Redcoats and Rebels and Red-Hot Research

Everyone knows how Massachusetts got things off to a great start in the Revolutionary War. There are plenty of re-enactments, especially on Patriots Day in April, but since they have an unfortunate tendency to start way too early in the morning, I've never managed to see any. 

However, there was a recent "Redcoats and Rebels" event at Old Sturbridge Village, which is an outdoor museum depicting rural New England from 1790 to 1840.  This particular event didn't start at the crack of dawn, which was a huge plus, because I'm a more appreciative audience once I've had my daily coffee.  I was really eager to attend, since this is the closest I can get to time-travelling, or going to a Regency-era theme park.  And it would be an opportunity to get some practice with my infrequently-utilized camera.

There were exhibits throughout the day, and in different parts of the campsites and buildings. Unfortunately I missed the 18th century court martial, as well as the laundress demonstrating her skills with 18th century clothing. Oh well, maybe next year.

But there was lots of other fun stuff.  And I'm not just talking about all the sexy boots!   I spent so much time LUSTING after the boots that I didn't get any good pics of them. Too bad I can't download some of my mental pictures, especially of the young man who was a scout for the colonists.  I'm not sure which I liked more, his gold hoop earring, the ponytail, or the thigh-high suede boots. 

*fans face*  Is it getting hot in here?

Well, maybe it's best I leave that mental picture where it is.  Instead, here's a pic of the window he was looking out of--but this is before he got here, so you're going to have to use some imagination.  (You can tell from this pic that he was really hot, though.)

The cannon demonstration by the Royal Irish Artillery was LOUD.  I commented to a couple of Redcoats as I passed that it might be louder than I could handle.  One of them suggested I plug one ear and keep my mouth open, and that would help.  He said it with a straight face, but I wasn't entirely sure if his "advice" was payback for us winning the War for Independence, so I didn't give it a try.

The cannons produced these cool smoke rings, as if a giant was smoking a huge cigarette, with a lot of panache. (But not in any of the pictures I took.)  It required several men to prepare the cannon for shooting, and when they had to move it, even though it was on wheels, they strained.  I'm surprised somebody hasn't invented a Cannon Workout, because clearly it worked a lot of different muscle groups.  And the cannon-shooting men were very fit.

 
My favorite demonstration was on how to load and use a musket, by a re-enactor for a Massachusetts regiment.  He showed us, first in slow motion, and then in "real time", how long it took to go through the many steps of the process.  Sad to say, there was only a few seconds difference between the two demos.

The gunpowder is in a little thing of paper that is kept in a leather bag at the hip.  The corner of the paper is torn off with the teeth, so having two opposing teeth was a necessity.  The powder is followed by the "ball", one full ounce of lead, which he said is much bigger than current bullets.  It doesn't just HIT a person, it SLAMS into them, and it can make them spin several times from the force of the blast. 

Also, accuracy wasn't exactly the goal when shooting a musket, because it wasn't really a possibility.  It was more of a 50% success rate.  It was partly why they stood in lines, so that hopefully SOMEBODY would hit something when they fired their weapons.  The re-enactor said the commands used to be:

· Make Ready

· Take Aim

· Fire

However, General Washington changed the second one to "Take Sight" to more accurately reflect that not a whole lot of aiming was going on.

A good shooter would take about 20 seconds for the loading process, but most soldiers took about 30 seconds, so two rounds in a minute was the average (not exactly a "room broom").

A young boy with a snare drum tapped out a different rhythm for each of the commands.  Since things got so smoky during battles, from all of the ignited gunpowder, drums were the main form of communication.

Someone asked why the soldiers didn't just crouch down so they wouldn't get hit, but it sounds like there wasn't a high likelihood of getting hit anyway.  Also, if they did crouch down and the opposing shooters couldn't accomplish anything, they would affix bayonets to their muskets, and it was the bayonets that really struck fear into the soldiers.  The blade is three-edged, which apparently creates a wound that is impossible for a doctor to stitch up, so it caused a very painful demise.  (The re-enactor said the Geneva Convention does not permit that kind of blade for modern warfare because it is too brutal.)

