Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
-
Upload
richard-morchoe -
Category
Documents
-
view
222 -
download
0
Transcript of Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
-
7/27/2019 Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
1/4
Prsrt.Std
U.S.Postage
PAID
Worcester,MA
PermitNo.2
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
STURBRIDGETIMES
THE
MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER, 2011
-
7/27/2019 Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
2/4
16 THECHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGECOUNTRY LIVINGTHE STURBRIDGETIMESMAGAZINE
REBELS&REDCOATS
SQUAREOFFATOSVByRichardMurphy
Among the Kings Rangers were: Scott Halpin, Dave DeManbey, Dave Granton, Patrick Lynch and Michael Alcock.
2011 SturbridgeTimes photos by Richard Murphy
How does it feel to be a traitor?
Such a question implies an insult and challenge.
Not so at Redcoats & Rebels. The young man, John
McGough, who received the inquiry had heard it be-
fore and was ready to answer with grace and confi-
dence. He was part of a Revolutionary War militia
unit with a difference. The young man was fighting
for King George of England and he made no apolo-
gies. Also, he was an American.
His reply to the challenge was that he was not be-
traying his country. Rather it was the rebels. John
was loyal to the rightful sovereign. From a purely le-
galistic point of view, he had an argument. At what
point does a nation have a right to separate itself from
-
7/27/2019 Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
3/4
17THECHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGECOUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGETIMESMAGAZINE
Among the Eames Rangers were: Robert LeBlanc from S.
Portland, ME and Scott Boissoneau from Hillsborough, NH.
the government they live under? Our founding doc-
ument, The Declaration of Independence, laid out
an answer. It was not to everyones taste as there were
as many who maintained His Majestys cause as those
who wished to depose his rule.
Redcoats & Rebels, held at Old Sturbridge Village
in early August, is the largest military re-enactment in
New England. This is in itself surprising as there is
great passion in this country for Civil War re-enact-ment. Then again, we do pride ourselves on being
the Cradle of Liberty.
There was no dearth of rebels on that Saturday and
Sunday, but the other side was represented by as
many who thought as our young man did. The Loy-
alists were on the march. They were forming up to get
ready to fight. Most were in red, but some of the
Kings men were in other hues or not even in uni-
form.One group, The Kings Rangers were in green.
Marching in ranks by the Common, they halted and
wheeled about. Facing us moderns across more than
two and a quarter centuries, one of the rangers told
us what he was doing in history. Sgt. Rickley said
with a grin, Were from the government and were
here to help you. The smile on his face after we
laughed told us he had gotten the desired response.
Nice little bit of humor, but the show, or war must
go on. The crowd followed the British units to the
Freeman Farm exhibit where a battle, or more pre-
cisely, a tactical demonstration would take place.
18th Century warfare as portrayed, seemed to re-
semble the eras dance, the minuet. There were good
reasons for that. As everyone fought in massed units,
it wasnt difficult to see which side had the larger
force at any given point. Unless there was an obvious
tactical advantage, the weaker force knew it wiser to
give way.
Of course, if the cannons were firing live shot, a
few gaping holes in enemy ranks would have changed
everything. The attendees were lucky to have been
spared that. Also, there were no bayonet charges. A
full melee where troops stabbed each other would not
do. After all, this is really the 21st Century and the
paperwork after such gore would have been horren-
dous.
Yet, there were l ingering questions. Fortunately,
there was a man who had the answers. Major Steven
Leet was resplendent in his red uniform. A layman
would not have been able to tell, but he was a Royal
Continued on page 23
-
7/27/2019 Rebels & Recoats at Old Sturbridge Village
4/4
23THECHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGECOUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGETIMESMAGAZINE
Engineer and vital to the war effort. There were only
53 of them in the British forces in America.
Major Leet may not have been ready for the first
question, but he rose to the occasion. In the greatest
battle ever fought in Massachusetts, Bunker Hill, The
British were mowed down when the rebels let them
come close enough to see the whites of their eyes before
firing. Major Leet was asked if his army would have
been better off to wear sunglasses that day? He replied,
At least baseball caps with long visors to shade the
eyes might have helped.
There were more questions for the Major. As any-
one who has had infantry training knows, you dont
stand there and get shot. One gets as close to the
ground as possible. Why were the soldiers just stand-
ing up and being perfect targets. Maj. Leet had the an-
swer, It would be difficult to load a musket lying on
the ground. Also, the men stood and fired in blocks
due to the muskets inaccuracy. Its not as if you had
to work at getting shot, but we would have to wait to
the Civil War to get good at killing.
All through the park, there were men in uniform
who were informative about their roles and the war.
There were also women. One trio was asked, Are
you camp followers. That title implies some un-
savouriness. The ladies replied that they were the
legal wives and traveled with their husbands. The
camp followers were with the Brits. To be diplomatic,
the question was not pursued as such among the Eng-
lish.
There was so much knowledge to tap during Red-
coats and Rebels that one day was not near enough.
Ann Lindblad, Vice President of Marketing and Com-
munication at the Village, noted how the second visit
policy would allow both days for one admission. Still,one would have to hustle to take it all in. The amount
of knowledge on offer in the two days felt like the
equivalent of a masters degree in Revolutionary War
Studies.
Ann pointed out even apparently minor aspects of
wartime life are covered. There was a demonstration
of inoculation for smallpox. Plague going through a
camp could be the equivalent of defeat on the field of
battle.This was the ninth Redcoats & Rebels. Planning
for the tenth will start almost immediately. Even so,
the staff looks forward to it. Those who didnt get
enough can take heart. On September 10th The Vil-
lage will hold Drummers Call with fife and drum
units from all over New England and New York. Not
as big, but it should hold history buffs till next Au-
gust.
Continued from page 17
Redcoats and Rebels: largest military reenactment in New England
Even the minor aspects ofwartime life are reenacted.
There was a demonstrationof inoculationfor smallpox.