Tag Archives: Events

Fort Ti-ed Up in Knots

06 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in Reenacting

≈ Comments Off on Fort Ti-ed Up in Knots

Tags

,

Warning: Heavy Re-enactor/Museum Management/Philosophical-type Content

Battle Road, with photographers

Who is this authenticity for?

I think that is the core of the question. I spent much of yesterday (when not banging head here at work) banging my thoughts on the question of Fort Ticonderoga’s standards, and the relative abilities of my family to meet them. Somehow, out of that and previous thoughts about bullying, research, cattiness, and the general meaning of “living history,” “reenacting,” and “The Hobby,” I reached a simplistic conclusion, or perhaps it was a question:

Who is the “good enough” for? Moving past that wretched verbal construct, think about this:

Each event, each unit, each individual is like a museum or historic site in microcosm.  The unit I belong has a mission: to re-enact the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War. The regiment and its members belong to the Brigade of the American Revolution (BAR), which has a mission, “The Brigade is a non-profit living history association dedicated to recreating the life and times of the common soldier of the American War for Independence, 1775-1783.”

Clear enough, right? Following from the mission would be standards. And those standards would, in an organization’s strategic plan, be goals. (The vision statements or values statements would be different–and I don’t know what they would be for the BAR. For my unit, I can only guess but I think one of our value statements would be “Tolerance, kindness, patience.”)

So, let us consider the nexus of the BAR and Fort Ticonderoga from the mission and standards point of view. They clearly overlap where the recreation of the life and times of the common soldier are considered in the context of 1777’s assault by the Continentals on the Fort. Excellent. Because everything you do as an organization should point toward, or be derived from, or further your mission. The BAR, in fulfilling its mission to recreate the life of the common soldier, creates an event that fulfills Fort Ti’s mission “to ensure that present and future generations learn from the struggles, sacrifices and victories that shaped the nations of North America and changed world history. They serve this mission by:

  • “Preserving and enhancing our historic structures, collections, gardens and landscapes.
  • Educating and inspiring our visitors about the history of Fort Ticonderoga and the diverse peoples who met here in war and peace.”

The BAR event would fall under the “educating and inspiring” part of “how” the Fort fulfills its mission.

Clear enough so far, I think, how the BAR and the Fort overlap. Now comes the tricky part: the people part.

Looking at the Fort Ticonderoga event, my first thought weeks ago was, “We can’t do that; no Rhode Island troops were there.” I’m not just a stitch counter—I’m a troop counter too. Then I realized that there aren’t necessarily enough MA and NH re-enacted troops to make the event possible without “reinforcements” from other states.

Conquering that, I began to consider the standards, and as previously stated, I’m a stitch counter so I have to follow them or be a hypocrite. And that’s when I started thinking about “who is this good enough for?” What’s my mission? Is it aligned with my unit’s mission, the BAR mission, or even my own family’s mission?

Because the place of overlap, given that this is a hobby, is in the conjunction of my desire to have fun, and the mission of the BAR: If I think it is fun to “recreate the life and times of the common soldier,” then we’re good.  I love to sew, the challenge of creating 18th century garments for the three of us is fun the way art school was fun, but it’s not any fun to be all dressed up with no place to go.

That’s where it gets tricky.

To Ti, or Not to Ti?

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Clothing, Events, Reenacting

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

We’re at a critical moment: onward to Fort Ti, or not. We haven’t had a chance to ask the captain if anyone else from our regiment is going, so we could be on our own, and need to fold into another unit in the field. Fortunately, Mr. S has done that in the past, fielding with a NY Regiment at the School of Instruction. So that’s not the barrier.

We can probably borrow a tent from the Captain, perhaps even one that will not collapse in a high wind, or be ripped to shreds. (It’s a bit of a Swamp Yankee unit, stuff is kept and mended for years, which makes it all the more authentic for this recreation of the “Ragged Lousey Naked Regiment.”)

I can get the day off, and I bet Mr S can get off work early enough that we can get to Fort Ti before dark. I don’t want to set up camp in the dark…and I bet I can figure out food and eating and cooking and even coffee.

No, what’s stopping me is “Information for Reenactors,” or the authenticity standards. There aren’t any for the women attending the event, since we won’t be “in the line,” so it isn’t about me. It’s about the men. I think of the things I’ve made and the time I have and am convinced “We’re not good enough.”

Thanks, Fort Ti!

I get the standards, and I appreciate them. I’m a thread counter myself. But the standards are high and I don’t think we’ll meet them—I know Young Mr.’s footwear won’t. He only has modern shoes, he’s a size 12, and possibly growing. Could I even get him shoes in hand by July 19? Maybe… after that we get into the clothing, which for the boys would need to be re-fitted, and perhaps even made.

So I think, on the whole, we will have to pass on Fort Ti until another year, one when we can meet the standards. Sad for us, but at least the Fort’s staff and the other attendees will not be perturbed by the child’s rubber soles.

