~July 4, 2020~
Since all "official" 4th of July reenactments have been cancelled due to covid-19, I thought I would post a sort of "best of" my 4th of July celebrations. In a time when so many only tend to concentrate on the negative, we who have taken part in these Independence Day reenactments try to show our history in a more positive and celebratory manner; we try to promote the good about our country's past rather than only stick with the bad, which can be found everywhere else. And contrary to what the media perpetrates, there is plenty of good to be found.
So I suppose this posting is about patriotism and how we, as an ever-growing group of living historians, help to bring America's 18th century past to life on this Independence Day holiday.
So I suppose this posting is about patriotism and how we, as an ever-growing group of living historians, help to bring America's 18th century past to life on this Independence Day holiday.
 |
| 2018 ...these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States... |
Every year since 2010 I have spent my 4th of July's at historic Greenfield Village while wearing period clothing. For the first few years I wore my 1860s attire, but, since 2014, I changed over to the fashions of the 1770s. And I never fail to have at least one other reenactor come along with me - many times a half dozen or more will join in the celebratory fun.
And this colonial era which we will concentrate on today:, beginning with:
2014
 |
| 2014 My second time out in public wearing my colonial clothing. It was my wife's first time - that's her in the center in blue. We are standing in front of the replicated Pennsylvania State House, which here in Dearborn, Michigan is the entranceway to the Henry Ford Museum. |
 |
| 2014 Here are a few friends who came along to celebrate the 4th of July with Patty and I. |
 |
| 2014 As we made our way to the colonial section near the far end of the Village, the ladies wanted to stop and check out the garden outside Doc Howard's office. |
From Doc Howard's we moved to the Cotswold Cottage area:
 |
| 2014 My wife loved the many differing fragrances of the Cotswold flowers. |
It must be remembered that we are not technically reenacting while we are at Greenfield Village on the 4th of July; we just show up on our own accord and kinda become our own historical entity.
So, why do we do this?
Well, there is something very special about dressing in period clothing that simply adds to the experience when visiting an open-air museum, especially while celebrating a historical holiday.
And, to be honest, we just enjoy it immensely.
 |
| 2014 As a living historian, I remember the very first time I stepped inside a Victorian home while wearing my 1860's clothing - that magical feeling of "I belong" just overcame me, and it was a similar feeling that engulfed me upon entering the Daggett Home while wearing 18th century clothing. It is a feeling like no other...almost spooky, but in a good way. |
 |
| 2014 However, this was not the flag that flew during the time of the Declaration of Independence. That was the Grand Union flag - you'll see that one further down in this posting. |
Luckily, we were able to take around a dozen pictures before visitors came.
The following are some of the best:
 |
| 2014 The ladies, working together, sewed quickly and honestly, creating a banner that general George Washington was sure to approve. |
 |
| 2014 The surrounding atmosphere of the colonial Daggett house truly made for wonderful photo opportunities. The natural lighting was perfect...and real - no electrical lights or camera flashes were used. |
 |
| 2014 I was grateful the ladies were willing to pose for the recreation, though Mrs. Ross was in a more well-to-do home than depicted here, from what I understand. |
 |
| 2014 I have to admit, it was a very special moment to have them posing in this way. |
 |
| 2014
Here it is!
The finished flag, ready to be presented to General Washington!
The ladies did a fine job, don't you think?
|
 |
| 2014 Before leaving Daggett, we took a group photo. It is unfortunate that two who were here on this day in 2014 are no longer with us. Husband and wife Ross & Jeri Grover (far right in this picture) have passed on since, and their loss is sorely felt. |
 |
| Our day ended by dining at the Eagle Tavern. That's Ross & Jeri in the back on the right. |
Though we generally stay far from the Village visitors, I know we made a lot of them very happy, for many made kind comments to us about the way we were dressed. They enjoyed seeing "colonials" on the 4th of July holiday. There were some who were from foreign countries and could barely speak English, so when they beckoned us to stop for pictures, we happily, though hesitantly, obliged. We did let them know we were not employees but, rather, visitors ourselves...just wearing the fashions from long ago. They were just so excited to see us and have their picture taken with us. One said to me (in very broken English), "You look like American history!" When another family (from India, I believe) posed with us, I put my tricorn hat on a young boy who then grinned ear to ear, as did his parents. They loved it! That right there really made it all worthwhile for us. And we helped make their day as well, I'm sure.
