History is Fragile or Why We Should Care

 

This past weekend, Eileen and I drove to Western Pennsylvania to see Fort Necessity, Jumonville Glen, and Fort Ligonier. It was a long time coming for me. I was raised on a healthy dose of George Washington history growing up and Fort Necessity had always stood out in my mind. The imagery sparked and fueled my imagination as I spent many hours recreating the battle in the Great Meadow. 

    We arrived at Fort Necessity, toured the museum and then walked towards the meadow through the tree line that once held an army of French and Native allies. A charming field indeed, George. 

    We browsed the small stockade with its breastworks. Amazing to think that many men were piled into such a small space. After inspecting the fort we made for the tree line and looked at things from the French perspective. The trees must have provided very affective cover and made the fort and its defenders sitting ducks. 

    I was over the moon to have gotten to finally set foot on the ground that consumed my imagination for so many years. But it was the next part of the journey that made me take pause. We stopped and ate at Braddocks Inn Restaurant. This place was odd. Nothing in it had anything to do with Braddock or history, but instead it was cowboy themed. A missed opportunity for sure. However, next to the Braddock Inn is a monument to General Braddock, just up the hill from where his remains were discovered in 1804. This realization got my mind thinking as a stood next to the gravel pit and sign that mark his original burial spot. 

    My mind continued to turn as we drove up the road to Jumonville Glen, an area that remains mostly undisturbed from what it was almost 300 years ago. A beautiful rock outcropping that comes down into a bowl in the middle of a draw. A bad spot strategically to make camp. We explored and began to make our way back. 

    The thought had finally come to a point that I could express it allowed. And it is this: 

    History is fragile. Once it happens, it ceases to have the capacity to defend itself from the future. In 1804, some men building a road unearth the body of Braddock. They think. How did they know? Because the local lore was strong enough, preserved enough, that Braddock was able to be identified and given a proper spot and later a monument to his memory. The items and documents that survive history do so because someone valued it enough to protect it, to keep it safe from the perils of every day living. Think of how much we have, and think of all that has been lost to the mists of time. 

    As historical reenactors and living history interpreters, we have such a huge responsibility. It's our voices that give history its voice. Its our actions of preservation that give future generations the ability to experience and share the stories of our past. When we put on our silly clothes and go play at a historic site for the weekend, we should ask ourselves, "Am I doing my best? Does this item or this garment accurately represent our shared story and the people who lived that story?" We are, for many people, the link between what was and what now exists in books and museums. Dressing up and presenting history accurately is an act of preserving our history. We owe it to the past, to the people who went through it, to do our best.

    

Preparing for your first Immersion Event Part 1 : What is Immersion?

    

     There's many types of reenacting. The most common is the event based reenactment. Usually put on by a historic site or organization complete with food vendors, sutlers and merchants and a military encampment. There are demonstrations throughout the day for school kids and the general public, a battle at 2 O'Clock and that's a wrap. Do that for 2 days, pack up and go home and await the next event. This can be great. The bonds and the friendships made at that style of event is really wonderful.

    The drawbacks to events like that can be that one doesn't get a fully immersive experience. The public is all around you in modern clothing, the parking lot can be seen and sometimes even marched through to get to the battle and modern visitors centers sit next to the site. This is fine if you understand what you're getting yourself into. But for those who want a more in depth experience, there's an alternative option. The Immersion event or tactical. 

    Tacticals and immersive events have been going on since the 1970s with groups doing canoe trips, pack ins and various other hunting and trekking style camps. In the 90s Historical Trekking was all the rage and even had a forum run by On the Trail and Muzzleloader Magazine publisher, Jason Gatliff. Mark Baker and John Curry led and did dozens of immersive treks. Nathan Kobuck, keeper of the oracles of the backcountry, hosted several tacticals. Doc Shaffer's fort in Northeast Ohio has been host to many immersive French and Indian War immersion events. 

    Unlike the normal public attended reenactment, immersion events usually have a scenario or objective, but rarely a decided outcome. Usually there will be an impression agreed upon, guidelines drawn up and followed closely. The two sides will do their best to complete some kind of objective while interacting with the opposing force in a sort of war game. Casualties are done on an honor system. If you know you've been overtaken, give ground. If you'r outnumbered or maneuvered, give ground. 

    The goal of the immersion event is simple: have fun and experience a small taste of military or civilian life in the 18th century. What was it like to be a soldier on the march, to carry your knapsack and food on your back, rifle in hand. To bivouac in a field. It can be a real learning experience that gives you another level of understanding and appreciation for our forefathers. 

    Over the course of the next several posts we will be outlining how to prepare for an immersion. What should you bring and what should you avoid. What will you eat? How will you stay warm? All these questions and more will be answered! 

13th Virginia at Schoenbrunn Village or Dutch Blankets, Petty Sutlers and The Little Things

Tony Bertalino leads the blankets into Schoenbrunn Village 

    Rare moments in the hobby are not to be missed, and once again Alan Kraus and company delivered. It's usually the little things that make the hobby enjoyable, and while some things seem like a small detail, they can really immerse you in the moment. Anyone can start a unit, tell guys to go out and buy some generic blanket for their impression and call it good. But often in the context of the military, items were purchased in largequantities and as close to factory made as you could get in the pre industrial age. The continentals in the late 1770s were issued large amounts of "dutch" blankets. 

“DESERTED from Capt. Nathaniel Fox's company of the 6th Virginia, James Anderson, a black soldier, six feet high, about forty years of age ... and fond of liquor; had on when he went away, a light grey cloth coat and waistcoat: the coat faced with green, a pair of oznabrig overalls, and a small round hat with a piece of bear-skin on it: He took with him a pair of leather breeches which he had to clean, and also his firelock, cartridge- box, and new Dutch blanket ... John Gibson, Col. 6th Virginia Reg.” (Pennsylvania Packet, 13 May 1778)

We don't really have a solid idea of what they looked like in terms of stripes etc, so a choice was made and the blankets you see below were issued. Dave Barno did a excellent job of sewing the rolls of blankets up in 2 bundles and we delivered them into camp via packhorse. The blankets were then cut from the roll which made for an excellent interpretive opportunity. 

Captain Kraus cuts his blanket from the roll

    Petty Sutler, Eileen was on hand to offer fresh garden goods and tobacco and secret rum rations to the men of the 13th adding another layer of immersion to the weekend. 

Eileen, petty sutler 

    The 13th was actually in and around the area of Schoenbrunn Village during their deployment and this added another layer of realism. Schoenbrunn Village, founded in 1772 as a Moravian mission among the Delaware Indians, was the first Christian settlement in Ohio. Although the village prospered for several years, pressures from encroaching settlers and British-aligned Indians forced the abandonment of Schoenbrunn in 1777, shortly after the start of the Revolutionary War.

    I was happy to be back in the field doing this again, brushing up on drill and getting my kit up to speed. Hoping to have the regimental coat finished soon and leather accoutrements acquired and made. A great weekend. Looking forward to more.