My 1999 Introduction to the French & Indian War
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That is me at
Fort Ticonderoga June, 1999, at the French & Indian War Grand Encampment
in my first set of 18th century duds: a shift, petticoat,
and French bodice. And a very floppy cap (the cap needs some starch!!).
No shoes. All in all, I look pretty goofy.
You can't tell, but I'm wearing my brand new wampum bracelet from my friend,
Clabert Menard. (The French bodice, I learned later, was fine while
hanging out with Clabert because he was on the French side and we were
in the French camp.
But I have learned a lot about clothes and can't ever wear it when I'm on the British side.)
That's Clabert to the far right, before the big battle at Fort Ti. He's of French descent and is part Indian so he re-enacts as an Indian, fighting for the French. He also makes money on the side making by hand (believe it or not) 18th century fishing hooks and fishing kits. He also makes bracelets and belts out of real wampum, and many other items. His 18th century business is called Primitive Artisan, where "primitive" means nothing more than that he does not make modern products and he rarely uses modern tools and techniques. |
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| Just a couple of weeks later, in August, I went to the French & Indian War Grand Encampment at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. It was really cold up there, so I bought a new long-sleeved jacket and a matching "pocket". I wore my own shoes. I still froze. The good news is that there are sutlers selling clothes at all the events. The bad news is that this outfit makes me look like I put on a quick 20 pounds, which I swear I didn't. The front was supposed to be closed by straight pins (as they did back then) but I didn't have any, so I looked pretty sloppy. The glasses were OK, as they are of the right shape, if the wrong metal. The cap was still a bit floppy. |
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Then, in October, I finally took part in the real thing.
The real thing consisted of putting on a Ranger's uniform,
taking the field, and learning how to shoot a musket.
I borrowed a Revolutionary War Ranger's uniform from one of the first Rangers I had
met, Don Keleher. That's me in Don's uniform, and Don in his own F&I Ranger's uniform.
Don fights in James Rogers'
Company of Rogers' Rangers for the F&I events
and as the King's Rangers.
Don introduced me to Mike Fitzgerald, Major of Rogers' Rangers.
Major Mike suggested I wear my jeans and let the shirt hang out over them,
because Don's breechers were WAY WAY too
big for me. All Don's uniform was too big,
but at least the waistcoat and coat didn't fall off, as the breeches did.
The rest of the kit, including
the musket, belly box, and hatchet, is all Don's also.
That is me looking ridiculous, and Don, to the right. In searching for a guy's name, I volunteered an old relation and my new Ranger's commanding officer, Major Mike, couldn't let go of it; thus "Chauncey Goodrich" was born (or re-born). |
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| I look
like I've put on 20 pounds, but I haven't, really. I just look pretty stupid.
I didn't know just how stupid, at the time, which is why I was smiling so
much. OK, I really was enjoying myself! Because the French were short of forces, Don and I fought for the French. To the right is me and my French commander, Jon Soule. That's Jon again to the far right. (Don't know why his uniform looks so yellow in the left-hand picture.) |
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The first battle was a re-enactment of a French & Indian War field scurmish,
and in this case one side
is attempting to capture a redoubt (a slightly fortified area).
These re-enactments are open to the
public, as with the Grand Encampment battles.
The French and I were attempting to capture the
British redoubt, which we did. I don't have a picture of this one, though.
The second battle was a tactical, not open to the general public. The French and their Indians hid on high ground above a road in the woods, while the British later came along the road as though moving from one camp to another (thus the British included the camp women). We were supposed to stop the British, but because of the fact that you don't actually shoot anyone (we only shoot blanks), no one knows they've been shot until you tell them. But you can't really yell to a group down on the road that one of them has been shot when you're supposed to be in hiding! So, while in hiding, we shot several people who never knew they were supposed to be dead. (When you die, you turn your musket upside down and sit down for 15 minutes or so, then get up and continue on.) Here's me on my way up the road with the French to find a place to hide. And I found a great hiding place but still I got shot—I couldn't get my musket reloaded fast enough! |
| My third battle was a repeat of the first, open to the public, but this time the French were holding the redoubt and the British were trying to take it. Which they did. The interesting thing about this skirmish was that I was up on the high ground and watched one of the Brits, a Ranger, creep through the grass and that suddenly rang a bell, and I realized he was one of the Rangers I had been watching at Fort Ti earlier in the summer! As soon as I got home, I watched the video Donna had made and sure enough--those were my Rangers and right there in front of me on the video and in my pictures from Fort Ti was my new Major and my new Rangers from the F&I battle that summer! That was too weird!! |
| So that was it for that weekend. I was caught hook, line and sinker by then. Assuming I could get past looking like a total idiot, as I do in these pictures (I didn't yet have the knack of wearing the hat with "attitude"), and being VERY grateful to Major Mike that he had taken me in when others had said no to me, I was seriously looking forward to much more. |