Help Save Fort Pitt

Good day,
This came across the wire a couple of days ago and I think it is important enough to prompt me to post. (Really, I DO want to post more often!)

http://www.savefortpittnow.com/ -- Fort Pitt has been part of one of those struggles where the subject/object has no real meaning to the people who make the decisions (politicians). Nevermind that it has a LOT of meaning to a LOT of other people. THOSE people need to be heard. Please share this link and PLEASE do what you can. If you live in Pennsylvania, contact your politicians ASAP!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. All hands on deck!!

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Historic Restoration

Good day all,
Is anyone still following this blog? :>)

I have a link I want to share that isn't really reenacting related, but I hope it is of historical or other significance to some of you. It is about historic restoration. First, I want to share a link that came through in on of the egroups about an historic house in Newcastle, Delaware. They have created a blog to document and share the renovation of the house museum, including the kitchen area and much more.

http://preservingnewcastle.blogspot.com/

Along the same lines, the historic Thomas Paine Cottage is also undergoing dramatic renovation and renewal and they will be documenting that soon. I'm the webmaster so I know know when that goes live on their website and will share it when we have it done.

Oh, I should add that the New Castle folks seem to be open to comments. But in and case, I hope you find it useful.

YH&OS,
Chauncey

Photos from the French side of Fort Ticonderoga's 250th

Journey Through Hallowed Ground

Dear All,
Apologies for not posting sooner. I have a LOT to post, interestingly. But I thought I would break my silence by posting this item of note about a legislation lately passed to denote a National Treasure: Journey Through Hallowed Ground, to recognize the historical significance of a stretch of our county in the middle-east coast.

You can read more here: http://www.hallowedground.org/content/view/396/57

YH&S,
Sarah / Chauncey

Announcing something special for Loyalists

Loyalist Landing 2008 225th Anniversary
July 18, 19 & 20 , 2008
Re-enactment of the Landing of 10,000 or more Loyalists at
Port Roseway (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) in 1783


Shelburne, Nova Scotia
February 15, 2008

Dear Rev War re-enactor....

I am sending this notice along to rev war reenactors, including some from the RevList usergroup. Pardon any duplications, but we hope that we might see some of you here this summer in Nova Scotia.

With your kind permission regarding Loyalist Landing 2008, July 18-20 - Shelburne, Nova Scotia, we are now asking that participants submit registration forms so that we might make adequate preparation for the wood, straw, black powder, water and food, etc, etc., which we will need for the weeked. A link to the form can be found at www.LoyalistLanding2008.org or you can download a word version HERE or a pdf version HERE. The event is sponsored by the Brigade of the American Revolution and is one of the events overseen by the Canadian Maritimes Region.

For those who have submitted your registration forms, we are, of course, most grateful and look forward to seeing you here. You may still find some of the information on the website useful.

The weekend will be one of the largest reenactments in Eastern Canada in a decade and is sure to be a grand weekend. As you might see by a schedule posted at: www.LoyalistLanding2008.org, the weekend includes many opportunities for parades, drills, historical re-enactments, skirmishes and other delights. We will be providing straw, water, wood, black powder, clean toilet facilities and good shower facilities.

Shelburne Town retains much of its 18th Century charm, especially in the historic waterfront district, where many events will be staged. The encampment is just two blocks from the historic district. Local merchants will be affording reenactors discounts and there will be a pay parade on the Sunday to help with travel costs.

On the website, you will find a formal invitation, maps of the town and region, general tourism information plus information about crossing the US/Canada border and bringing muskets and other weapons into Nova Scotia.

We have to date seen interest from Several Quarters, including 84th Regiment Afoot, 2nd Battalion Regimental Assoc, Fortress of Louisburg, Stepford Historical Dancers, 49th Regiment of Foot, 1st New Jersey Volunteers, 3rd New Jersey Volunteers, 2nd Battalion, Delancey's Brigade, Kings Orange Rangers, 1st & 2nd Rhode Island, 3rd NJ Regt, "Jersey Blues", 74th Regt.Bn.Coy, 74th Highland Reg't., Atlantic Living Heritage Assoc., &tc, &tc., and have room and Heart for hundreds more.

