Malcolm MacWilliam, Many Flags, and many others |
 |
| Mark, as Sgt.
Malcolm McWilliam, portrays a Grenadier of the 77th
Regiment of Foot, Montgomery's Highlanders, for the F&I War; and the
42nd Regiment
of Foot, the Black Watch, for the Rev War. During the F&I War, the 77th
was going across Pennsylvania in the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne
(in what is now Pittsburgh). When the 77th got to Duquesne, the French ambushed
a group of Highlanders led by the infamous Major Grant. The 77th (and other
units with them, some provincials and the 60th RA) pulled back to Fort Ligonier
and Raystown (Fort Bedford) until November when the French abandoned Fort
Duquesne.
Mark has years of experience in reenacting. I will let Mark tell you his story himself: "My reenacting started 13 years ago...I started doing the Eastern Rendezvous cause my brother and nephew were doing it....a lot of "buckskinners"...people were mainly doing western fur trapper, but when I got in, people were beginning to change and do correct clothing, accoutrements, personnas to 18th century eastern, the colonial period. My brother and I began doing a few reenactments here and there as longhunters and military scouts, but it was difficult to get in to reenactments cause we weren't with a group.....My nephew (called Half Breed) called us Uncle Mark and Uncle Dave around the campfire, and the names stuck with everyone....old graybeards would call us Uncle Mark and Uncle Dave...kind of neat. "I started doing Indian sign language with a friend of mine who is part Lakota, about 10 years ago....he is Sign Talker in the Chronicles....one cannot sign names like Mark and Dave in Indian sign...so we assumed other names.....Uncle Dave became Three Tales....and I (because I am also a vexillologist...flag expert...another one of my sidelines...used to consult out for research purposes)....I became Many Flags. Dave and I continued to do Long Hunter personna and we have authenticated it pretty well....Last of Mohicans came along and, being fairly expert at what we were doing, have watched the movie a lot and believe it was very well done.....DDL was trained by Mark Baker whom we have a slight acquaintance with, he knows our nephew Half Breed pretty well, and actually we and M.Baker have mutual friends. I have to admit that brother Dave and I are fairly good at Long hunter. "Several years ago we met Mike [Slease]. He lives in the area we grew up in and he does a small reenactment near the site of a Rev. War. fort.....Fort Freeland near Milton, PA....Dave and I had an ancestor killed there... Peter Martin...( I am a member of Sons of American Revolution with 3 ancestors)....we began to help him with his reenactment which occurs the 2nd weekend of October. About that time, Braveheart came out and Dave and I went ga ga over kilts.....we have good friends who have done British Highlander reenacting for 10 years and when we asked them to put us in kilts....well, we were hooked.......Next was the red coat on our backs.....and now we are part of Muskets of the Crown , Inc.....an organization which does British Highland personnas....both Grenadiers units ...77th REg't of Foot for F and I...and 42nd RHR for Rev. War...two uniforms, 2 bearskins caps, etc., etc....I started out as a private, but last year was promoted to Corporal by our Captain.....as Corporal, I drill the men, march the men, organize all details, etc., etc.....it's sorta like being the principal of a school and taking care of all the problems!! Welllll, Brother Dave and I needed SCottish personnas....all of us have different names and personnas in the regiment.....everyone you read about in the Chronicles is a real person or at least someone we have made up that has a personna that is real to us!! (We love make believe....have never really grown up.....we are Peter pan's Lost Boys!! Hoo, Hoo).....Davey and I had a great grandmother named Hannah MacWilliam (no "s" at the end)....and the MacWilliam family is a sept of clan Gunn......so after a year or so of messing around with names, personnas, etc.....I became Malcolm Angus MacWilliam and Dave became Davey Gunn (the Chronicles tell why we have different last names but are still brothers)......I have not written my son into the Chrons....but he is Andrew MacWilliam. We have really latched onto the Scottish history and our Scots personnas take over many times....we also do Jacobite personna fighting the "45 for the Bonnie Prince!! "Wa Will ye no fight for Charlie, Wa will ye no draw the sword?..etc.....I do Robert Burns dinners in January....Slante' mhath and all that stuff!! |
 |
| "Wow, this is
getting long....Muskets of the Crown (we are a non-profit organization of
which I am treasurer, we run it like a business) is a very close bunch of
people....we can field 25 muskets at the most, but it is usually 15....not
too shabby for an 18th century reenactment group, esp. one who does F and
I. We take our work VERY seriously, and part of my life is spent as either
Cpl. MacWilliam or Many Flags (I am also Ossian Gunn and Dr. Uncle Mark)......I
still do Indian sign with a few friends, esp. Sign Talker who is featured
in the photos on the Mohicanland site for the Chrons...plus a bunch of other
people....we made Mike an honorary member of the MacWm. family several years
ago...so he is Seamus MacWilliam (also Uncle Quasi!!)
"OK, enough I guess.......I have three children and a real wife!! Wife Linda does not reenact, she teaches H.S. science and is a great seamstress...she makes all my 18th century clothing....there is my son Andrew who is a sophmore at Ithaca College....and my daughters Katie and Julie...who also come along to reenactments several times a year...I am an elem. principal....550 students Kindergarten through 5th grade.., and the parents and kids in my school know all about my reeancting....they are used to seeing me in kilt....and yes, I bring muskets into the school to do programs, etc...."
|
 |
Seamus MacWilliam (left) and Malcolm MacWilliam (right) on a winter trek. |