Commemorating George Washington - - and Presenting as Paul Revere

The previous opportunity I had to dress in my period clothing was at our winter cabin excursion in late January.  That seemed like such a long time ago,  even though it was only a few weeks earlier.  But time tends to move at a different pace during certain times of the year.

Well,  late February and early March brought a few more chances to get dressed and travel back in time.

As it should still be~

As the title of this post hints,  a few of us gathered together to commemorate the 292nd anniversary of the birth of The Father of Our Country,  George Washington.

In previous celebrations for this largest of the Founders,  we've held the party at the old  (1872)  Eastpointe school house.  However,  the school house has been closed for the winter months this year so I offered up my  "Greenfield Village Room"  in my own house to hold the assembly.  Tony Gerring is the person who puts this all together,  and though he initially had reservations,  for he's not ever seen my period room before,  once he came by he knew it would serve this purpose well.  In fact,  he gave me a number of compliments on how this room closely resembles a room from the 18th century.

I take that as a very high compliment.

I appreciate it.

As my story goes,  it was when I was eyeing the replicated historic kitchens inside the Henry Ford Museum when I came up with the idea of doing my own sort of diorama.

I think it turned out fairly well:

A life-size diorama based mainly on the Daggett great hall.

So,  let's start this off with a number of photos taken that day and evening:

Come gather  'round people wherever you roam...

the present now will later be past~

Our annual group shot - - - - - candle lit 

~My favorite photo of the night!

"Washington's Birthday"  became an official holiday in 1885,  when President Chester Arthur signed a bill stating so.  Meanwhile,  there was President Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12,  which never became a federal holiday but was celebrated as a legal holiday in many states outside the old Confederacy.

Today,  we celebrate Washington’s Birthday on the third Monday of February each year—the result of the 1968 law mandating that a number of federal holidays occur on Mondays.

However,  our  celebration took place on Saturday,  February 24!

Tony Gerring - the Founder of the Feast!
Notice the shadow portraits on the wall behind:
George Washington
Martha Washington
And one I had made of myself years ago
when I was in Colonial Williamsburg.

George Washington was actually born in Virginia on February 11,  1731,  according to the then-used Julian calendar.  In 1752,  however,  Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar,  which moved Washington's birthday a year and 11 days to February 22, 1732.

A year and 11 days??

But,  how can that be?

New Year's Day had been celebrated on March 25 under the Julian calendar in Great Britain and its colonies,  but with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752,  New Year's Day was now observed on January 1.  When New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25th,  March 24 of one year was followed by March 25 of the following year.  When the Gregorian calendar reform changed New Year's Day from March 25 to January 1,  the year of George Washington's birth,  because it took place in February,  changed from 1731 to 1732.  In the Julian Calendar his birth date is Feb 11,  1731,  and in the Gregorian Calendar it is Feb 22,  1732.   Double dating was used in Great Britain and its colonies including America to clarify dates occurring between January 1st and March 24th on the years between 1582,  the date of the original introduction of the Gregorian calendar,  and 1752,  when Great Britain adopted the calendar.

Did you get all that?

Jenny & Amy - - 

George was the oldest son of Augustine and Mary  (Ball).  His birthplace is located in Westmoreland County,  Virginia,  at Popes Creek Plantation  (also known as Wakefield),  with the plantation house,  which was probably a simple one,  built by his father,  Augustine Washington,  in the 1720s.  Augustine,  with his wife  (and George's mother,  Mary Ball)  controlled a plantation of 1300 acres with several outbuildings and twenty to twenty-five slaves from this home.

Ken Roberts & Greg - - - 

The family moved away from Popes Creek when George was only three.

It is unfortunate that the house was destroyed by fire about sixty years later,  in 1779.  Later,  Washington's step-grandson,  George Washington Parke Custis,  placed a stone marker on the site in 1815 or 1816 commemorating his grandfather's birthplace,  explaining,  

"Here On the 11th of February,  1732,  Washington Was Born."

Debbie & Mark - - - 

Yet despite the holiday often being referred to as  “Presidents’  Day”  in practice,  the official federal holiday is actually still  “Washington’s Birthday.”  When George Washington himself was alive,  people honored the occasion with balls and banquets.  The celebration continued after his death as a way to remember what America’s first president did for the Nation.

A toast!

Washington's Birthday has a history as old as our country.  It was celebrated publicly for the first time in the late 18th century,  while George Washington was still president.

