Passion for the Past: Colonial Frankenmuth (and a Little Information on the History of Reenacting)

We can't turn back time

(but) we can re-establish its occurrence

and turn time on its back...

~Orakhal

According to THIS page: "So far, what we can say with confidence is that travelling into the future is achievable, but travelling into the past is either wildly difficult or absolutely impossible."

HA!---They haven't met me...

==+==

In theory, it is possible for space-time to be folded like a piece of paper, allowing a tunnel to be punched through.

The day before I traveled to the Colonial Frankenmuth event, I was in 1864 at the Charlton Park Civil War reenactment (click HERE).

And then at Frankenmuth I was bouncing back & forth between two major 18th century American wars that are actually connected - the French & Indian War/Seven Years' War (1750s and early 1760s) and the Revolutionary War 1770s and early 1780s).

How are these two wars connected?
"The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution."

So Frankenmuth shows a little of both wars. It's the history lesson that counts here.

And there certainly were plenty of visitors in this tourist town of Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Unfortunately, I was having some trouble with my camera settings, and I had taken many photos that really hadn't turned out as I would have liked - not nearly as good as they normally turn out.

But fortunately, I discovered the problem before it was too, too late.

Unfortunately, a number of pictures were throw-a-ways.

Fortunately, many were able to be salvaged...some to a pretty fair extent, and others to a lesser degree.

Live and learn, right?

So here's the good and bad of it:

The day begins with a parade of soldiers and civilians.

They march to a sort of Village Green.

Terry Todish gives a historical lesson speech.

And then the troops and civilians march off to their respective camps.

As you can see, the setting was on "bleach mode" (lol).
I didn't notice it initially, but I changed it once I realized.
Here we have Loyalist Dr. Tripp.

Behind every good man...or, in this case, Mann...
Yes, here is Scott Mann being prepared for battle.

A true horseless carriage!
We were a-waiting the wagon master to hitch 'em up.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Guns from the 17th and 18th centuries on display.

Matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with their finger.

The problem with this type of musket was that it was highly unreliable and inaccurate – the gun might fail to fire, or even blow up, and even if it did fire the lack of rifling and the irregular shape of the musketball would mean hitting a specific target at a long range was very difficult.

The flintlock was first developed in the late 1600s, but the transition from matchlock to flintlock in European armies was gradual and uncertain. Matchlocks were still the primary weapon for foot soldiers in European armies until around 1720 because they were simple, inexpensive, and easy to find. However, the Dutch were the first major power to adopt the flintlock as their standard infantry weapon, issuing snaphances in the 1620s and flintlocks by 1640. The 17th century, even into the early 18th century, is probably the best time to consider the transition from matchlock to flintlock, at least in Europe.

Charlotte loved the flowers.

Here we have the camp of the 1st Pennsylvania

The 60th Royal Americans

Not feeling energetic?
A bit of bloodletting from Tom Bertrand should help!

It was a good-sized encampment, and included Voyageurs...

...and even a few Natives...
I do wish more Natives would come out, for there are stories to be told.

I see corn roasting, and carrots, cucumbers, broccoli...

My friends, Bob Stark and his daughter, Abby.
This is at their sutlery, The Salty Lantern.
Bob is a maker of pretty much anything wooden, including rope beds.

Looking at "The Salty Lantern" sutlery from the back.

Now, time for the battle reenactment:

As far as historical reenactment history, I searched Google, but typical for them, they tended to push sites that wanted to sell things, so I went to the Duck Duck Go search engine - mighty better!
This is what I learned:

Historical reenactments have been a part of human culture for centuries. Some examples of reenactments throughout history include:

~Roman Empire

Romans would recreate famous battles in their amphitheaters as public spectacles.

~Middle Ages

Tournaments would often reenact historical themes from Ancient Rome and other periods.

~17th century England

Military displays, mock battles, and reenactments became popular, with the first known reenactment taking place in London in 1638.

So when the Revolution began to be commemorated a century later, sometimes ‘sham battles’ - or pageants - were also held. Wildly popular in the early 1900s, they were planned more for dramatic effect than accuracy.

Today it is a different display altogether. Much time, effort, and money is invested for period-accurate clothing and accoutrements by most who participate:

All those many years ago, before I was reenacting, I recall the thrill of hearing the muskets and rifles going off, and seeing the smoke. To me, even back then, it was akin
to "hearing the past."
It's the same for me today.
It was a time when I thought the only reenacting was military. I am happy to say I was one of the earlier male civilian reenactors. Civilians back then were mostly females, at least in the Civil War world. Though there were a few male civilians, we were definitely a minority.