Right after this demonstration, the various regiments lined up so they could parade to the battlefield.  I wish I'd figured out beforehand how to use the video feature on my camera.  Oh well (all together now: "next year!") 

One of the colonial militia groups – it was easy to see they weren't part of the Continental Army because instead of snazzy blue coats they wore plain brownish linen clothes – anyway, the militia group was a pretty ragtag bunch, and they had trouble figuring out which direction to turn on the command "wheel right".  Their commander asked them to hold up the hand they used to hold their ale the previous night, and of course a couple of them raised both hands, letting their muskets drop to the ground.  The captain of a nearby Redcoat regiment told his troops, "I don't anticipate any trouble from the Yankees today.  They're quite disorganized so it should be a quick and easy battle."

How could I not laugh out loud?

The battle took place in a field, complete with split-rail fences and trees lining the perimeter.  It was unbearably hot, and humid, so none of the soldiers seemed inclined to "play dead" until the battle was almost over.   I don't blame them.  I was wearing a light linen shirt and jeans and was close to expiring.  They had wool jackets and vests and breeches and Lord knows what else that I couldn't see. . .oh, and those boots.  But not these boots.  I'm talking about the boots I didn't take a picture of. . .

I'm feeling faint again.

Okay, where was I?  Oh, yeah, since nobody wanted to lie down on the ground, the battle pretty much looked like a bunch of men in kick-ass costumes shooting at each other, over and over.  They didn't use the lead ball, just the gunpowder, in both the muskets and the cannons, and there was plenty of smoke hanging over the field. 

Earlier, while strolling through the campgrounds, I noticed a lot of campfires going, and even though I couldn't see any wood smoke, it was really bothering my throat. That was a detail I wouldn't have expected, so it was great to experience it firsthand (and it was even greater to get away from it).

Another interesting research detail: the tents had six soldiers assigned to them.  Two of them would sleep, two would have sentry duty, and two would be on fatigue, which meant camp duties like digging latrines, cooking, whatever needed doing.  The tents were made of canvas, and there wouldn't be much warmth in the winter, so the soldiers apparently slept on top of each other to keep from freezing.  

I know I'm not the only one who is changing this plot point to include a colonial scout with a gold earring and thigh-high suede boots, who needs to steal that Redcoat jacket in the back, so here's a pic for you:

This was a really great experience, and I can't wait to go again.  Next time I'll definitely be braver about taking more pics and asking more questions, since the re-enactors love to share their knowledge.  Maybe they'll even tell me where that scout hid himself. . .

Comments

[Maureen]

Note to self...look for a three edged blade when wanting to inflict maximum damage with a thrust.

I can use that bit of detail in me present book, thanks!

I'm always amazed at the stamina of re-enactors. Our autumn RenFaire can be impressively hot and there they are, all long brocade skirts, layers and layers and layers...and hats, scarfs, boots. Leather, suede... I do not know how they do it. I would never want to be a royal, it has to be too hot!

You're so good at taking such careful notes of what you observe! I will work much harder to be aware of what I see and experience at my next festival!

[Donna Cummings]

Maureen, I was impressed with the re-enactors' dedication, as well as their knowledge. They seemed impervious to the heat, while I was wilting constantly. LOL

I didn't actually take notes that day, and I know I forgot some details, but my brain held on to the ones it found the most interesting I guess! I haven't doublechecked the info I was given, but I suppose I should -- although that will lead me to even MORE research topics I'll find intriguing. :)

[Deegarretson]

I'm guessing we know who will be a character in your next book! Great details.

[Donna Cummings]

LOL, Dee -- I'll have to do a better job of foreshadowing next time!