Also,  a toast to Tony from his father  (Norm,  who could not take part due to illness)  on the 50th year of the 1st Pennsylvania reenacting group!

I am very glad that there are those keeping the tradition alive in celebrating our 1st President's birth.  We need to never forget who our founders were and celebrate all the good they did in developing our nation.

Nor should we forget the not-so-good.

Put it all  in a mixing bowl and tell the whole story.

Jennifer Long - - - 

I enjoyed getting the candles lit as the sun went down.  It gave strong colonial-period atmosphere.

Ken & Greg - - 

And it is always good to have friends over - friends who enjoy the past in the same manner as myself.

I do very much enjoy when I can host a period gathering such as this!

We added this room onto our home because we wanted to sort of pay homage to Greenfield Village.  Little did I know then that we would also be paying homage to the founders of the past,  and the past itself!

My wife snapped this shot of me after everyone left.

A true Patriot~
I may not have agreed with everything he did  (Jay Treaty & Whiskey Rebellion),
he is still my favorite president.

The sign says it all~

Only a week after,  another opportunity arose to get back into my period colonial clothing,  this time for the Paint Creek Folklore Society out of Rochester  (not too far north of Detroit).  The Paint Creel Folklore Society are a wonderful group of musicians who play all kinds of stringed instruments,  from the hammered dulcimer to the guitar to the fiddle and banjo and even the piano.  Larissa & I had presented our Colonial Farm Life talk about six or seven years before to the same group in the same area,  and they remembered that we also portrayed ourselves as Sybil Ludington and Paul Revere,  plus the addition of Benjamin Franklin  (Bob Stark).

It had been about a year since doing this Patriots presentation,  and it certainly felt good to be with Larissa and Bob in this capacity once again.

It felt good,  too,  that we explained that we are at the beginning of America's 250th  (more on that shortly)~

Your honorable founding generation patriots:
Paul Revere,  Sybil Ludington,  and Ben Franklin.

Bob,  on the right,  actually looks the part - he truly does have a resemblance to Benjamin Franklin.  So much,  in fact,  that afterward,  as he exited his auto,  a woman excitedly exclaimed,  "You're Ben Franklin!"

Neither Larissa or I look like who we portray.  But I suppose it is how we portray our counterparts that counts.  And we try to do Revere and Ludington justice.

The three of us enjoy  "working"  together - in fact,  just one week later,  we were at it again.  But more on that in a future post.

I got tripped up only once when I was asked about the Penobscot Expedition.  

The Penobscot Expedition:  A Terrible Day for the Patriots

The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.  Nineteen warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July 19,  1779,  for the upper Penobscot Bay in the District of Maine carrying an expeditionary force of more than 1,000 American colonial marines  (not to be confused with the Continental Marines)  and militiamen.  Also included was a 100-man artillery detachment under the command of Lt.  Colonel Paul Revere.

Now,  I must admit that I have studied very little on this,  for most people are more interested in the famous ride of 1775 than this expedition.  However,  on this day - for my first time - I was asked about it.  It was not the best of times for Paul Revere:

It was supposed to be a routine ousting of a small British fleet that had dug in on the shore of Penobscot Bay,  in what eventually would become Maine.

It turned out to be anything but.

The story is worthy of a separate blog post.  In fact,  books have been written about it.

"The disasterous result was one of the worst naval defeats in this country’s history,  and an ignominious moment in the life of one of the Revolution’s most legendary figures—Paul Revere."

As a result of the debacle,  Commodore Saltonstall was court-martialed for cowardice,  found guilty,  and cashiered out of the service.  The humiliation and confusion that followed the terrible defeat gave rise to old hatreds and resulted in charges being brought against Revere by Captain Thomas Jennes Carnes  (commander of the Marines on one of the vessels of the fleet)  for disobedience,  unsoldierlike behavior,  and cowardice.  Revere was relieved of his command at Castle Island in September,  and ordered to his home in Boston until the charges could be investigated.

Paul Revere was determined to clear his name,  and six times petitioned for a court-martial over the next two- and-a-half years.  Finally,  in February 1782,  Revere was given a trial.  In the time he had waited,  the charges against him had boiled down to two: 

refusal to deliver a boat upon the order of General Jeremiah Wadsworth  (second- in-command of the land forces) 

and 

leaving the Penobscot River without orders from his commanding officer. 

