What’s with the Short Pants?

For those of us involved in 18th Century reenactments, men in knee breeches are de rigor.  Outside of formal equestrian events, however, you rarely see such garments today.  Similarly, pants were considered foreign attire, even uncouth attire before the 14th Century in Europe. Many names have been used for men’s leg coverings through history: Latin …

How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – The Artificial Horizon

When taking a sight with a celestial object, the observer uses the natural or sea horizon as the line of departure.  When, however, that horizon is obscured by darkness or inclement weather such as fog, an instrument known as an “artificial horizon” is used to serve as an alternative to obtain accurate altitude readings.  Just …

Support Colonial Plantation by Attending an 18th Century Masquerade

COLONIAL WINTER MASQUERADESaturday, January 27, 2024 from 5 PM to 9 PM Kings Mills 6000 Pennell RdMedia, PA 19063  From the Italian, a Masquerade is an assembly of persons wearing masks and usually other disguises, the word evolved from Arabic maskharah “buffoon, to make a mockery of.” Dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, …

The Scourge of Slavery (#16) — Emancipation and the 13th Amendment

In 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”   The Emancipation Proclamation was not intended to end slavery, it only applied to areas of …