Fort William Henry and LOTM

Good day,
Yesterday, I posted about Fort William Henry because this year is the anniversary of the fall of that British outpost at the head of Lake George. You almost certainly know that that event was the core of the book Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, which in turn gave rise to at least 3 Hollywood movies, a short-lived TV series, and (I have just learned) a BBC Masterpiece Theatre production.

I'm obviously partial to this because (as with many other reenactors) it was the 1992 movie version that got me into reenacting in the first place. (More on that here.)

If you want to know just about everything there is to know about that movie, including the history, the filming, the script, the locations (buy the book on that!) and SO MUCH MORE, be sure to go to Mohican Press. This is the premier site on all things LOTM!

Meanwhile, word recently spread in some of the egroups about the BBC production. One person on the FandIWar egroup wrote, " I just got my copy ordered from Amazon yesterday and started viewing it. There are 2 CD's and a total of about 5 hours of viewing. It's just as I remembered it. There isn't the super hollywood production antics and it follows the book much more closely than any of the more spectacular releases. From a historical perspective though, it's important to remember that your watching a fictionalized version of what some would consider a small event in the Faniwar. Nevertheless, the entertainment value is of the highest caliber. "

Others have agreed and the point to this production is that it is about the literary version, not the Hollywood version.

So, it is time for us all to freshen up on our LOTMs!!

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Fort William Henry in the Spotlight

Good day,
This year, 2007, is the 250th anniversary of the attack, seige, and surrender of Fort William Henry at the head of Lake George in NY. We were there in 2006 for the 250th of the Battle of Lake George and we'll be back again this year. So I thought I would start providing you with some links and information. To get you going.

For a good but easy history on 1757 at Fort William Henry, visit this timeline. To find out about the history of FWH leading up to 1757, read this timeline.

Also, please see the site of the Lake George Historical Association.

Check back regularly for more.

YH&OS,
Sarah & Chauncey

Link of the Day - for the UK Reenactors

Good Day,
I keep e-bumping into reenactors in the UK. Sometimes they email me via my ranger company's website (as I'm currently the online contact for that), a few are on some of the egroups I'm on, and then I found some on a chat board for wargamers. I know they are having a hard time finding each other, and it would be great if they all COULD find each other.

I happened upon this little organization: New France Old England which is based in the UK and is a group of people reenacting the French and Indian War. I think this is fantastic, and I hope to direct all my UK reenacting contacts to it as maybe a rallying point for the diverse people there.

Oh, in case you are interested: The index page for the Wargamer forum is here: http://www.wargamer.com/forums/

The best place for re-enactment postings is in the 'Conventions - Clubs - Reenactment - section here: http://www.wargamer.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=169

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

To my Visitor from Kingston, Ontario

Good day,
My sitemeter gives me a count of how many visitors I have had at my website and it tells me, in most cases, where they are from (city, state/province/territory, and country), how they found me, how many pages they looked at, and how long they visited. But I don't know anything else about them.

I had one visitor find me in the fall from Kingston, Ontario, and he/she spent HOURS on my site and must have looked hundreds of pages and pictures. I know this visitor comes back now and then and I'm SO embarrassed that I don't have anything new posted for him/her to enjoy. I'm very flattered to have the visit and it is people like that who inspire me to think about what next to add to the website. So, to that visitor and all my visitors: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO MY SITE!!

But it's hard work, it's time-sonsuming (and it's expensive). I've been working on the Lake George Tactical report but getting all the pictures ready and posted takes a lot of effort. I hope to have something new soon for my Kingston, Ontario visitor and all my visitors.

By the way, my home page has my email address (it's the only one that does because of the amount of spam) so please email me if you have anything in particular you want to see, or if you see any typos! (I know they are out there!)

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Link of the Day: Fort La Presentation

Good day,

Recently one of my favorite fellow Rangers, Bill Filkins, was asked to take on and accepted a position on the plannning committee for the Fort La Presentation Founders Day event (July 22-23, 2006). Bill wrote the following:

"A dedicated group of volunteers got together and took on Exxon Mobil and won! The Fort group has acquired most of the original land on which the fort once stood. With the help of local and state politicians the land which was once heavily polluted is being cleaned up. This is a unique site since it is one historic site that is being rebuilt instead of being tore down. Folks from all over come for the event and are great at showing support for the grassroots organization. I am also told that once the fort is established, a dig will commence on the original site, which largely escaped being built on. The folks running the event are always grateful and go out of their way to assist reenactors. Though no structures yet exist it is hoped contruction can begin this year. I will be there this year demonstrating hide tanning and if anyone can be in the area it's a chance to help something great off the ground. There will be a few sutlers and, oh yes, natives abound for this event. I encourage everyone to take a look at the website. http://fortlapresentation.net/."

I hope lots of people can support this great effort to rebuild an historic site.

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

COHT Winter Shoot near Montoursville, PA

Good Day,

This past weekend, two of my favorite reenactors and friends--Seamus McWilliam and Wade Stoner, both serious, dedicated, "hard core" in all the right ways--attended a COHT-sponsored winter encampment at Seamus' mountain cabin. (Oh, if you are new to this name, it is pronounced SHAY-mus, not see-mus.) Seamus' real name is Mike Slease and he commands the 3rd Battalion PA Regiment—the Augusta Regiment. Wade Stoner is another long-time reenactor who recently has become known as Lt. (or Cpt.) Quintin Kennedy.

This is an annual event for the PA Chapter of the COHT. Needless to say, it was coooooold for these brave guys. Many, including Wade, a young reenactor named Kevin, and the coordinator Bryan Nye, slept outside. Seamus kept a fire going in his 18th century reproduction cabin. (Building the cabin over the past many years has been a real labor of love for him.)

Seamus built the bee-hive oven and Tony Lattanze was doing most of the cooking.

Seamus has already posted pictures. Wade is the guy with the tobogan. Seamus, sadly, is the man on the side of the camera that we can't see. So, thanks to Wade Stoner, I've posted some pictures of Seamus and others below. Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version.

YH&OS,
Sarah / Chauncey

Link of the Day: Canadian Military Heritage

Good day,

In preparation for the 250th Anniversary of the Attack on the Plains of Abraham in 2009 (yes, advanced planning, but I'm the event's webmaster and we're starting now), I was searching for web information and found a GREAT site about the military history of Canada:

Canadian Military Heritage

This presents the military history in three big parts that are broken up into many smaller, easily-digested parts:

Volume 1 covers 1000-1754, Volume 2 covers 1755-1871, and Volume 3 covers 1872-2000.

Obviously, I'm most interested in reading Volume 2 but I found Volume 1 fascinating in that it explains why Canadian military was what it was during the French and Indian War.

This site also has LOTS of great graphics but I'm going to make sure that people see the parts about copyright because I'm finding more and more that people steal stuff from sites such as this (AND MINE) and post them on their own sites, which is wrong wrong wrong.

So, I hope people enjoy this site!

YH&SO,
Sarah / Chauncey