We welcome inquiries from sutlers. For those interested, the region will also be hosting a major F&I event at Fortress Louisburg ( July 25-27).

Please also forward this message with my Good Wishes to any Loyalist Troops or Sympathizers (or Continentals looking for a good tussle) or sutlers who you think may enjoy our weekend. We look forward to you joining us in July on the rugged Coast of Nova Scotia for a Grand time.

Please feel free to email me (or the two gentlemen below) with any questions or call toll-free at: 877.235.4999

With Warmest Regards,

I remain yr most humbl svnt

Timothy Gillespie
novascotiaarts@klis.com

for Robt Guay, Acting Commander
Col Van Buskirks Coy, 3rd New Jersey Volunteers
guay@ns.sympatico.ca

and for Owen Hamlin
Maritimes Region Coordinator
Brigade of the American Revolution
mrh@ns.sympatico.ca

2008 Events: Battle on Snowshoes

This in recently from the FandIWar egroup:

We have high hopes that the Battle on Snowshoes event, scheduled for March 8th, will require snowshoes! It looks good so far. The Nadeau property, to the north of the Ticonderoga Country Club is a potential site for the start of the engagement. The Country Club has agreed to allow the use of their property, we will have to be careful of the "greens" area if there is no snow cover. This will be a one-day event, those who wish to stay overnight will have to make arrangements ( NOTE: the seamstress will post motel information from the Ti Chamber of Commerce as the date gets closer...) Registration information should be going out to unit commanders soon.
Best wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas!

I shall remain your most faithful...
S. Fuller


Battle on Snowshoes, March 13, 1758. The Participants

The English:

" No one was ordered on this hazardous expedition". ( Volume 1- The Beginnings. Burt Loescher 1946.) All members were volunteeres. They included 11 offficers, 11 sergents and150 privates from Roger's Rangers, along with additons from Putnam's Ct. company, the 27th Inniskilling, and some who had served in Roger's Cadet Company. The total in tis "flying party was 184 officers and men.

The French:

Sieur La Durantage, an ensign in the Colony Regulars, had recently
arrived at Ticonderoga with 200 iroquois and Nippssings from Soult St.
Louis and the Lake of the Two Mountains. He also brought several
Colonial Cadets and 30 Canadians.

On the morning of the 13th, the Indians had applied to Capt.
Hebercourt, Commandant of Ticonderoga, for provisions and brandy. A
small Indian scout returned from Lake George and reported fresh tracks
of 200 men on the west side of the lake near Bald Mt. This news excited
the "refreshed" Indians, and a confrontation between the enemies drew
near. The brush fighter Langy was present and his desire for action
added 30 Canadians and several Lieutenants , sergeants and privates
from the garrison regulars. The French forces now totalled 300.

Respectfully submitted, S. Fuller, Lake George Scout (and his
scribe, Sharon Bell)

Johnson Papers Now Available on the Web

Good day,

This fall NY State announced it has completed the process to digitize the complete set of Papers of Sir William Johnson and they are now part of the set of Historical Documents Available Online
from the New York State Library. This effort was due to the generosity of Tom Nesbitt, who volunteered his complete set, and was funded by the NY State Commission for the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War. Many thanks to Tom and the Commission!!!

I would like to point out that when you get to the links for the papers (they are listed near the bottom of the page linked above), the links will open as pop-ups. That means, if you have pop-ups disabled, you need to enable them for this site with your browser preferences, or enable each individually as you open them. To do this, hold down the CTRL key on a PC when you click a link, or the Apple key on a Mac. Hope that helps. The FAQ for the website has more help about that.

Happy reading!

