather Schneider did an excellent job of providing so much good food for the event. Corporal Iten was on hand at all times to cook and prepare meals. Just a wonderful team effort. The evening was filled with music, conversation and a very boisterous speech from Mr. Kobuck, a Pennsylvania man, warning us of the dangers that were to befall us if we followed Captain Kraus and so, he suggested, we leave with him in the morning for Fort Pitt. At this point, Captain Kraus was informed of the slander coming from within the walls of our station and he burst into the room pleading the cause of Virginia. 

    The next morning we began preparations to leave the station and by 12:30 we were once again drilling in the field. Later that afternoon while I was leading drill I was informed by Captain Ervin that a letter had arrived and we had orders to arrest Mr. Kobuck and his associate Mr. Bertolino. It seems he was acting as an agent of Pennsylvania and was fomenting desertion amongst the inhabitants of our country. I marched the column into the fort where it was announced, much to Mr. Kobuck's surprise that he was to be placed under arrest. I saw Mr. Bertolino attempting to hide himself behind a cabin wall and I promptly seized him. 

    The event was an incredible success and I had a great time. Thanks to David Ervin for organizing this and everyone else for their contributions. Couldn't think of a better start to the 250th Campaign. 

HUZZAH! 

Indian Spies and knapsacks. Oh, did you know I started a business?

     Well, the warm weather finally broke and we got some cooler days. Almost felt like fall there for a second but then it shoots back up into the upper 80s and Mother Nature laughs at us. Just when we were getting comfortable. Oh well. 

    I've been doing some reading in preparation for the Dunmore event in a months time. I have never really delved to deeply into the Indian spies aspect of life on the frontier but it peaked my interest lately as I was reading one of the books compiled by Dale Payne, "Indian Warfare and Massacres on the Virginia Frontier Part 3." In it there is a whole pile of narratives from pension applications of guys who served as spies. It went something like this. You'd join up for a particular time of service and then you'd spend 3-6 days, sometime longer, out scouting around miles away from the fort. I've often wondered about the idea of guys wandering around in the woods aimlessly. The historical trekking format of the 80s and 90s seemed to be something along the lines of a primitive skills camping trip. People in the 18th century were not going "camping" or "trekking" just for the pure enjoyment of it, at least not in the same way we do. It wasn't a time for them to "get away from it all" and enjoy the relaxation of a night spent out in the woods around a fire. No, it was often the case that venturing out had a purpose and it could be a pretty big risk to life and limb. Now, I don't want to over play the idea of "survival" because that conjures up stereotypes and images that are based partly in reality and mostly in our "rugged frontier" mythology. So, instead of that, let's look at the more practical side of things before we get the idea that everyone was just living rough off the land, women in shifts and men bathing in walnut dye. 

We watched the gaps and low places...

 John Bradshaw gives us a good idea of the circumstances of the Indian Spy when he recounts : 

"I served as an Indian Spy in the years 1776 to 1779....The practice was for two men to leave Fort Cook, Monroe County, and be out 3-4 days each week, others taking their place on the return. We watched the gaps and low places in the mountains for thirty miles, to a point where we met the spies from Burnsides Fort. We were strictly forbidden to make a fire, no matter how inclement the weather."  

So here we have a nice account that gives a foundation for a trek or trip in period gear on foot in the 1770s. There's other reasons one might be out. Maybe you're away  from the cabin hunting on foot for a few days. But largely people were not doing this stuff for "fun" or "sport." It was a means to an end, and that end was the continued welfare of the family and the community. 

    So what of the gear, that's always the question? Well, we have several examples of gear carried that have been covered, recovered and covered again by this blog and several others. So, I won't bore you with a lot gear details but I do want to discuss the "knapsack." In his account. John Dickenson says "I was frequently out five and six days at a time subsisting on such provisions that I could pack in my knapsack."

Eating out of the knapsack 

     There are so many shoddy knapsacks and packs out there that I think the best and most plausible option remains what has been labeled the Uhl style knapsack. A simpler design you will not find and it steers you away from the more overly stylized ones and the off the rack variety. A simple linen knapsack with straps so as to be worn over the shoulder like a backpack. Now, what provisions might one subsist on for 3-6 days in the woods? 

    With the idea that fires were prohibited, as Bradshaw mentions above, we can assume that the food needed to be something that would keep and that could be eaten cold or dry without need of cooking. We can also assume that fresh game wasn't the object of the spying trip and that the only time you'd want to fire your gun would be if faced with danger from the enemy. 

