Historical Tidbits — Surrender at Saratoga

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. October 17, 1777              Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga In the summer of 1777, General Burgoyne led an army of 8,000 men south through New York in an effort to …

US Marines in the American Revolution — Defeat on Lake Champlain

13 October 1776 In the fall of 1776, the American Revolution appeared doomed to the ignominious fate of a suppressed insurrection. The invasion of Canada had collapsed with the assault on Quebec, where General Richard Montgomery was slain, and the ocher colonial commander, Benedict Arnold, severely wounded, was forced to flee southward with his men. …

Historical Tidbits — Birth of U S Navy

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. October 13, 1775 — The acquisition of a fleet of ships that would become the United States Navy was authorized by an act of the Second Continental Congress. The …

Powers of Two – Defense of the Imperial System of Measurements

There is a lot of controversy over Imperial vs Metric units of measurement.  Let’s be totally honest, metrics based on base-ten measurement (ie metric) are much easier to use IN MODERN SOCIETY but this has not always been true.  Imperial metrics are historically significant and easier for preliterate societies to use.  In a society where …

Historical Tidbits — Battle of Valcour Island

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. October 11, 1776 – General Benedict Arnold engaged the British in a naval engagement off of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain.  Although defeated, the American forces inflicted significant damage …

My First-Person Impressions

In the world of Living History there are three distinct impressions people tend to assume when presenting people from the past.  When we act as a third-person interpreter, we are just demonstrating what life was like at the time we are portraying.  In third person interpretation, we openly acknowledge that this is the 21st Century …

October 1666, King Charles II Granted an Audience to Two Men Who Would Build a Huge Fur Trading Empire in North America and Eventually Lock England in a World War with France.

When Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1535 in search of the Northwest Passage, he met 50 canoes filled with Micmac Indians, who signaled a desire to trade by waving furs on sticks. This began the very fruitful trade between Canada’s First Peoples and the Europeans, first the French and later the …

Colonial Spymaster (#15) — Exploiting Potential Turncoats

All spying tools and techniques have little worth unless you have a reliable source of information.  A great deal of useful information can be acquired passive observation.  Troop counts and movements, rumors, and observations of the comings and goings in the enemy camp can give you insights on what they plan to do but the …

Historical Tidbits — Royal Proclamation of 1763

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. October 7, 1763 — Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III, forbade all settlement west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains, which was delineated as …

Historical Tidbits — BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. October 7, 1780 – BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN:  Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot.  Coming after a series of …