[Terri Osburn]

This sounds (and looks!) just like a day in Colonial Williamsburg. Kiddo and I will make our annual fall trip in the next month or so, as soon as it cools down again.

That scout sounds just like this one re-enactor here in Williamsburg. Even down to the pony tail. He was the perfect cross between Jack Sparrow and Will Turner. Only cleaner. :)

Couple of those dudes firing the cannons are wearing cool boots. So you caught some.

[Donna Cummings]

Terri, I didn't even think about this being similar to Colonial Williamsburg -- now I feel better that I haven't made it down there yet. :) Which also means I'll have to make another trip to OSV during the fall (I don't know that they have any more big re-enactments like this -- I should check their website.)

I also need to go check the cannon guys' boots, now that you've alerted me. LOL

[Jan O'Hara]

Donna, this was such fun to read. (Why couldn't the history books be written like this?) We don't have anything resembling these fairs in Canada, at least out west. Thank you for letting me enjoy it vicariously.

[Liz Lipperman]

Donna, now you got me thinking about the hot gold earring, pony-tailed, thigh high boot wearer!!

Great story. Makes you wonder how anybody won this war?

My friend wrote a wonderful time travel about a costumed enactment heroine who got thrown back onto the battlefield. I learned a lot about the war by just reading her story and agree history would be so much easier to digest if it were told in stories like yours.

[Donna Cummings]

Jan, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And maybe the history books would have been more fun if they'd focused on the IMPORTANT things, like boots, and earrings, and things of that nature! LOL

[Donna Cummings]

Liz, he WAS a cutie, I have to admit. :) Now I'm almost glad I didn't take a pic so I don't have to share him. LOL

And you're so right that it's a wonder anyone won that war -- everything they had to do required so much EFFORT.

Your friend's time travel sounds great. I think one reason I love to read time travel is to see the contrast of where we've been, and where we are -- I love those costumes but boy would I miss my laptop! LOL

[Clarissa Southwick]

What a great blog! One of my great-great-however many greats-grandfathers- George Southwick- died at Lexington (or was it Concorde?) So I've always been fascinated with this era. The pictures are fantastic. We don't have anything like this here in Idaho so thanks for sharing.

[Donna Cummings]

Thanks, Clarissa! Lexington and Concord are neighboring towns, and it's kind of amazing to see so much of the colonial-era stuff around here, especially when it still looks like it did "back in the colonial day". LOL

Next time I'm in that vicinity I'll scope out the place and see if I can find George (there's some great cemeteries out here, with the slate tombstones). Maybe I can get a pic for you!

[Melissa]

Thanks for sharing your day! Wow. The pace of battle in those days seems so formal and go together with how oddly polite they were with taking turns with trying to kill eachother - like with duels. You'd think with all that time they'd change their minds and go home! I guess that's what each side was hoping for before resorting to the bayonet fighting. I could see where there would be a lot of tension with honor and all that came into play. Great blog!

[Donna Cummings]

Melissa, it really was fun--the first time I'd done anything like that. Next month I'm trying a Renaissance Faire. LOL I'm unstoppable!

I hadn't thought about how similar this was to duels, with all the honor and politeness -- you're right though. And I'm with you, I would have just said "let's get going, it's too hot to keep shooting at each other". LOL

[Liz Fichera]

Great pics! So much history! We saw a similar musket demonstration near Dauphin Island, Alabama, last year. It's amazing the work involved to fire a single bullet! And, yeah, it was loud!

[Donna Cummings]

Thanks, Liz -- it's the first time I've posted pics on my blog, so I'm kinda thrilled I learned how to do it.

And you're so right about all the work involved in firing a bullet. No wonder the battles lasted so long! LOL

[colbymarshall]

Cool! Sounds like you had fun and learned a lot, too. Love it when research is good time!

[Donna Cummings]

Colby, it was definitely lots of fun. I'm scoping out my next "research field trip" now!