    We can go back a few blog posts to the often quoted : "They take about a gallon of corn and parch it well, then they pound it fine and mix it with sugar as would make it sweet enough for coffee, then put it in a buckskin bag and stow it in their knapsack; then take a chunk of raw bacon, wrap it up well and stow in their knapsack." 

    So, pretty simple right? Meat, parched corn, sometimes made into a coffee of sorts. Enough to last 4-5 days.

     Another account given by William Hutchinson recalls "....I served at the imminent hazard of my life, lying out at night, with no covering but my blanket, and no other shelter but the forest."

No covering but our blankets. Oh, also, don't camp under one of these rock overhangs in a rain storm in a low spot. Ask me how I know.

     I don't know how many videos exist on YouTube that detail various "kits" of frontiersmen. So many of them have these elaborate bedrolls with various tarps and waterproof oil cloth etc. But here we have it from the horses mouth. "No covering but my blanket." Wait, are you saying they never had any waterproof canvas of any kind???? Nope. I'm just saying that we overcomplicate this stuff and I'd love to see more treks attempted in this manner. Sometimes the miserable ones are the most memorable. 

    Maybe I'll attempt one of these camps soon. It's getting a tad chillier at night and it might be a good idea to put my gear through a test for a night. It's been a while. 

    In other news, I have started a trading company. If you've been reading this blog for a while you may have seen a page called "J. Book at the sign of the Gilded Beaver" up at the top with a picture of me and Matthew Fennewald that said "Coming Soon...." Well, it hasn't been soon, but the time has finally come. We hope to be out at some events next spring and hope to see you there! Stay tuned for more updates!     

What is an "Impression" and Why the Hobby Isn't Dying

     

    Well, preparations for the 250th of Dunmore's War at Prickett's continue. I've been trying to get out in kit and hike and make adjustments. Everything is riding good and the pocket bottle is working great. Thanks Kobuck. Actually I like it in some ways better than the canteen. The canteen always rides at the back and underneath my bedroll strap or tucked behind my knapsack and so accessing it with all the gear over top can be a challenge. Whereas the pocket bottle, riding in the front side of the wallet was easily accessed while on the move. It's these little things that really make a world of difference. 

    As I hiked yesterday, I thought about the word "impression." A funny word to describe putting together an outfit from 250 years ago. It has several definitions depending on how you use it, but the one that suits our purposes goes something like "a graphic or pictorial representation of someone or something." These impressions of ours are supposed to be a window into the past, an illusion that we are indeed militiamen from 1774 or a British soldier, a trader, a longhunter etc. but in reality we are modern men and women working modern jobs in modern society. We try to offset our modernness by going into the woods and trying our hand at some of the skills our forbearers possessed. 

    For the public though, this first "impression" can really shape what they think about our nation's past. It can either perpetuate a stereotype, bolster old myths, or it can make one rethink and form new opinions on what exactly our ancestors looked like while reading the pages of Allen Eckart or thumbing through a Nathaniel Philbrick journalistic account. We become the first and maybe last impression for folks as they wind their way through an event stopping at sutlers and seeing the soldier camps. 

    I've been watching a lot of old movies, which I love. Those old movies sparked the fire for a lot of kids in my dad's generation and the generation before to really dive into history. As cheesy and hokey as some of them could be, it was the impression that really inspired a generation of young people to get excited about history and eventually to build their own impression of just what it might have looked like. From the early adaptation of Last of the Mohicans to Drums Along the Mohawk, Northwest Passage and Unconquered, history was portrayed in very black and white terms. America, its principles, its founders were mythic ideals and heroes who were above reproach. The white man's triumph over the harsh wilderness, the manifest destiny and the taming of the North American continent. Then along came Walt Disney's Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier that leaned heavily into the rugged individual who stands up for what is right and who lends a hand when the going is tough. All good qualities to be sure. But, what of the reality? We'll get to that. This generation raised on Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone on TV (both played by Fess Parker) along with Johnny Tremain, the Light in the Forest etc. grew up to be the first and second waves of what we know as reenactors. Of course Civil War was happening, and the BAR had started, but this group began doing blackpowder shoots, got really into the western fur trade, marched in local bicentennial parades with their unit or muzzleloading club. And in those days, it had a sort of "Mayberry Founders Day Pageant" quality to it all. An impression, albeit an incomplete one. 

