Upcoming Event - Liberty Pole Capping

We have an event comping up on April 11, 2009. It is the Liberty Pole Capping and will be held in Bedford, MA. Step off will be at 10:30 if anyone wants to come out and watch!

Here are the details:

The parade will step off from the Town common at 10:30 AM and will proceed past the Fitch Tavern where the Bedford unit and dignitaries will acknowledge each unit. The parade will then continue on to Captain Jonathon Wilson Park where the Pole Capping ceremonies will commence.

The traditional pole capping ceremony will commence with a few speeches, then a flaming red sock will be placed on top of a pole just as the Sons of Liberty did in the Revolutionary days as a symbol of freedom from oppression and bondage. The parade will then resume and be led by our guests to a reviewing stand in front of the Bedford Library, from which the guests and officials will accept salutes from the units passing in review. The parade ends at the Bedford High School with a traditional collation for all marchers, dignitaries and their families.

Here is some information from Wikipedia about what a Liberty Pole is:

A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap (see Phrygian cap).

A liberty pole was often erected in town squares in the years before and during the American Revolution (i.e., Concord, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; Caughnawaga, New York; Savannah, Georgia). Some colonists erected liberty poles on their own private land (such as in Woburn, Massachusetts - the pole raising there is reenacted annually). An often violent struggle over Liberty Poles erected by the Sons of Liberty in New York City raged for 10 years. The poles were periodically destroyed by the royal authorities (see the Battle of Golden Hill), only to be replaced by the Sons with new ones. The conflict lasted from the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 until the revolutionary New York Provincial Congress came to power in 1775.[1] The liberty pole in New York City was crowned with a gilt vane bearing the single word, "Liberty".

In some locales - notably in Boston - a Liberty Tree rather than a pole served the same political purpose.

When an ensign was raised (usually red) on a Liberty Pole, it would be a calling for the Sons of Liberty or townspeople to meet and vent or express their views regarding British rule. The pole was known to be a symbol of dissent against Great Britain. The symbol is also apparent in many seals and coats of arms as a sign of liberty, freedom, and independence.

Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event - Fort Ticonderoga Sept. 2008

Upcoming this weekend we have an event at Fort Ticonderoga. We did this event last year, and it was a lot of fun, even with the torrential downpour on Sunday. You can visit their website here:

http://www.fort-ticonderoga.org/

And you can find a little more information about the event here:

http://www.fort-ticonderoga.org/events/revolutionary-war-encampment.htm

If you are in the area, please come out and support the Fort, there has been some rumblings of hard times financially with the Fort and we want to try and do all we can to keep this important Fort open!

As always if you do come and visit, be sure to stop by the 1st New Hampshire dining fly, we would love to meet you!

Upcoming Event! Old Sturbridge Village MA - August 2, 2008

Our next event will be at Old Sturbridge Village. They usually do a timeline event each year where reenactors from all different time periods get together for a weekend, but this year they will be just focusing on Revolutionary War, which should prove to be a lot of fun. Here is the information directly from the website:

The Village is transformed into a military camp focusing this year on what life was like during the War for Independence, as the Revolutionary War was known in early New England. Activities include fife and drum corps, camp cooking, instruction in marching formations for kids, a military "fashion show," cannon demonstrations, and more. Authentically costumed re-enactors will camp out, re-creating early American military life in the fields and pastures of OSV. Take in the sights, sounds, and smells of camp life by weaving through the tents and chatting with the civilians that accompany the soldiers including doctors, wives, and children as they too live the life of a soldier.

On Saturday (8/2) from 5 to 9 pm, the Village is transformed yet again as the sun goes down and the camp fires are lit for a Twilight Encampment. Guests may take advantage of the cooler evening to visit later or linger in the camps, providing a unique insight into camp life separate from military events of the day. Late day admission available after 5pm.

