Redcoats and Rebels

Old Sturbridge Village
One Old Sturbridge Road
Sturbridge, Mass. 01566

This weekend (August 7-8) Old Sturbridge Village is hosting its annual Redcoats and Rebels event. Revolutionary War re-enactors from all over New England will be on hand to demonstrate drill and musketry, the firing of cannon, camp life and mock battles for the viewing public. This is a great opportunity to visit OSV (or re-visit) to view this living history open-air museum.

Guess Who's Coming to (Thanksgiving) Dinner?

The First Thanksgiving

Interested in spicing up the conversation at your Thanksgiving Dinner? Plimoth Plantation is sending Edward Winslow and Hobbamock to spend Thanksgiving with an anonymous winner of its auction on Ebay. The auction winner, a Cape Cod resident, will be hosting employees of Plimoth Plantation portraying Edward

Winslow, the former Governor of the Plymoth Colony and Hobbamock, a representative of the Wampanoag Indian tribe, for Thanksgiving. The winning bid was for $5,000. The Daily News Tribune of Waltham has their version of the story by Edward S. Colby here.

I thought this was a good idea from the people at Plimoth Plantation. This is kind of a variation of the old question: if you could meet an historic figure from the past, would would it be? A very difficult question to answer, but I'm going to answer a variation of the question. What if I could just choose my dinner companions?

In choosing dinner companions I would be naturally be looking for famous people from the past that I admire and who led interesting lives. I would also choose people who were famous for their intelligence, wit and after-dinner conversation.

Narrowing it down to just three, my choices would be: Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) and Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965). First enjoying dinner and then spending an evening listening to the conversation of these three gentlemen, maybe while they played Billiards and smoked cigars, would certainly be a night to remember.

Bennington Battle Day

Bennington Battle Monument
15 Monument Cir
Bennington, Vt. 05201

Also this weekend (August 15-17) Bennington, Vermont celebrates its annual Battle Day Celebrations. This commemorates the Battle of Bennington which took place on August 16, 1777. The battle actually took place in the village of Walloomsac, New York which is several miles from here, but the military stores the British and Hessian soldiers were seeking were being held in Bennington. The only Revolutionary War battle to actually take place in what is now the State of Vermont took place in Hubbardton, Vermont.

The Battle of Bennington was part of a greater campaign by British Major General John Burgoyne to divide New England from the rest of the colonies by force of arms. Burgoyne's mixed force of British, Hessian (German), Canadian and Loyalists, along with some Native American allies, had proceeded down from Canada and were now making their way down the Hudson River valley. After some initial victories at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point the British forces were now facing shortages of food and munitions. A expeditionary force of some 650 soldiers led by Hessian Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum set off for Bennington to secure more supplies.

Col. Baum's men were soundly defeated in battle by Colonial militia under the command of Brigadier General John Stark of New Hampshire. A British relief force was also repulsed by Gen. Stark and his men, who were aided by Col. Seth Warner and his Green Mountain Boys. These two losses, along with the lack of supplies, helped doom Gen. Burgoyne's campaign which ended with the surrender of him and his men at Saratoga, New York.

The Town of Bennington is marking its Battle Day Celebrations with the Bennington Fire Departments 40th annual Parade on Saturday August 17. Battle reenactments are being sponsored by Vermonts Living History Association. Museums and other organizations in the area are also hosting special events.

Vandals raid Plimoth Plantation

According to news reports, sometime during the night of Friday August 1, vandals broke into several of the houses on the property of Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. and stole a number of pelts, some tools and some replica armor. They also broke china, tore up plantings and burned a book. Employees arriving for work Saturday morning discovered the vandalism. No estimate for the cost of replacing/repairing the damage was given in the news reports.

Every news report I read and the one report that I heard on the radio referred to the perpetrators of these crimes as "vandals". A term not much used anymore, except perhaps by the media, it has a couple definitions. The first definition is that of someone who "willfully or maliciously defaces or destroys public or private property". That certainly applies here.

The second definition applies to an east German tribe of the 5th century A.D. They are best known to history for the sacking of Rome in the year 455. Rome was no longer the great center of empire that it had been before, but this was still viewed as a tragic event because of the culture and civilization that had once thrived there.

Vandalism of public and private property is a common problem all over the country. It has perhaps become even more of a problem over the last three decades. The destruction caused by vandals, who serve to gain little or no monetary profit from their efforts, is usually thought to be the work of teenagers.

Perhaps this is due to boredom or excessive drinking or maybe peer pressure. It may very well be that those responsible for the trespass, theft and destruction at Plimoth Plantation will never be caught. If caught, they may receive little or no punishment. One can only hope that they don't do it again.

Fort at #4 - Charlestown, New Hampshire

Fort at #4
267 Springfield Rd.
Rte. 11
Charlestown, N. H. 03603

The Fort at #4, in Charlestown, New Hampshire is a living history museum featuring a rebuilt 1740 palisade-style timber fort. Situated overlooking the Connecticut River the Fort was, at the time it was built, strategically located to protect the Massachusetts and later the New Hampshire frontier.

Prior to and during King Georges War (1744-1748) and the French and Indian War (1754 -1763), settlers in this area were subject to raids from both French and/or Indian war parties. Building and keeping the fort manned was considered very important in keeping northern Massachusetts towns safe from attack. This was also a way station for colonial and British troops on their way back and forth from the Forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the later stages of the French and Indian War.

Captain Robert Rogers of Roger's Rangers fame is also associated with the Fort at #4. After conducting his successful raid on the Abenaki Indians settlement at St. Francis, Canada Rogers and his men faced a hazardous excursion. Having suffered only light casualties during the actual raid, the Rangers then had to travel through miles of dense forest while being pursued by the French and Native American tribesmen. Many of the Rangers were killed, wounded or captured during the pursuit. Finally arriving at the safety of the Fort at #4 the worn out surviving Rangers were met with much needed food and drink. The Rangers under Lt. John Stark also were responsible for building a military road between the fort and Crown Point in New York.

During the Revolutionary War the now deserted and dilapidated Fort was used by General John Stark again as a rallying point for Colonial soldiers.

The present day Fort was built in the 196o's in the town of Charlestown, New Hampshire. The Fort at #4 is owned by a non-profit organization operating as a Living History Museum and often hosting both French and Indian and Rev War reenactors. It is open to the public for the rest of the Summer and into the Fall, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It closes for the season in November and reopens in May.

Redcoats to Rebels

Old Sturbridge Village
One Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, Mass.

This Saturday and Sunday (August 2 -3) Old Sturbridge Village is offering a weekend program called "Redcoats to Rebels". Revolutionary War reenactors from New England, New York and Pennsylvania, will be recreating camp life as well as offering a glimpse of the military drill and infantry tactics of that period. Musket and cannon firing demonstrations will be offered, as well some skirmishing between the Colonial forces and the Redcoats. (Always a crowd pleaser.)

Over forty different Rev War reenacting groups, representing actual historic French, American, British and Hessian military units, will be at OSV this weekend, making it much larger than last years Revolutionary War event. Just like last year, the 4th or the King's Own Light Company will be there, but with even more members. Additionally, there will be some 18th century music and song provided by the Roaring Lions. (They are primarily a Loyalist group, but you don't have to be loyal to King George to join in on the fun).