You don't kick a mans dog or his historic impression

 

frontier impressions are easier because we have uncomfortable levels of friendship

Levi getting ready to spit info on some fools

Wed February 15 1786 Robert Hunter

 “We supped en famille, played some tricks at cards, gave the negroes an electrical shock and went to bed at eleven.”

 

Ok so before I start I have now found a native in a Bavarian hunting suit, 1 little person in a hunting shirt, 1 little person playing violin, a guy with pet Carolina parakeets, a cat in a suit, 1 guy in a duck hat, Thomas Jefferson wearing a bobcat hat, and a guy shocking enslaved people like a mad scientist for fun but I still haven’t found a bullet board. Do with that what you will…

So yeah long time no write. No excuses just life and being busy.  I have in that time opted to head to a few events and give a few talks so at least I’ve been sociable. Its not just me and Levi walking through the woods fighting our own John wick-esque war against squirrels. That being said I did take Levi to an event this past year and would like to thank everyone except two guys for our time at the event. Yeah **** those guys I’d punch them in their face if they talked to me again. (this is setting a tone…)

            So the 250^th has kicked off and the Hobbie is now in a tizzy on just how things will go. Battle road kicked stuff off with a bang and the lack of beards and linen has now opened the rest of the world to a farb free reality that needs to be matched. Spoiler alert…I think the whole thing is total BS that will do nothing but further exacerbate the problems small backcountry site have in maintaining any type of quality.

            So first off if you want to comment and critique backcountry portrayals try researching them. Try reading more then the big three narratives (and for the nouveau frontier folks that would be Doddridge, woodmason and Smythe) you can dip your toe into Cresswell or even Trabue. Go crazy read some draper interviews, check out Mclure actually read Vickers.  Get out of your secondary source view of the backcountry and into the primary info.

            If you’re in Virginia actually look at the info on the counties not in the tidewater in Pennsylvania you need to start acknowledging that Bedford County existed. Look at the runaway ads from those areas, look at the probates. Quit trying to make everything New England. If I seem a little more annoyed by this then normal it’s because…I am.

            As a person who loves living history and watched the lead up to the 250^th the one thing I noticed that just turned me against the whole notion was the Hive mind mentality. This could not be expressed more then on the fact I watched in a few days’ time one active “spokesman” for the movement go from beards being evil post/video while it being very very evident that the poster could not grow a beard by the time of the event to in fact growing a beard by the 5^th anniversary of the event to his next post on “Hunting shirts”

            This person had a basic “I know a guy who read Neil’s thesis” level of knowledge about hunting shirts but He felt the need to do a video. It was terrible, and… no it was terrible and if you watched it you now know less about hunting shirts then when you started. I tried talking to this kid and his response was the usual “what we know…” kind of crap I have come to expect from anyone who thinks reading the big quotes from secondary sources is the same as reading Doddridge. It was terrible and full of no info useable to anyone. BUT he thinks its what reenactors need to know. He did a video on pirates too…I bet its super piratey! **** that kid he doesn’t get it.the problem is...he's part of the problem not the whole problem.

            So whats your point? Well my point is simple for the folks I’ve seen at places like Martin’s station or anywhere else doing frontier impressions for the past 10 years. Keep going! Keep Improving! Keep Reading!

we hope to impress you Walter

            What really brought this post about was the fact myself and a few folks who had been at martin’s since the beginning were hanging out during the event. Drake Pledger from Flintlock operator had asked me to review his gear the same way I had done for for Alec from the Frontier trade company. I told drake to just come and hang out and we’d all talk history. During that talk one thing that really impressed me and for that matter the dutchman (who does not impress easily) how much that the folks at that site have improved over the past few years alone. The folks at martins have really been open to new research and as a result the folks I’ve delt with seem to improve almost from event to event.

            I’m not trying to take credit for this improvement or point at one particular source or group but having a large crew of folks that care about an impression is what it really takes for improvement and sustaining a level of quality.it doesnt need beat into you with a mao level of propaganda it needs to be shown with other backing sources of information.

            There is a segment of this hobbie that has always taken the back country seriously and I Implore you to keep pushing and showing folks how you know your history and know how to do things. More often then not this is a military based hobbie and in places like the backcountry it was a reality you had to live and fight in your own back yard. It’s also to get folks at backcountry sites to get on board. These New England folks don’t think you can do living history they expect less of you. They think your going to look like disney’s Daniel boone mixed with the hobbit…are you gonna take that crap? Are you gonna let some Bostonian who has never live fired his “musket” out living history you? Seriously? They like the red socks and tom brady you expect them to show you how to sleep in a primitive camp and clean a flintlock.

            Lets take back the frontier! show the battle road folks that it takes a little more to living history than shaving with a gillette and sleeping in a motel while wearing Kochan wool. Show them we know skills, can cook on a fire, and know how to dress. They had their moment but the rest of the war and beyond was in our world. Show them the war didn’t end at Yorktown that places like Fort Henry and Hannas town mattered too. 

my dunmores war impression