Samuel has written this blog post to share some of their impressions thus far:
My dad and I have joined a local Revolutionary War living history group. It’s a longstanding non-profit organization committed to education, often doing living history demonstrations and events around the community, in the schools, and at local historical sites.
As such, it’s important to make every attempt to accurately portray the clothing, equipment, and life of the Revolutionary War soldier and his family as far as is possible. * This is called the “impression” – as it’s subject to some interpretation.
My dad and I have accumulated a little bit of kit, but are using some loaner gear, as much of the gear is hand-made and needs to be acquired slowly and thoughtfully. It’s also a wee bit more expensive than your average Halloween costume!
It is known that the continental troops all over the American colonies were undersupplied and starving until the intervention of foreign powers after the second battle of Saratoga. This is very true but the regulars still tried to maintain a bit of uniformity among its privates and officers. First starting with the hunting frock and then moving to a mix of regimental frock coats (what we see a continental soldier look like today) and hunting shirts.
We have been outfitted with loaner hunting shirts with a fringe on the collar as well as red on the cuffs and collars. It was thought that the initial uniform of some Virginia Regiments was a hunting shirt with some sort of red cuff and collar although there are no surviving examples or pictures. The standard regimental frock coat with red cuffs and red coat facings was later introduced. The hunting shirt is lightweight and very large but serves well when you stand in the hot summer sun. The regimental coat is made of wool and uses British blue coloring and other British and Indian dyes for the wool, making it warmer and yet still free and open to movement. We don’t have one of these yet but we hope to obtain or make one or two someday. Below are a few photos of Dad testing his sewing skills by making a new linen Haversack.
The shoes are a fun little aspect of the reenactment since they feel uncomfortable and can hurt if you walk too far in them without getting used to the feel of them and break them in. Luckily we don’t have to march 20 miles in one day! Though they can be a curse to your feet they look very cool and make you feel like you are really livin' the dream! Dad has acquired a pair and we are considering options for me but trying to find reasonably priced shoes are hard when you have a growing teenager.
In any case, in early May we expect to be encamped at a couple of historic sites, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellows wreathed in smoke from our musketry, and in the evenings gathered around the campfire singing songs and eating some sort of salt pork or beef.
We’ve done a little training, but this will be the first big event. We are excited . . . HUZZA!
For those of you interested in learning more about the First Virginia, check out its website or "like" it on Facebook if you want to keep track of what the group is up to:
Website: http://1varegiment.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1varegiment/timeline
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