Or do I order shoes for the child, and start sewing like a madwoman on the off-chance that Mr. S really can get off at noon, or that I can pick him up by 2:00 at a commuter line station on the way north?

Decisions…and internal conflict. Feeling “not good enough” for standards sucks, especially when you take standards seriously. At some point, OSV is going to enforce the standards they have copied from Fort Ti and Battle Road. These are good things.  But the bar is high, and I think that the kid-shoe factor is a major irritant for some folks, and to a degree to me, though I can afford the shoes and can even, by force of will, cause them to be worn, as long as they arrive in time. (Fugawee, not Robert Land, would have to be the supplier.)

And that seems like madness, really. Better to focus on the mission, if you will, the core:  Improving regimental kit, and expanding civilian wear over time, for Battle Road and elsewhere. It makes participating in the hobby more like running a museum, and while I love my job, I was honestly looking to have a little more fun than I do at work.

 

Cake, and other Things

17 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Clothing, Food

≈ Comments Off on Cake, and other Things

Tags

, , ,

20120617-195748.jpg On Saturday, in preparing for the opening June 28, I made the Seed Cake, called Nun’s Cake, from the Colonial Williamsburg website.

Actually, I made half a recipe. And Baked it too long. That doesn’t mean it’s not delicious served with raspberries and lemon curd, but it does mean that the crust is, well, crusty. And cakes do not have crusts, so there you are. What I learned what that you can’t halve ingredients and not adjust time. Obvious, but not when you are simultaneously finishing a dress.

The dress is done, all but the cuffs and moving the interior lacings, though the photos are sketchy. Mr. S. used to be a photographer, and now he hates photography. He is therefore an unwilling documentarian, and hates even more the basic camera he was handed at the Joy Homestead.

We were there for a tea commemorating the day in 1780 when Rochambeau stopped on his march to join Washington. Rumor, or legend, has it that the Comte ate strawberries, and so we did, too, with biscuits, cream, and Lipton tea.

20120617-195837.jpgThere was some drilling, so the soldiers had an appetite. There were also photo ops aplenty, and some behavior that made me wonder if there are reenactor groupies. One woman was just determined to have a particular uniformed gent in every possible photo…and she took many, many photos of the troops. It’s a curious thing, this hyper-photographic behavior. Makes me want to keep my camera in my pocket.

In any case, the seed cake I made will work for the opening if I can manage not to over bake it and provide fruit with it. Now I just have to find an 18th century punch that isn’t overly full of rum.
And a new camera.
20120617-195852.jpg

Partners in Crime

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Events

≈ Comments Off on Partners in Crime

Tags

, , ,

Mr. S in his 6-hour coat

Ah, partnerships. They don’t always work the way either partner thinks they will, and one always has more power than the other. Suffice it to say that my partner, who is also my husband, did me a solid and came down to Water Fire’s Gaspee Project last night. The Regimental Captain and his family did, too, and for that I am truly grateful.

The Gaspee affair really was a crime: it was an act of revolt by Rhode Island citizens against the Crown, but Lieutenant Dudingston saw the evasion by the Hannah as a crime, and it was—her captain was supposed to submit to boarding and inspection. The raid on the grounded Gaspee and the wounding of Dudingston was also certainly a crime.

I didn’t take any photos at Water Fire last night, but plenty of people wanted their photo taken with me in my crazy bonnet.

People love that bonnet

One man confessed to me that I reminded him of his childhood trips to Steppingstone Stables [sic] and the two white-footed Clydesdales, Big Tom and Big Jerry, that pulled the wagon.  I didn’t think I was that big…but what he meant was that seeing me dressed up “old-timey” reminded him of other times and of the past, and helped him connect to something beyond his immediate moment. I think he’d had a good time down at the new Sabin’s Tavern, but he had a moment that made him reflect on something that gave him pleasure, and that’s a good thing.

Shake Your Tail Feathers

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Clothing, Events

≈ Comments Off on Shake Your Tail Feathers

Tags

, , ,

Men’s 18th century coats amaze and delight me. On some of the earlier fine suits, the pleats are exuberant but controlled, layers of fabric tucked together in the skirt.

You could argue they’re feminizing, and somewhere I read that men’s suits have evolved in cut and design to make the male body less threatening. You could argue that they have the formal appeal and function of a peacock’s tail, signaling financial health and status.

This is perhaps most true of the tails on court coats, fancy and fine yet restrained, conservative, and non-threatening. After all, you cannot exceed your rank.

Fortunately for me, I need only construct a simple linen coat by tomorrow. The back seam was sewn this morning, and I started on the pleats. The pattern lines did not clearly mark the peaks and valleys, so I’ve played with it four times.

This evening, Costume Close Up will be my guide, and with any luck, a coat will be “done enough” for an event twelve hours from how. The coat may not be lined in 12 hours, but it will be wearable enough for an evening march that recreates part of the Gaspee incident of 240 years ago tomorrow.  I’ve only known since Wednesday night that I was needed, but with any luck, some of the Second Helping Regiment will come and help.