Some of the units participating this year include, on the side of the Colonies:

85eme Regiment de Saintonge
Artillery Company of Newport (Craine's Artillery)
Billerica Colonial Minutemen
Danvers Alarm List Company
Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment
Fifth Connecticut Regiment
First New Hampshire Regiment
Great Quinnehtukqut Company of Artificers and Traders
Lebanon Towne Militia
Lexington Training Band
Regiment Bourbonnais
Second Massachusetts Regiment (Col. Bailey's)
Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Line
Smith Castle Museum
Sixth Connecticut Regiment
Stowe Minutemen
Tenth Massachusetts Regiment
Third New York Regiment
Thirteenth Continental Regiment
Twenty-Fifth Continental Regiment
Twenty-Fourth Connecticut Regiment
United Train of Artillery
Whitcomb's Rangers
Yarmouth Minutemen

...and with the British Empire:

Eighth (King's) Regiment of Foot
First Foot Guards
Fourth Regiment of Foot (The King's Own Regulars); The Sign of the Roaring Lion
HMS Somerset
King's Rangers
Ninth Regiment of Foot
Regiment von Donop
Royal Irish Artillery
Seventy-Fourth Regiment of Foot
Sixteenth Queen's Light Dragoons
Sixty-Fourth Regiment of Foot - Light Company
Tenth Regiment of Foot
Twenty-Ninth Regiment of Foot
Twenty-Third Regiment of Foot (The Royal Welch Fusiliers)
Von Pruesschenck’s Jaegers

It looks like the regular fee for Sturbridge itself (Adults $20.00; Seniors (65 and over) $18.00; Youths (3-17) $6.00; Children Under age 3 Admitted Free) applies for this weekend.

This should be a really fun weekend. If you get the chance, you should stop by and see us. It is relatively local, unlike some of our events, and in addition to the reenactment itself, you also get to visit Sturbridge Village and all the cool museums and buildings they have there. If you come by, be sure to seek out the First New Hampshire dining fly!

Upcoming Event! Hubbardton, VT - July 4, 2008

We will be having a few events on July 4th this year. One event will be a parade through downtown Amherst, NH. It’s usually a very nice parade, and it helps the regiment earn a little money to be able to continue going to the larger, unpaid, weekend events.

Some of our regiment will also be at Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, NH. We did this last year, and it was a lot of fun. They have reenactors from all different time periods, games and shows for the kiddies, and demonstrations from all the reenactors. If you are in that area I highly suggest it. Here's a little information right from their site:

Friday, July 4
12:00 noon–5:00 pm
An American Celebration!
A real old-fashioned fabulous 4th of July! Complete with children’s parade, traditional games and crafts, historic garden tours, music, living history, food and fun for all.
Members FREE. Active military and their families FREE. Kids FREE. Adults: $8:50. Purchase tickets at any event entrance. For more information, call 603-433-1100. Additionally, members joining us for this event will receive a voucher good for a free coupon book at Kittery Premium Outlets.

Another event we will be attending on July 4th weekend is a battle reenactment at Hubbardton, VT. Here is a little information about the event itself. It will be held on July 5th and 6th, though we will be arriving to set up camp on July 4th.

http://www.hubbardton.net/Events%202008%20Hubbardton%20Battle%20schedule.pdf

Battle of Hubbardton Revolutionary War Encampment
231st Anniversary
Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site Hubbardton, Vermont
July 5 and 6, 2008, Program

DETAILS SUBJECT TO CHANGE –Please call for details (802-273-2282)
Concession stand and colonial sutler’s shopping row open both days

TICKETS: $5.00 for adults each day and free for children under 15


Saturday, July 5, 2008

9:30 a.m. Historic Site opens to the public
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Camps open to the public; ongoing demonstrations of camp life, engineering, cooking, colonial crafts, medicine, education, and more
History Scavenger Hunt is on (pick up at gate or Visitor Center)
10:30 a.m. American court martial
11:00 a.m. Learning how to drill the American and British ways—for children of all ages (repeated at 1:00 p.m.)
11:30 a.m. Unit drills in camps
1:00 p.m. Guided tours of American and British camps; meet at entrances to either camp
1:30 p.m. Learning how to drill the American and British ways—for children of all ages
2:00 p.m. Mistress Davenport’s 18th century schoolhouse and storytelling
3:00 p.m. Music from the Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife & Drum Corps
3:30 p.m. Narrated tactical demonstration on Monument Hill
4:30 p.m. Guided battlefield tour; meet outside Visitor Center
5:30 p.m. Visitor Center closes
8:00 p.m. Memorial Service at the monument