Twelve captains and one general considered the charges,  found them to be with little foundation,  and directed that both charges be dropped and Paul Revere  “be acquitted with equal Honor as the other Officers in the same Expedition.”

So now you know.

And now I know to bring along the information - - learn as you go,  right?

We stopped at the local Wendy's to grab a bite and to embarrass Larissa.
It worked!  lolol

After our Wendy's meal,  I had to skeedaddle  (a Civil War word,  by the way)  across town to Plymouth  (west of Detroit)  for yet another presentation,  this time I was taking part in the Plymouth Historical Museum's  "A Night At The Museum"  event.  

This is where  "children can experience a birthday party they will never forget.  Plymouth Historical Museum staff,  inspired by the movies of the same name,  created this magical evening,  where children discover that the characters within the Museum come alive after hours.

The Museum is filled with reenactors silently waiting for the kids to bring them to life.  Kids could discover a Roman soldier dressed in full battle gear or Civil War soldiers preparing for war,  or women wearing big hoop skirts and fancy dresses. 

Anyone can be discovered at the Museum,  and children will enjoy the living history.  Each character chats with the kids about a slice of history so children might learn a thing or two while they are having fun at the party."

 A Night at the Museum parties are always great fun to do,  especially during this usually dreary cold time of year.

As per usual for me,  on this latest  "Night"  party,  I portrayed Paul Revere,  just as I have previously.  As Paul Revere,  I began my presentation by a-waking and shouting,  "TO ARMS!  TO ARMS!  THE REGULARS ARE COMING OUT!!  THE REGULARS ARE ON THE MARCH!!"  as if I was snatched right out of my midnight ride of April 18,  1775 and brought to March 2,  2024,  which is kind of supposed to be what happens.  

I always enjoy talking history to the young folk.

I then began to speak about the major highlights of  "my life"  as if I actually was Mr. Revere - just a real quickie overview,  enough to cover five minutes or so.  And when you are speaking to a group of 10 to 12 year olds,  it can be difficult to reign them in.  But as one who spent years in education,  I had little problem in doing so  (and neither did the other characters that evening).

There was a young lady there who knew her stuff in American History,  and I made
sure to  "high five"  her and gave kudos to her parents.

And there were other living historians portraying folks in history at the museum on this night - we were a mish-mosh of American history time-line:

Franklin D.  Roosevelt was there.

Thomas Edison was there as well.

Typhoid Mary had a few things to say...

And then there was an 1860s woman in a bathing costume  (as they were known then)

We took a group photo with all the kids.

And then just us  "mannequins"  who came to life after hours.

Yours truly~

I really enjoy portraying my childhood hero,  Paul Revere,  and love the idea of sharing some of our founding patriot history to people,  especially kids.  

As I mentioned to the Paint Creek Folklore Society,  we are at the beginning of the 250th celebration of  the Revolutionary War - of the 13  United Colonies becoming  "Free and Independent States;  that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,  and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain,  is and ought to be totally dissolved;  and that as Free and Independent States,  they have full Power to levy War,  conclude Peace,  contract Alliances,  establish Commerce,  and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."   (I certainly hope you know where this came from!)

And by celebrating and commemorating the Semiquincentennial  (America's 250th)  in the manner that we've been doing - as you've read here in this week's post - it is my hope I can instill a bit of patriotism,  which seems to be woefully lacking,  back to the citizens of the United States...especially to the youth.

The United States has a web site  (America 250),  as does my State of Michigan  (America 250 Michigan),  and I am working to partner up to get the word out about the many events honoring our country's past that I am either directly involved in  (Michigan's version of Patriot Day),  or events that I participate in  (a few links at the bottom of this post showing events from 2023).

I realize the Semiquincentennial will not be extreme as the Bicentennial Celebration was 50 years ago,  but we can make the best go at it as we can.  I was only 15 years old during the Bicentennial of 1976,  so I just watched whatever events I could from the sidelines.  This time,  I plan to take part in as many events as I can.

Until next time,  see you in time.

Many thanks to Jennifer Long and Marty Kerstens for allowing me to use a few of their pictures to include with my own.

To read about events from 2023,  please click the following links:

Colonial Frankenmuth

Colonial Kensington

River of Time time-line

Vermillion Creek

Daily life in the springtime

Daily life in the Fall

Also,  you might enjoy my tributes to America's Bicentennial  (with loads of photos):

Bicentennial part one

Bicentennial part two

And then there are our own 4th of July/Independence Day celebrations,  such as this one from 2023.

..............