    The Bicentennial era really propelled things along though. Out came Sketchbook 76 and the Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, books that would really become the gold standard of the time. And so, black powder shooting began to have another element-the gear that our ancestors wore and carried. Reproductions are being produced and the next layer of the impression starts to be examined. It's not just about shooting a gun anymore, but what did they have on their person. The 20th century saw the rise of the "primitive skills" movement. People who were already involved in that movement easily gravitated towards this new hobby where they could combine skills and their love of history.  People started organizing treks and hunting camps sometimes called a "pack in" where one could put the skills, gear and gun knowledge to the test. Magazines like Muzzleloader became a companion piece to these journeys in history, and it was in the pages of Muzzleloader where I believe the next layer of the impression comes along.

Pack in organized by David Book in Iowa, 1979

      

    Mark Baker. His name has become synonymous in our hobby with walnut dyed smocks and hunting shirts worn by "long hunters." His impact can't be overstated in my opinion. Mark was a schoolteacher by trade and his writing style was polished but with a charming down home style that really brought a homespun yarn to life. He took his readers along on his adventures into the woods and really showed a whole new group of people what was possible and how history could be accessed in a very hands on way. A term that was eventually coined was "historical trekking" and so the Trekker era began. It exists as its own thing in the broader world of reenacting. Remember, groups like the BAR, NWTA etc were doing historical reenacting, but this was confined to a weekend at a public site, talking with tourists who came to see the sutlers and the two o'clock battle. Mark was doing this stuff without an audience aside from the readers who hung on his every word and who took this new impression and ran with it. Suddenly it was "the look." Everybody was dying smocks with walnuts and rolling their top shirt sleeve up over their undershirt sleeve. The Coalition of Historical Trekkers was formed and its members were regulars at Caesars Creek, Manskers Station, Martins Station and Bledsoe's.  

    During this phase, the Internet became a thing and suddenly information that was only available through the library or by visiting a museum or an archive was suddenly available to the masses.  In some cases brand new information surfaced for the first time, and in other cases, information was reexamined and new conclusions were made based on more adjacent sources being cross referenced and more eyes being put on the source material. The forum wars raged on how far to push "authenticity." Sites like Ticonderoga threw out the old playbook of annual encampments centered around the two O'clock battle in favor of a more immersive and intimate view into the daily life and times of those who lived in and around Ticonderoga from the days of the French and Indian War to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. This caused a large swath of people to feel alienated and hurt by the tightening of the standards. In contrast, sites like Vincennes continue the founders day pageant model that more resembles a pre-1840s renaissance faire than the market fairs of Locust Grove and Manskers Station of old. People like Nathan Kobuck began writing blogs and trying to push for a more detailed look into the long hunter trade of the 1760s. Others pushed back, clinging to the notion of the rugged individual trekking through the woods on foot with a knapsack and a Wilde blanket. 

    As we are coming into the post pandemic years, I feel we are in the next phase and that brings me to the phrase that I hear often, "the hobby is dying." This comment is usually made by the generation that proceeded us or people who attend run of the mill, two o'clock battle events. I understand why that is the feeling, but I have a different view. I think the hobby is in great shape, it's just changing. Younger people just aren't as enamored with the old format. They want to build on the Mark Baker format, hitting the woods, using the gear, doing events that are immersive or one offs where a specific impression is built and you do that, unlike the old days where your impression was your impression and you chose your events based on that. Now the idea is to pick the event and then build the impression. Not just some generic thing, but really researching and putting together something that fits the needs of the event. Much like what we are doing for Pricketts. It's the culmination of all of the little niches with in the hobby coming together and creating an impression that is more well thought out, that relies on the work of our forbearers and pushes us to new and better heights. An impression that will give future generations a better idea of the nuances and details and will flesh out the silhouettes and caricatures of bygone films and movies that inspired that first generation to take up a muzzleloader and throw on a coonskin cap and figure it out. Honoring their legacy is important and moving forward doesn't take away what they did, it enhances it and makes it all the more important.

   The Impression I get is that young people are very hungry for history, and the Impression that we do could either be a turnoff, or a turn on. Authenticity is attractive, so let's attract the next generation and give them the best impression we can.  

    

Preparations for Dunmore's War and did I mention I don't Shave between events?

DISCLAIMER: I don't shave my beard between events. But I DO shave for events and you should to. 

