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Photo by Keith Phillips
Members of the Royal N.C. Regiment 3rd Artillery Battalion conduct a cannon-firing demonstration at Revolutionary War Field Days.
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Photo by Keith Phillips
Reenactors with the 1st Maryland Southern Campaign muster for the Camden battle reenactment.
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Thomas Hendrix of the 1st Maryland Southern Campaign reenacting unit has been participating in living history events since the age of 6—and loving every minute of it.
This November, during the 45th annual Revolutionary War Field Days, visitors will smell the smoke from artillery and flintlock weapons, taste foods cooked over open fires, feel the heaviness of wool and linen clothing and watch as artisans demonstrate long-lost skills and crafts.
Guests will experience with their own senses what life was like in South Carolina during the Revolution—all thanks to hundreds of living historians and Revolutionary War reenactors who dedicate their free time to accurately portraying the Colonial era.
“We love the reenactors and the living history interpreters,” says Joanna Craig, director of Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. “They make it alive and lively. They just come out of the goodness of their heart. In return, we supply water, bedding straw and firewood.”
John Thornton, who directs the mock battles during Revolutionary War Field Days, first became interested in reenacting in the 1970s when the nation was in “Bicentennial mode.” Today, he commands the Royal N.C. Regiment 3rd Artillery Battalion, a Charlotte-area reenacting unit complete with its own cannon and about 35–40 well-trained reenactors who portray the Redcoats. Members travel up and down the Eastern seaboard, from Florida to northern Virginia, to participate in battle reenactments and living history weekends about once a month.
Most reenactors, Thornton says, are just regular folks—teachers, government workers, police officers, day-care providers, computer programmers—who love to share history.
“Every reenactor loves to see the eyes light up on people who are learning history because they are seeing it demonstrated,” Thornton says. “We’re all volunteers. If we get money, it just goes to ‘feed the monster.’”
For many, reenacting is a family hobby. Thomas Hendrix, who started reenacting when he was 6, is now a private in the 1st Maryland Southern Campaign, a reenacting unit from Hendersonville, N.C., which regularly participates in Revolutionary War Field Days.
“We take reenacting very seriously,” he says. “First, we love history and want to share that love with the world. Many kids and adults don't like history, because all they see it as is words on a page, but history is much more, and we want to make it come alive to them.”
For history buffs eager to try reenacting, Hendrix recommends visiting living history events and talking to different reenacting units “until you find a unit you would feel comfortable with.”
Reenacting can be expensive. A replica flintlock musket can cost anywhere from $800 to $1,200; a replica military jacket, another $250. Newcomers often borrow from other reenactors as they build up their own collection of period-accurate gear and clothing.
“Reenactors have extra stuff, and they would be more than glad to help you get started,” Hendrix says. “Then you just buy little by little, until you have your complete uniform.”
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