Let's now head to Independence Day 2015, where we had some of the same and a few different folks join me in this holiday excursion:
 |
| 2015 Patty enjoys spinning wool into yarn. Many times she will do the entire process, from raw wool directly sheared off the sheep to cleaning to skirting to washing to carding to spinning to crocheting or knitting... ...the whole she-bang! |
 |
| 2015 And because of this my wife has a grown affection for sheep. |
 |
| 2015 It was about this time that I was toying with the idea of being a Paul Revere interpreter, so what better place (around here) to pose for a pictures than at the tinsmith shop, since there are no silversmith shops around our area. |
 |
| 2015 Of course we had to go back to the Daggett house. It is such a wonderful example of a New England saltbox/breakback house - also sometimes called a lean-to. In this picture we have three former Greenfield Village presenters, and each one used to work inside the Daggett House. |
 |
| 2015
No village would be complete without a gristmill. This one
behind me, the Loranger Mill, was built in 1832. Though it was built 50 years after the time we are portraying, the style of the building is very similar to those built in the 18th century.
Works for me!
|
 |
| 2015 A tavern was where the locals got their information from the travelers passing through. The men would carry on with drinking, discussions, and debates |
 |
| 2015 Another posed picture, this time in front of the Eagle Tavern. There were a few others with us, but they went to a different place to eat. |
There were five of us that attended in 2016, and we were like a hundred year time-line, from 1776 to the 1876: three of us were from the Revolutionary War period and two from the Civil War era (1860s).
I could feel the spirit (or should I say "spirits") of the past with me especially in this year of 2016, for only a few days earlier my family and I had returned from Colonial Williamsburg: The Revolutionary City - the most amazing vacation ever (yes, I wore my period clothing the entire time I was there, by the way)!
Talk about American historical immersion!
Welcome 4th of July 2016!
 |
| 2016 A tale of two time periods |
 |
| 2016 Meg and Rae in the kitchen garden of Daggett - look how well the plants are doing...and it's only early July! |
 |
| 2016 Meg and Rae at Cotswold. The Cotswold Cottage was built right around 1620 - the same year the puritan pilgrims sailed over the Atlantic Ocean to what is now Massachusetts. |
 |
| 2016 The five of us made sure to visit the Plympton House, whose inhabitants in 1775 played a part in the beginnings of the Revolutionary War. |
 |
| 2016 Upon learning the deeper history of the Plympton House, I can no longer just pass it by. I stop and visit each time I am at the Village. |
 |
| 2016 The Giddings House - another with roots in the Revolutionary War. |
 |
| 2016 A tavern, an ordinary, a publick house, an inn - these stops along the road were known well by all four names. Ordinary is not used today, as far as I am aware, though publick house is in its shortened "pub" form. |
 |
| 2016 While inside the Eagle Tavern I created a little sort of American Patriot vignette. |
 |
| 2016 Kevin found the McGuffey Cabin more to his liking. |
 |
| 2016 I love this picture: Only 100 years separates us. |
 |
| 2016 I was pretty hot upon arriving to my 21st century home, so it was time to air out my clothing. |
And now we'll move up another year:
On the morning of the 4th in 2017, three of us - only three this year - met bright and early at Greenfield Village. The bright sunshine was in its summer glory; the sun always seems to shine on the 4th of July, and we knew the day was going to be something special.
In fact, we had more celebratory plans after we left Greenfield Village.
 |
| 2017 In front of the Giddings House. Both Susan and Rae are members of the living history group I formed, Citizens of the American Colonies. |
 |
| 2017 Susan and Rae head above stairs to the see the 18th century bedchambers. |
 |
| 2017 There's my favorite house inside Greenfield Village! You know it as the Daggett House. I call it "home." lol |
 |
| 2017 Although we are dressed pretty much from the same era, Rae and I seem to be more of a middling class rather than farmers. Perhaps we are there for some summer vegetables. |
 |
| 2017 Rae, Susan, and I visiting our 'country cousins.' |
So we did.