Sarah / Chauncey

Website of the day: Reliving History

Good day,

Today, I want to share with you a link to some living historians down south: Morgan and Suze at http://relivinghistory.thot.us/ . I found their site because I purchased a period-correct woven game bag from her on eBay and then contacted her about a bespoke project. I looked at her gallery and found some other nice things and it seems to be quality work.

I would like others to know they are there, and to enjoy their not only their products but also their blog about Colonial America in the South.

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

New Book: "Farmers and Honest Men"

Good Day,

I am very happy to get to tell you about a new book which came out at the end of the summer: "Farmers and Honest Men" by long-time reenactor, Horst Dresler. The book tells us about Henry and John Ruiter -- descendants of the 1710 wave of immigrants from the Palatine -- through their life as Loyalists in the King's Rangers during the Revolutionary War to their settling Upper Canada and the War of 1812.

You can get the book here: http://farmersandhonestmen.com/index.htm

Most interesting to myself, who portrays a Loyalist, is the evident civil war these people were caught up in and which is so little talked about in our history books -- the stories of what Loyalist families suffered at the hands of their friends, neighbors, and local governments. I also found it interesting to learn about some of the great names of Loyalist history: Peters, Sherwood, and more. I recommend it to all people who portray Loyalists because it is guaranteed to enrich the story you can tell the public.

For people interested in Loyalist genealogy, Horst included extensive reprints of original memorials naming many of the early Upper Canada settlers, and a full genealogy of the Ruiter family.

Horst Dresler portrays Capt. Henry Ruiter of the 3rd Co. of King's Rangers (as well as James Rogers of Rogers' Rangers). He has been researching the Ruiters for many years, and it shows.

I hope you will contact Horst directly and get your copy, which you are sure to enjoy!!

Cheers,
Sarah / Chauncey

Website of the day: 17th of Foot

Dear all,

We are going to be turning our attention to new and very important 250th Anniversary events, one of those of course being the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, aka Quebec 2009. That means people are going to start to hear or want to hear more about Gen. Wolfe and exploring who he is.

I've been doing a bit of that myself and stumbled upon this site of the 17th of Foot (Wolfe's regiment). The website owner admits that ongoing research will keep the history and information updating regularly. Indeed, that is what we like to see in this hobby -- continuous learning and sharing of new knowledge. For that reason, I want to make sure people know about this website.

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Fort William Henry's 250th Anniversary Event Part 2

Dear all,

One thing that is quite different today than when I started reenacting just 8 years ago is the number of movie clips available. Thanks to someone from the French side at the Fort William Henry 250th Anniversary event, you get to see not only more action but, as is rare on my website, something from both the French as well as the English!

Here are a bunch of videos for you to enjoy on YouTube. My thanks to the anonymous videographers.

Seige of Fort William Henry

250th Seige of Fort William Henry

Pan Across the Battle

Redcoats Process off the Field (I'm actually in this one!!)

Night Barrage 1

Night Barrage 2

One of the Big Guns

Behind Militia Lines

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Fort William Henry's 250th Anniversary Event

Dear all,

I know it's been awhile since I posted here and I have a lot to say. I also have an overhaul of the website to take care of but who knows when that will be.

This past weekend I attended a fantastic event to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Siege and Massacre at Fort William Henry. I hate to have to say this but the event is best known because of the Last of the Mohicans.

The most exciting part is that I was there with a new unit, the Quintin Kennedy Detachment, making our debut. But more on that later.

The event itself was fantastic. I got there Thursday to help and also because Capt. Quintin Kennedy's marquee takes a very long time to set up. On Friday, the event held the Sabbath Day Point massacre. More on that later too.

New twists were that Indians were on both sides!! Also, during the day, British cannon were up on the hill to the east and the French cannon were on the west and fired at each other frequently. That was great!

Saturday was essentially a line battle between the Brits and French. Here's something new: I was with the Redcoats! (Back to the "more on that later"). The French were meant to win and I have to say, I had never seen Brits die in the numbers they did. It was impressive, and hair-raising!