    As I write this on the morning of August 16th, I am thinking of Dunmore's War and the preparations I need to make as the 250th anniversary event at Pricketts Fort looms not very far in the future. The Dunmore campaign is something I have always wanted to reenact and portray. My 7th Great Grandfather, Francis Cooper was stationed at Glade Hollow Fort in modern day Russell County, Virginia.  

    So the question is, what should one take with them on Indian Campaign? I'm a sucker for a good gear post about lists of items one decides to take with them. I've made lists of basic backcountry gear in previous posts, but I'm going to try to dig a littler deeper this time around and see what happens. 

    I'm going with a cocked hat for this one, and a red cockade (which I have to make still) based on the following description : 

"My Brother Jams went with Dumore as a Lieutenant.  He raised some of his men in our county.  They had Cockades of red ribond. I admired the looks of these soldiers so much I would have been glad to have went with them if I had been old enough." -Westward Into Kentucky: The Narrative of Daniel Trabue p42

    Hunting shirt of natural linen and red leggings. In some instances blue leggings were issued. I am trying to pair down my gear a great deal from what I normally take. I want it to feel like the descriptions I've read of going on Indian Campaign. This will be a fun challenge. I think when we approach this stuff, we want to bring all our toys with us, cause let's face it, we accumulate a lot of gear and pieces of clothing in this hobby. So leaving stuff behind can make us second guess and think "But what if I need that?" or "What if I want to wear that?"

    So let's break down what I am carrying. It's still probably too much, but maybe I just overthink it. 

    First I have my shot pouch and horn. Just a basic pouch, inside is a cuttoe knife, patching for cleaning, and a few blank cartridges as I am not going to carry roundball at an event for safety reasons. From the bag hangs my Kyle Wilyard trade knife. 

    

    Next up, I have my tobacco pouch of muskrat and pipe in a native style. It also contains my flint and steel and fire kit. I based carrying this on a Cresswell account and I think it would have been a plausible item to have. He writes: 

Sunday, October 1st, 1775. Took leave of most of my acquaintances in town. Mr. Douglas gave me an Indian Tobacco pouch made of a Mink Skin adorned with porcupine quills.

     Next is my wallet with bags for dried foods and such. This will eventually contain parched corn, jerked meat, dried peas and bread along with a little flower or cornmeal. It will also house my horn spoon and bowl. In a previous article, Matthew Fennwald wrote about a "Wallet Well Stored" which I recommend and will provide some good period accounts of goods carried on Indian Campaigns. 

Moving along we have my water bottle, or pocket bottle. Kobuck has been writing and advocating for such for a while now and I'm going to take him up on it and see how this works. I can't find any evidence for canteens being issued so I'm leaving my wooden behind this trip I think (although I did carry it on my hike today.) 

    This time around I am going to ditch the knapsack that I usually like to carry (because of all that space for junk I don't need) and I am going to just carry a blanket on a tumpline. Inside the blanket will be a knit cap, extra shirt and maybe a jacket. Tied to the tumpline will be my trade kettle for cooking. 

    As my side arm, I am carrying a hunting sword rather than a tomahawk.

    That basically rounds out the gear. Now, how should one carry this gear. Carrying gear is all about strategy and common sense. I'm always amazed at how many guys I've seen over the years would show up to an event with gear hanging sloppily all over them, haversacks that hung so low at the knee that I highly doubt they had ever really been in the woods. If they had, that would snag on everything. So, a balance between high and tight, but loose enough to be able to get it on and off easily must be struck. 

    

Yes, I have a beard. Yes, I will shave for the event. 

    I put on my gear in this order. 

-Horn and Bag

-Canteen (if carried) 

-Hunting sword 

-Blanket roll 

    The order is based on the importance of the gear. If I have to make a run for it and I want to shed gear, my most important gear is going to be my shot pouch and horn, so it stays close to the body and everything else can be shed as I run from whatever danger. Obviously a scenario I don't want to experience. 

 

    The kettle ended up riding really nicely hung from the blanket roll and I was extremely comfortable. I love when I really nail tying up the bedroll. It's aesthetically pleasing and it makes hiking that much more enjoyable when everything is riding comfortably. 

    Hiked a mile on a local trail and everything really worked and functioned. Still tweaking and wanting to add a bit more on the practical side of things, but overall I am pleased with the outcome. 

    

    Thanks to my best reenacting buddy who also happens to be my beautiful wife for enabling the weirdness and taking pictures. She's the best. 