And she held to her promise!
And Bob Stark (aka Benjamin Franklin) also showed.
 |
| 2017 Our party of three grew to a party of five while at Mill Race Village. |
 |
| 2017 While inside the Cady Inn, Dr. Franklin and I discussed the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, known as the John Dunlap broadside. Dunlap spent much of the night of July 4 working feverishly in setting the type and running off the broadside sheets to be delivered and read aloud to the public the following day. |
 |
| 2017
It would have been a rare sight to see a lone woman inside of a
tavern unless she was the tavern keep's wife, daughter, or a server.
However, women who traveled in groups, such as sisters, may
not have had any other place to stay other than an inn, therefore the scene here would not have been uncommon. |
 |
| 2017 I spoke to people not only as Paul Revere, but also as regular old Colonial Ken - citizen. Of course, it helps to be recognized as the person you are pertaining to be, in the way Bob Stark eerily has the features of Benjamin Franklin, which was immediately noticed by adults and children alike. |
 |
| 2017
One of the things I will usually do when I go out in period
clothing is to bring a small accessory or two; it seems to complete the scene for visitors.
On this Independence Day I brought my "Betsy Ross" flag along.
The cool thing about this flag is it's not made of nylon, which is typical for most flags made these days. Instead, it is made of cotton, and this gives it a bit more of an authentic look and feel.
I explained a bit about the history of this flag and discussion
ensued on the controversy on whether or not the Widow Ross actually made the original.
With all I've read, which is quite a bit, I believe she did, but
there's no proof either way. |
 |
| 2017
As we strolled up and down the lane we were greeted by quite a
few modern visitors. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a number of folks who were new to our country: I met some from Asia and, for my first time ever, I met a family from the Congo! All seemed to be very excited about America's 241st birthday celebration and were enjoying sharing in our - and their - national pride.
How very cool!
|
What I wrote in 2018 still stands here in 2020:
There is something to be said about reenacting the colonial past...especially on the 4th of July - Independence Day.
Yes, even during the political turmoil of our modern day, I am patriotic and believe in our great nation. And I love what this holiday stands for, with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it, including the fireworks, the red, white, and blue everywhere I look, the American flags flying in front of houses...yes, I love it all.
And the history...obviously, the history.
One thing that doing living history has taught me over the years is to learn to appreciate just what it is we are celebrating in this country during our patriotic holidays.
We'll begin 2018 with a little history lesson:
 |
| 2018 Being that we are representing the 1770s, standing near a covered bridge just is not historically accurate. It is to my understanding that erecting covered bridges in America didn't occur until early in the 19th century. The first known covered bridge constructed in the United States was the Permanent Bridge, completed in 1805 to span the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. I didn't know this until recently. Don't you just love research? |
 |
| 2018
An interesting fact about Samuel Daggett that I learned while doing my continuous research is that he paid for someone named Jacob Fox to take his son Isaiah's place in military duty during the Revolutionary War so that his own young 17-year-old offspring could stay home and help tend the farm. The town of Coventry, Connecticut sent 116 men to Lexington at the start of the war. The community also sent clothing and supplies to aid the war effort.
Oh! If these walls could talk!
|
 |
| 2018 I appreciate the presenters at the Village, for we exchange ideas and information, teaching each other. I never cease to learn something with each visit to the Daggett Farm. |
Like the previous year, our next stop in celebrating our Nation's birth was Historic Mill Race Village. However, 2018 was going to be different for me; my Citizens of the American Colonies group was, for the first time since forming in 2016, formally invited as living historians to help pay tribute to the founders of our great country!
