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)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#4 - 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.

Do You Pass the Ten Foot Rule? (Part Three)
Beyond the actual re-enacting, I became aware of just how important being true to the Period Clothing was. Period Clothing now means, to us modern folk, that something is “old fashioned, junkie or, just outdated”! Ask someone “where’d you get that outfit … back in the 70’s?" and see what they say! Even the popular T.V. show “What Not To Wear” challenges people on “out-dated” clothing. However, Period Clothing to a re-enactor is clothing belonging to a very specific historical period and it needs to be is Period Correct in its accuracy! Apparently the "educated spectator" can be quite the “judgmental”! There are even terms used to demonstrate just how serious this "judgement" can be. The funniest term I found was “the ten foot rule”. This is a measurement from ten feet away. If it looks period from that distance, you just might pass! Who knows, from afar, if it's "leather or vinyl", has "too many threads per inch in the weave" or is "hand-made or factory made in Taiwan"? Apparently these “judgmental" spectators have disparaging remarks and names given to them from the re-enactors. Names such as “thread counters” and “garb snarks”. It’s a nasty game that I choose to stay out of! For us, we choose to enjoy all the extreme efforts put forth by the re-enactors and take pleasure being “transformed in time”!

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#4 - 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.

Do You Pass the Ten Foot Rule? (Part Two)
The Festival Nomad and I have encountered such re-enactors and find that they truly added to our experience. Sometimes it’s even funny! Several highly skilled re-enactors stayed so much in character that it was difficult to follow the conversation. They spoke solely in the context of the period! Another time, two young re-enactors, although asked specific questions, kept within the period, as they answered the visitor’s questions. What was most impressive about these young re-enactors, in particular, was that when not being spoken to they continued the conversation between themselves in the period language. While visiting our nephew's War of 1812 re-enactment, it became obvious to us, again, just how important and seriously these young re-enactors take on their roles. In this case, the “battle” was taking place far down the field. This was where the majority of spectators were observing. We just happened to be at the other end of the field where the last batch of soldiers would join the battle. There were hardly any spectators there. However, the young re-enactors played their roles perfectly with all the correct commands bellowed and all the battle procedures followed! It seemed that these young re-enactors were drawn into the period, oblivious to “the spectators”. It was very real to them! They had become "living history"! By the re-enactors keeping within the framework of the battle, they drew us in and made the experience all the more enjoyable.
(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#4)

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.

Do You Pass the Ten Foot Rule? (Part One)
We have acquaintances who are “Professional Re-enactors”. Some of them have extensive collections of weapons and costumes. Being “Period Correct” in uniform, weapons and language seem to be a high priority for 1812 re-enacting and re-enactors! If a re-enactor is wise, he/she will do his/her homework! There are many terms used to help navigate and keep the accuracy of a re-enactment true. Knowing what you are doing will help with the continuity of the re-enactment. Beginning with the language spoken, for example, a person who chooses to be a “Representative Interpreter” attempts to accurately portray a character that did not actually exist but could have existed based on historical research. “First Person” interpretation is a person portraying someone from the past who has no knowledge of modern life and doesn’t “drop character”. This leads to the “My time – Your time” interpreter who may say such things as “In my time we didn’t know about 'fast food' as you do in your time”. These interpreters know about the modern times as well as the past. This sometimes helps the interpreter communicate with visitors better than the “First Person” interpreter.
(To be continued)