 

    

    

    

    

New Faces and Memories of Yesteryear

    It was a pleasure to attend the annual CLA show in Lexington KY this past weekend. Eileen and I were so glad to see so many fiends and as usual the after party at the Fennewald Air B&B was off the chain. The fried fish was excellent and I stuffed myself. 

Dillon Householder, Artist 

    

    One of the highlights was a new face in the reenacting/maker scene, Dillon Householder. Dillon hails from Florida and this was his first time attending the show. His items were on display in the new guy section of the show and what an excellent assortment. His silver work is beautiful, quillwork is on point, just a great set of goods for a guy who just recently found this hobby. And it was this meeting that prompted me to get excited and nostalgic. 

    I love when new people come in to the hobby, and I especially love when they're ate up with it to the point that Dillon is. It's fun seeing people discover this wild and crazy hobby that we do. You could tell he found his community. And I watched as the community embraced and encouraged him. Dillon approaches it exactly the way you hope a new guy would. With eyes wide open, with great enthusiasm, with good questions and with a willingness to listen to us "self proclaimed experts." In all seriousness though, it's so often that people coming into the hobby ask for advice over and over and then simply ignore it when given. So it's refreshing. I certainly don't pretend to know everything, but I'm pretty sure Kobuck does. So read his new article in Muzzleloader! It's really awesome! (This message was not paid for or approved by Kobuck)

    As Dillon and I have talked, we talked about this hobby being kind of a weird lifestyle for a lot of us. That it's literally what we wake up thinking about in some capacity, and go to bed thinking about at night. We put on our gear and go for hikes in the woods, or just pull it out and work on it, tweak it etc. For me, it has been a lifestyle starting from my earliest memories....

     Dad started doing living history in the 1970s and from there started a business that has been a staple of the hobby for many years. He had a lot of vision about what he would do as a vendor. He was the first trader to sell out of a marquee to his knowledge. Donlyn Meyers of Smoke and Fire always said it was true. He was the first to bring a wedge tent and set it up at a Western Fur Trade event causing Charlie Hanson of the Fur Trade Museum to exclaim in the middle of a camp full of Tipis and baker lean-tos,  "That's the most accurate tent here." Dad had an eye for detail and it showed in his first store where he sold reproduction clothing, camp gear and accoutrements. He also had a nose for antiques and in the latter half of his trading days he was known for one of kinds, old tools, center seam blankets and a variety of other goods. 

Dads first catalog, 1983

     I was born in 1990 and after some time away from the 18th century side of the hobby, Dad took me to my first Colonia-ish event in June of 1999 when I was 8 years old and from that point on, the 18th century world of reenacting, trekking, and living history has been a dominant force in my life. Meeting people like Dillon pulls you back to those early days of discovery as you watch someone who's learning about this for the first time. 

     I'm always a little sorry for people who find the hobby later in life. It's been so amazing growing up in it, especially as a kid cause your imagination is so open and ready to be stimulated. I can still remember that time so vividly. But at the same time, I am also extremely jealous, because that time of discovery is so cool. I love learning, and I hope I never stop, but that first time you discover something is truly special. 

    To Dillon and all the new people that come after him, enjoy this time. It's the best. 

    

    

A Response to "Tales from the Brown Side"

   Well, it would seem that the days of the forum wars are still alive, but they've changed venues. I was recently made aware of a post that was made in a certain Facebook group that I will leave unnamed, but suffice to say made me feel attacked. As a "younger friend", I felt it my duty to respond to some of the things in this post that was entitled "Tales from the Brown Side", a sort of defense of 1990s reenacting and culture. 

 Before I take issue with the original post, I want to clear up a few things. I have an incredible amount of respect for Mark Baker and the many others who pushed this hobby forward. My own father was one of them. He never went in for the walnut dye, but he was part of the 80s and 90s reenacting scene and much of what he did then was pretty progressive for its time. I was born into this hobby. I look at the stuff I was wearing in the 2000s with horror, but also with great nostalgia! It was an incredible time in this hobby. Truly. I watch Last of the Mohicans on the regular and I'm instantly transported to those times as a young person falling in love with history and with living history. So with all of that said, I would now like to discuss what I see as problematic with the claims being made. I'll go roughly line by line. 

Okay, I'm just going to say it. I'm personally tired of hearing about how bad reenactors in the 1990s were and how many research atrocities were "committed as if they were willful acts against humanity.

 While I understand there are some strongly worded critiques of 1990s reenacting, I don't think any of us are equating it as willful acts against humanity. Rather, why would anyone want to go back to doing it that way when so much research has come to light. 