Sunday, July 6, 2008

8:00 a.m. Narrated Battle of Hubbardton Reenactment on Monument Hill
History Scavenger Hunt is on (pick up at gate or Visitor Center)
9:00 a.m. Revolutionary Trek across Vermont; start of relay to send the battle news to the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Windsor, VT, at the Old Constitution House
Camps open to public; ongoing demonstrations of camp life, engineering, cooking, colonial crafts, medicine, education, and more
9:30 a.m. Guided battlefield tour, meet at Visitor Center
10:30 a.m. Artillery demonstration; Guided tours of American and British camps; meet at entrances to either camp; Mistress Davenport’s 18th century schoolhouse & storytelling
11:30 a.m. British Court martial
1:00 p.m. Narrated tactical demonstration on Monument Hill
2:00 p.m. Guided battlefield tour; meet outside Visitor Center
Camps close
5:30 p.m. Visitor Center closes


We actually attended this event last year, and as I recall it was a lot of fun. The website has some pictures from last year’s event that includes a few of the regiment:

Kris & Kolby

Kris in Battle

First New Hampshire Boys

Kolby 1
Kolby 2
Kolby 3

Kolby and Jeffrey 1
Kolby and Jeffrey 2
Kolby and Jeffrey 3

Believe me yours faithfully,
Rachel

Upcoming Event - Birdsboro, PA!

We have an event coming up in just a short while. You can see us in Birdsboro, PA on Saturday May 17th and Sunday May 18th. We will be at the Daniel Boone Homestead. This will be about a 6 hour drive for us. It will be a really fun weekend, but I am sure we all wish the gas prices weren't so dang high!! It makes these longer trips hard! Our group will arrive in PA on Friday night and spend some time setting up, then we will have fun talking and mingling with the public on the other days.

The schedule is as follows:

Daily Schedule Revolutionary War Encampment

May 17-18, 2008

Saturday, May 17

9:00 am - Site open, Visitor Center, Historic Area, Military Camps, Military Hospital and Suttler’s Row open.

10:00 am - Continental Line “Fashion Show” - adjacent to the American Camp

11:00 am - British Brigade formation, inspection, and trooping of the colors - in British Camp

11:30 am - Continental Line Artillery Demonstration - Below Visitor Center Parking Lot

1:00 pm - Continental Line formation and inspection - American Camp

1:30 pm - British and American armies form and march out - Historic Area closes for Battle Demonstration

2:00 pm to 3:30 pm - 18th Century Battle Demonstration - Historic Area and Battle Viewing Area

Historic Area re-opens following the Battle Demonstration

5:00 pm - Site closes

Sunday, May 18

9:00 am - Site open, Visitor Center Historic Area, Military Camps, Military Hospital and Suttler’s Row open.

11:00 am - British Brigade Artillery Demonstration - Below Visitor Center Parking Lot

12:15 pm - British and American armies form for inspection and march out

12:30 pm - Historic Area closes for Battle Demonstration

1:00 pm to 2:30 pm—18th Century Battle Demonstration—Historic Area and Battle Viewing Area

Historic Area re-opens following Battle Demonstration

3:00 pm—Military Camps begin to break down.

5:00 pm – Site Closes


Click here for more information and to purchase tickets so you can come visit us, if you are in the area!! You can find directions here as well. And keep an eye on the blog for an update on all the events when we get back! I am sure I will have plenty of photos and videos to share with all of you! I will be buying more batteries and cleaning off my memory cards all week in preparation!

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Believe me Yours faithfully,
Rachel