In September, 1778, the Continental Army was camped near Fredericksburg, NY. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dearborn of the 1st New Hampshire wrote, “Our men had a Gill of Rum Extra to Day on account of its being the annivercery of the Glorious victory Obtained over the British army at bemus Heights- & the Officers in General had a Meeting at Evning had a social Drink & gave several toasts suitable for the Occasion- & our men had a Grand sham fight.” This, was, perhaps, the first battle re-enactment in American history. Unfortunately there are no details of this ‘sham fight.’

I enjoy seeing the variety of military uniforms at the Frankenmuth event.
For years we were taught it was the Redcoats versus the Bluecoats, but because of these "general battle" reenactments, visitors can see history class got it wrong. There was much more to it.

That being said, you may ask why, then, at my Patriot's Day reenactment - the Battle of Lexington & Concord - do I only have Redcoats and Militia?

Because I am doing my best to depict a specific battle - an actual historical event is being pinpointed rather than an overview. Both types are important in teaching the general public history, contrary to what some may say.

In case you are not a reenactor and were wondering, yes, reenactors do use real guns, but they fire blank cartridges.

During the second Morristown encampment in New Jersey an even larger re-enactment was held by the army on May 29, 1780. There seems to have been nothing else like it, either before or since, during the conflict. Several participant’s accounts give good details, and unlike in many (actual) battle accounts, they all agree! Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar of Pennsylvania wrote of this dusty and hot day, “Several Manouvers perform’d this day in presence of the Honble Comitte of Congress, the firings with black (blank) cartridges well executed.”

Private Joseph Plumb Martin of the 8th Connecticut wrote, “About this time there were about 3,000 men ordered out for a particular field day, for the Prussian Gen Von Steuben to exercise his maneuvering … We marched off our regimental parades at dawn of day, and went 3 or 4 miles to Morristown, to a fine plain, where we performed a variety of military evolutions. We were furnished with a plenty of blank cartridges, had 8 or 10 field pieces, and made a great noise, if nothing more. About 1 or 2 o’clock we ceased, and were supplied with a gill of rum each. Having had nothing to eat since the night before, the liquor took violent hold . . .”

So what we do in our reenactments is as old as the battles themselves, in some cases.

And what great teaching opportunities!

Dr. Trippe helps a wounded soldier.
The addition of doctors only ups the game.

In 1802 a sham battle was fought at Bennington, Vermont to commemorate the American victory of 1777. What makes this and other early battle re-enactments noteworthy is that Revolutionary War veterans, revered and celebrated as living connections to the conflict, actually would have been on hand, much in the same manner as WWII soldiers are today available to those who reenact them.

A Queen's Ranger there on the right.

Today the journals and diaries and letters of those who lived during the various wars, as well as the pamphlets used by military leaders in those old days showing the tactics of the soldiers at the time, are used to help guide both soldier and civilian.

Keeping the tradition alive~

The reenacting hobby grew in popularity during the Civil War Centennial of the 1960s and Revolutionary War Bicentennial of the 1970s. Living history, or re-enactment, became integral parts of the commemorations and have only grown since then, though after a brief respite during the Covid years of 2020/2021, and now continue to grow larger each year, and being major aspects of many historic sites.

(Taken directly from THIS site)

The Colonial Frankenmuth event draws a pretty decent amount of reenactors from both the French & Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. And their battles, even though just depicting a general overview of battles, are well done and truly give the visitors a well-rounded view of 18th century war-time America.

Now, there's not nearly the amount of soldiers as there were
in actual battles, yet look at all the smoke. I can only imagine
thousands of men, all firing at the same time.

I counted 21 muskets here, all firing at the same time.
And what a BANG they made!
And look at all the smoke~

"The Revolution and the beliefs and ideals that came out of it are what hold us together and make us a united people. There is no American ethnicity so the Revolutionary beliefs in liberty and equality and constitutionalism are the adhesives that make us a nation."

Gordon S. Wood

At the top of this post I wrote how The Treaty of Paris ended the French & Indian War in 1763. Well, if you know your history, you should also know that twenty years later, the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the American Revolution between the United States and Great Britain.

Whether you are a historical novice or one who deeply engulfs it, I do hope you enjoyed this blog post, for it does represent this wonderful reenactment and the people who participated in it, and many thanks must go to the hosts: may Colonial Frankenmuth and all of our events continue to shine as we head into America's 250th!