Some of our younger friends need to remember that we lived in "a time before the internet" One must remember we didn't have the interwebs to hash out any of this and relied on dog-eared xeroxes passed hand over hand, rare books, "Books of Buckskinning,"On the Trail," and "Muzzleloader" magazines.

 I remember this time, and yes, things were much more limited. But I'm always struck at how much WAS available and how much of it was simply ignored. A good example is Mark Baker having access to the Bayton, Wharton and Morgans papers, yet ignoring the purchase lists. And that's not a dig at Mark Baker, I just think his priorities were different. 5 people could read the same document and each will come away having noticed something different. This is why the consensus of multiple researchers is so important. 

The accusation of the existence of a 1990s "Longhunter uniform in walnut" is as valid as it ever was, including the current trend. It's clear to me a new one has taken its place, derived from some wholesome and some faulty historical research methods. Mostly faulty.

 Im not sure what trend he's talking about but I think I do. However, I see so much diversity in outfits now, more than what I remember seeing in the 90s and 00s at Manskers Station. Lots of color, lots of variations of garments. I think it's great. Faulty research methods? Have you read Neal Hursts paper on hunting shirts?

I remember the excitement of finding a new artifact, drawing, or first-hand account to better my impression. Sure, I too ended up looking like Daniel Day for a while, or Mark, but it was all part of evolution. I was always mentored, always improving, always encouraged.

 This is a common sentiment amongst people who tend to glorify the 90s. The 'always improving' idea. While we should always be improving, this just seems to counter his point. He's basically admitting that we are correct in our assessment, and while he's saying he improved, that might be fine for him, but most people didn't and willfully ignored loads of great research. "Well that was before the internet" is said by guys who mostly still dress that way. Imagine if your doctor was like "Yeah, but that was before anesthesia, now bite on this" as you try to explain that new techniques have been discovered and then he proceeded to operate on you. Just because something was done in the 90s at Manskers Station with good intentions doesn't mean that critiques of it aren't warranted. 

I'm not claiming that the new look is terribly wrong, but just as in the "days of walnuts," there is a new generational "look" appearing. This look seems to me to be derived from largely late-war military garments that appear as a few extant examples, and first-hand Revolutionary War military accounts. In short, much of the regional, cultural, and vocational context is missing or extrapolated as justifications, where clearl more research is needed. Some of it is ignored.

The focus of the hobby seems to also have swung to bespoke clothes/gear, over experimental archaeology, learning the crafts, and skills practice. Hang about the fort, over application of colonial woods craft. I love me some fine gear, lord knows I've spent a fortune on it. I love a good event and fine museum interpretation and historic sites. Don't we all??? So why crap on those who came before you? Many wouldn't be here if it wasn't for some of us doing the preliminary research. Yeah, things can improve and always do, when this many people are passionate about something.

 The "new look" is simply what happens when more information becomes available and more research is put together to form a consensus. It looks "uniform" because for most of human history this is how people dressed, uniformly. While there was plenty of variety on the frontier, the goal is typically to do the most common things while leaving the one off or odd impressions alone as to not start trends that never existed historically. Again, I think the hobby has never looked more diverse. 

 As far as the focus of the hobby, well, in the 18th century items were bespoke primarily with some mass production on a small scale. I'm not sure what events you are attending where bespoke clothing and gear is being geeked out over while we just hang around the fort vs the experimental and skills aspect. I do both and many many people do. Maybe they just aren't going to the tired old Market Faire/2 O'clock battle style events anymore. I don't know. 

 He ends the post talking about how in the good old days things were a tad nicer. I'm assuming he means more open, polite etc. I don't think it was, we just didn't have the Internet to platform every person with any opinion. 

My conclusion is this. The hobby has progressed leaps and bounds since the 1990s. Nobody I know that writes about this is knocking what was done then and most of them, like me has a great nostalgia and respect for it. They just don't want to see it continuing to be done when there are so much better options available today. They want to save people the trouble, spending money on gear they don't need or that is just not correct to begin with. Are there jerks out there? Of course, on both sides. But one has to actually asses the information being shared, not the attitude of the person sharing it.  

And for fun, here I am in 2003 or 2004. Dressed terribly. Hat could be better, some kind of strange wool overshirt with my dads old waistcoat. Just all around not a good representation of anything really, but nobody would have questioned it at Manskers Station in 1999.