On Sunday, we again had the line battle and again the Brits lost, with many deaths. Following the battle, the British forces clubbed their muskets and marched from the facines that had been built out to along a road southward toward Fort Edward. Once the Redcoats had past, the French Natives attacked the Provincials and the camp followers. The spectacle was amazing. I was on the hill with the cannons we had been sent to defend (until getting overrun by the French) and so got to see it. What a site. According to the records, more people were captured than killed (as portrayed in the movies) because a live captive was more valuable than the scalp of the dead. So they took booty and captives away.

That is a quick synopsis. If you are interested in highlights, click on the following links.

http://news.webshots.com/album/560739989vxBekQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7Aqs-6UChA

Someone's personal pictures

PostStar Photo Gallery

YH&OS,

Sarah / Chauncey

About the Lake George Tactical 2007

Dear all,

I know this will look remarkably like my tooting Chauncey's horn and I admit that there is some of that in this posting. I want to share with you a recent email that went out to the participants of the Lake George Tactical (the premier reenacting event for "hard core" reenactors).

Strictly FYI.

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Gentlemen,
Although it doesn't seem like it with the hot weather these days, it's time to start planning for the Lake. Earlier this year I put out the word that I would like to have someone new take the reins on the British side this year. I still plan to be there and will support in all manner possible, but I think it would be good for others to gain some command experience as well as bring some fresh ideas to the event. I had several volunteers, some more reluctant than others, but in the end I chose the person with the most experience on the Lake -LT Chauncey Goodrich. LT Goodrich has served as LT of Rogers' Rangers and my second for a couple of years and I expect will do an excellent job this year. To that end, I am going to turn over all pre-event coordination at this point to him.

As always, the event is the week of Columbus day (8th – 12th) in October. This is a preliminary call to arms. Please talk to your units, pass this to your friends, etc., and get back to the LT. Once he has a feel for who will be going, we can establish a command structure and start disseminating specific information. As in the past, I expect LT Goodrich will encourage you to come and fight as your own, autonomous unit. The commander's role is to provide overall coordination of the event. If you or any of your men want to participate but are unable to do so as a unit, we encourage you to come as individuals and we will coordinate with you to get you hooked up with another unit. We need men of all talents whether it be leading a patrol, scouting by canoe, or protecting the camp. I have enjoyed the honor of fighting alongside many of you in the past and am looking forward with great anticipation to having you join us in making the Lake George Tactical a great experience this year.

General information, along with after-action reports from the past several years, is available at: http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif .

The event officially starts Tuesday morning (after all the leaf peepers have gone) and goes through mid-day Friday. If you would like to extend your time at the Lake, coming in early is certainly an option. I anticipate that LT Goodrich will disseminate further information shortly. I respectfully request that you contacht LT Goodrich at your earliest convenience and let him know what your intentions are and, as always, we want to keep any plans from here on out off the egroups and just in private emails. I also ask that you pass along this invitation to all that you feel appropriate. The LT's email address is [removed].

YMHOS,
Wade “Capt. Quintin Kennedy” Stoner

Fort Ticonderoga Grand Encampment Videos on YouTube!

Dear all,

I got a head's up that the videos from French and Indian War Grand Encampment at Fort Ticonderoga this past June were put onto YouTube! Yes, we've really arrived now!!

Here are links to a few gems. I hope you enjoy them.

YH&OS,
Sarah/ Chauncey

Fort Ticonderoga #1: The French March in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vrUOCBlQUw

Fort Ticonderoga #2: The British Colors lead the troops to battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZcowD-1i_Q

Fort Ticonderoga #3: The British march to battle, to the fifing of "British Grenadiers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqqPoeLAheo

Fort Ticonderoga Gathering: Long!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZSHU224Pyo

Fort Ticonderoga pt2: French formation for inspection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwuQwn4VCDo

Fort Ticonderoga Battle pt3: Battle scene
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihpnvmPJ0Hw

Fort Ticonderoga Grand Encampment: British Bayonet Charge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_AKmHfJs9w