War of 1812 Discovery Series (#6 - Continued)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Beating of the War (Part Two)...
The initial decision in becoming a drummer might depend on choosing whether to become a drummer for Battle re-enactments, or to become one for educational living history purposes. It is an expensive hobby that begins with a few hundred dollars for a uniform and the equipment and a few hundred dollars for encampment re-enactments necessities, as tents and blankets. I understand that joining a unit may not be too expensive, if the unit has equipment to lend you. The drums can cost from $350-$600 and probably much more! No matter what the actual financial costs, you will need to be prepared to invest your TIME! As an integral part of re-enactments, the troop depends on you (the drummer) to attend! It takes time, effort, and loads of practice.
(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#6)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Beating the War... (Part One)
My older sister, Carol, is an amazing “Drummer”. She plays the drums for the Newmarket Citizen’s Band in parades and concerts. She also plays the tympanis extremely well! My heart stands still when I am at a performance or when I know she has a solo or important piece to “nail”. Recently she attended a festival as a Festival Nomad Correspondent for our Ontario Festivals Visited website. She took pictures for her article, while marching down a hill in a parade, playing the drum. It was an amazing perspective and an amazing feet (although I’m amazed she did not trip over her feet). I asked Carol about her thoughts of playing the drum for re-enactment’s for the period for the War of 1812. As accomplished as she is at “drumming” she informed me that "Drumming for Re-enacting" was completely different and much more difficult! She felt it would take constant practice and time to be able to confidently do re-enacting drumming. Carol says Drumming is very serious business. To quote her, “1812 type drumming is actually very hard. There are about 16 different patterns that one will fit any song. The drummer was one of the most important people in the unit. They also had drum signals for all sorts of things - like "get out of bed", "retreat", etc. The fancier the drum the more $$$ the officers had and probably the better taken care of by the troops.” I took some time to do some research on “Drumming” and found out that there is a LOT more to Drumming then I realized.
(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#5 - Continued)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

A Musketeer 1812 and Now (Part Two)
While investigating the "how to’s" of learning all there is to know about how to use the Musket, I was amazed by all the terminology used. It would not only require a good memory, but an accurate one! An example of one command, when loading a Musket, is the term “cast about your piece”. To do this, "hold your left hand with the match, put the Musket butt on the ground on the outside of your left foot, make sure the muzzle is pointing away from you and others and the pan should point downwards". Oh my, that is a lot to remember for one stage of a long list of procedures just to “Give Fire”. I began to wonder how these instructions work if you are “left-handed”? Other interesting terms I discovered were “make ready”, “prime your piece”, “place the charge, place your ram, place your wadding”, “blow upon your colts”, “cock your match”, “present upon your piece”, “secure your scouring stick”, “open your pan” and finally “Give Fire”. All of these stages require specific foot stance, arm and hand positioning and a LOT of co-ordination!

Beyond this part of the battle, should the enemy not fall, some re-enactors may choose to partake in "hand-to-hand" combat. There are specific rules and conduct guidelines, of course, for this type of combat. It would not go over too well if an actual encounter became “an all out real brawl”! With any re-enactment, safety is the number one issue! There are strict guidelines about “gunpowder” as well, that must be adhered to. As frequent visitors to re-enactments, I was pleased to find out all of this information. It’s good to know the precautions are taken, and rest assured, we are safe!

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#5)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

A Musketeer 1812 and Now (Part One)
“You can actually visualize yourself being back in time! On the battlefield it is even more captivating. You can feel the intensity of the battle! Guns firing, smoke filling the air, soldiers marching and officers shouting orders, advances and retreats, all for the sake of authenticity! As the battle progresses, soldiers begin to fall as though they have been shot! They lie there as their comrades walk over them! The sun scorches their fallen bodies! Truly “in the heat of the battle”! There is so much happening; it’s hard to take it all in! Who notices that some of the “dead” have dragged themselves to the shade of the “old oak tree”? Who can tell that there are “dead men talking”! (quote from the Adventures of the Festival Nomad blog article “Dead Men Talking!).

From our visits over the past few years to re-enactments, I have noticed that during these well orchestrated battles not all soldiers actually “fire” their Muskets. After a bit of research, it seems today that there are specific laws and regulations regarding Musket usage. Canadian law states that an antique (or antique reproduction) flint-lock firearm do not require a standard Firearm Acquisition Certificate, but in order to purchase the black powder you must have a valid Possession and Acquisition License from the Federal Government. Once you have completed the proper paperwork, the fun begins … the training!

(To be continued)