Now, I have to tell you, after building this Independence Day event up for a few weeks on our Facebook page, I was so very excited and proud at how many members showed up - especially the numerous first-timers!
 |
| 2018 Quite a change from 2017, eh? We, more or less, sort of took over the 4th of July at Mill Race. Well, we're colonials...what would you expect? |
 |
| 2018 It was another hot day in Michigan - mid-90s with a blazing sun. Being near the ice blocks inside the Cady Inn kept us a mite cooler. (I'm talking air-conditioning here!) |
 |
| 2018 Lynn portrayed Betsy Ross. As she did she told the story from historic sources of the first U.S. flag. |
 |
| General Washington inspects the flag to ensure it's as he intended. |
 |
| 2018 Benjamin Franklin read the Declaration of Independence. I often wonder how many people have actually read this most important document? |
 |
| 2018
Benjamin Franklin was much loved and respected,
even in his own time, especially in France where
he was treated like what we would call a rock star.
And yet he was popular here at home as well.
The ladies spot Dr. Franklin!
|
 |
| 2018 Members of the 1st Pennsylvania, including my son Robbie, joined in the merriment |
 |
| 2018 It was very kind of the good folks at Mill Race to not only allow Citizens of the American Colonies use of the Cady Inn, which was originally built around 1835 (according to the Mill Race guide book), but to advertise us as well! As far as the age of the Cady...I know that 1835 is nearly 60 years into the future for the time we represent, but most inns/taverns from the 19th century can easily pass for a publick house of the 18th century, as you can see in the photos here. |
Let's now head into 2019, where we did not have the time to split between Greenfield Village and Mill Race Village, for we became the highlight of the Mill Race Village's celebration, and it just keeps getting bigger and better. If you take a quick count of the reenactors in the picture below, you will find 25 of us in the group. And that's not counting the dozen or so who did not make it down for the group picture.
Not bad, eh?
 |
| 2019 This was one proud moment for me, having so many of my colonial/RevWar friends join me on this 4th of July Holiday. |
 |
| 2019 And those who did not take part in the group picture above: Members of the British 49th Regiment of Foote portraying members of the Continental Army. |
 |
| 2019
Mill Race is actually a Victorian village, but I believe we did a
fine job converting it into an east coast town from the good old colony days for this Independence Day.
This could be a lane in any 1776 town or village of
America...from colony to state...this is part of what we hoped to recreate. |
 |
| 2019 Four of the five ladies here "came over" from Civil War reenacting. |
 |
| 2019
Ken, there, on the right, has been reenacting since
the 1960s and has been in numerous movies
including the great "Last of the Mohicans" with
Daniel Day-Lewis.
|
 | |
| 2019
As you can see, it did not take very long for the guests to come
a-visiting and a-celebrating the Independence Day holiday. |
 |
| 2019 Throughout Mill Race Village, living historians could be found, gathered in small groups, speaking amongst themselves or with the interested patrons. |
 |
| 2019 Lynn portrayed Betsy Ross last year and returned again this year, giving, once again, a history lesson of the most famous banner. |
 |
2019
"I hear the Patriots are planning to declare independence!
Oh, I am not certain how that should be for us."
|
For most of my life I've celebrated the 4th of July up north at our family cottage, with fireworks, good food, bonfires at night, and going to the beach. It was absolutely wonderful. As a young lad in my teen years, the Bicentennial celebrations celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence were in full swing; it seemed from the early 1970s through the end of 1976, wherever you turned there was something being written about our colonial roots and the Revolutionary War, all the while concentrating on the year 1776.
And here I am, nearly 50 years later, and not only am I still celebrating Independence Day as vigorously as ever, but living it!
 |
| 2019 Living the 1776 dream... |
 |
| 2019 And I'm doing it with a little help from my friends. |
 |
| 2019 One of the personal special moments for me was introducing the great Benjamin Franklin to read the Declaration of Independence. With all of the vim and vigor I could muster, I gave a brief history of the writing of the document before the introduction. |
And then it was Franklin's turn to speak:
 |
| 2019 This was his third year in a row reading the Declaration of Independence at Mill Race... |
 |
| 2019 ...and with each year the crowd grows larger and larger. I was told by more than a few that Dr. Franklin's reading of the Declaration is the highlight of their day, and they specifically return because of it. |
 |
| 2019
Something happens as Dr. Franklin reads from the 1300
word broadside - - after the first few lines he begins to roll it up...yet continues to say the words that were written upon it!
