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.