He has it memorized!
|
And, just as what occurred when the Declaration was read for the first time nearly two and a half centuries earlier...
From Abigail Adams, July 21, 1776 in Boston:
"When Col Crafts read from the Belcona of the State House the Proclamation, great attention was given to every word. As soon as he ended, the cry from the Belcona, was God save our American States and then 3 cheers which rended the air. The Bells rang the privateers fired the forts and Batteries, the cannon were discharged the platoons followed and every face appeared joyfull. Mr. Bowdoin then gave a Sentiment, Stability and perpetuity to American independence."
 |
| 2019 ...muskets were fired...and the church and school bells were rung... |
"You will see by this post that the river is passed, and the bridge cut away. The Declaration was yesterday published and proclaimed from that awful stage in the State-house yard...(to) a great crowd of people. Three cheers rended the welkin. The battalions paraded on the Commons, and gave us the feu de joie (bonfire), notwithstanding the scarcity of powder. The bells rang all day and almost all night. Even the chimers chimed away. The election for the city was carried on, amidst all this flurry, with the utmost decency and order."
 |
| 2019
~Three cheers for:
The new United States of America,
for Benjamin Franklin,
for Thomas Jefferson,
for George Washington,
for John Adams ~
all came from the crowd, whether dressed in period attire or in
modern clothes, helping to stir patriotism to all. |
And then the rains came...
 |
| 2019 Just one hour left of our 4th of July celebration and a downpour chased a good majority of the visitors away. |
 |
| 2019
And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain...
No radio, tv, computer, phones (cell or otherwise). Just a good
opportunity to spend a rainy moment together inside with friends.
|
 |
| 2019 On our way back to the future, many of us stopped at the local Big Boy Restaurant for a bite to eat. Nothing like a burger, fries, and a Coke on Independence day! |
I have been told by some visitors that they felt as if they were actually in the presence of people from the past upon meeting all of us living historians, that we brought it all to life for them.
And that, my friend, is as cool and as good a compliment a living historian can receive. And I know, fellow reenactors, I'm not alone here, right?
Yeah, well, you have to admit, period clothing is pretty cool to wear.
With each passing year, our 4th of July celebration continues to grow and continues to improve, especially at Mill Race, but this year of 2020, unfortunately, due mainly to the fear of the coronavirus, it was cancelled, which is so very hard. You see, the 4th of July is like Christmas to me, and I felt like the wind was knocked out of me when I received word that our celebrations had been cancelled.
As an American Patriot and historian, the festivities at Mill Race Village and Greenfield Village is at the top of my list of what I look forward to the most during the reenacting season. And, with living history as my passion, it just won't be the same.
I certainly hope this celebration returns next year.
God willing...
Until next time, see you in time.
Many, many thanks to B&K Photography for use of some of their photos.
Information about America's earliest covered bridge, click HERE
To read more on the subject:
With Liberty and Justice For All: The Fight for Independence at the Henry Ford Museum
An amazing collection of original Revolutionary War artifacts on display for all the world to see, telling the story of America's fight for Independence. An original Stamp Act notification. A letter written by Benedict Arnold. George Washington's camp bed, a coffee pot made by Paul Revere, a writing desk that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson...yeah...this is some great stuff here!
Unsung Patriots: The Printing of the Declaration of Independence
There is so much more to this most important American document, from the idea to composing to printing - who is going to print this? - to delivery...oh yeah, there is a lot more history to our Declaration than I ever realized!
Declaring Independence: The Spirits of '76
Something very special happened almost 250 years ago, but is that story being promoted?
Come on a time-travel visit to colonial America during that hot summer of 1776 and learn, first hand, of the accounts on how we were making a new and independent nation.
The Revolutionary Greenfield Village
Many people who visit this historic open-air museum do not know that they have a few houses that have direct ties to America's Revolutionary War, and that's what this posting is about; the roles of the average person of 1776.
~ ~ ~
No comments:
Post a Comment