We woke up bright and early to see Reveille at UTR. As we ate breakfast at the hotel, some Redcoats joined us. They are everwhere! 

     Arriving in time for Reveille, we got to see lots of action in the camp.

While walking around, a British soldier stopped us (uh oh!) to see if we had any questions. (Here's a picture of me talking to him, Pam!) Hmmmm,  I asked, "Why are all the uniforms different? (This has actually been a burning question in my mind, perhaps influenced by all the uniform costumes I sew for my son.)

 "What do you mean?" he asked. I said that some had racoon hats,

some had plaid,

and Banastre Tarleton has a green coat. This green coat has surprised me the most over the years.  I don't remember everything he told me, but it matched much of what I had studied on an excellent web site a few weeks ago. In fact, I'll be blogging about it in terms of costume making soon, since the article does an excellent job of illustrating the historical research that goes into historical costume design.  Additionally, talking to reenactors like this is a good source of information and I google their web sites all the time to gain information. In essence, each unit made their own choices.  Each commander received money from the government to outfit the troops according to his taste, if he did not pocket the money himself.

 After explaining the different things, he eyed my son and asked why he wasn't in the army. My son quickly said, "I'm only 13." (My son said that a lot that weekend!)  The soldier said, "You look 16 to me."  That's the way it was.  Lie about age and enlist them anyway. We managed to escape.  

     Soon it was time for Roll Call.  Uh oh, a few soldiers were missing.

     We met some ladies from Williamsburg who were baking pies for the British soldiers.  They were happy to be paid in gold coins, which the the Continental soldiers could not pay them.

    Then we went to the Governor's Palace to meet with the doctors who were caring for the citizens of CW.  (At this point in time, 1781, the palace lies unused because the seat of government is now in Richmond. When the British arrived, Cornwallis had the palace converted into a hospital.) We were told that we could see historic instruments, surgeries, dental extractions, and smallpox vaccinations. They were planning on actual dental extractions that day. I incredulously asked, "Surely not?"  "Of course," she replied. "Um, who in the world would volunteer for a dental extraction?"  "Oh there would be no volunteers," she explained. (gulp)  Did I dare walk in there?  We went to the smallpox table first and got all the gorey details. I started to feel faint. I was ready to leave.  Historically, it was interesting. The British doctors were vaccinating the citizens of Williamsburg, because they cared for their citizens.  When we pointed out the Declaration of Independence we got quite the lecture that that document was unrecognized by the British.

    We went outside and in the yard across the street at the Everard House, there were more displays. I enjoyed meeting the horner.  I had never met one before.

Every teacher knows what this is!   For those who might not have seen one before, it is a hornbook. This was the first "textbook" in the life of a colonial child. Shaped like a paddle, the alphabet and Lord's Prayer were typically printed on the board.  Then to protect it, it was covered with horn.  Basically it was 18th century laminating.  Many teachers have students make paper laminated copies of this while studying the history of the early colonies.  I was fascinated by his description of working with the horn and asked him how I could make a hornbook. 

After the paddle part is shaped and written on, find a green horn like this.  A green horn is the only type that you can see through. 

Then you heat some water in a crockpot (I forget to what temperature.) and soak the horn in it. It will shed layers and you can scrape the layers off with a knife and buff it with something. Now I forget. (I need to start carrying a journal with me to jot down notes.)   I don't think he told me how to stick it on. 

He had us analyze the difference between the British alphabet and our alphabet today. The letter "j" was missing. He asked us why. To tease him, I pertly suggested it was because the British did not know how to spell!  Uh oh, this British horner was not pleased with that answer.  He let it pass.  He said it's because of their mother language, Latin, which had no "j". Actually the English language was only influenced by Latin, later in its history. The origins of English are in the Germanic tongue. However, I did not think he wanted to hear all that. I decided to not press my luck with the British. since it was time to leave for the special UTR Revolutionary City.

     First we went to Raleigh Tavern to view "Declaration of Martial Law" where we listened to the terms of the occupation of the British army. Colonel Tarleton arrives with his Dragoons.

The rest of the staff arrive, including General O'Hara...

and Benedict Arnold, who reads the terms of occupation..

Afterwards, Col Tarleton left with his Dragoons.  We followed them to the Capitol...

At the Capitol we heard "The Dragoons' Story." The Dragoons were led by Banastre Tarleton. 

 He recruited many of his calvary men from loyalists he found in New York. 

One of the Dragoons told us how they got their horses, from commendearing them from nearby farms.  He talked about the injuries they receive in battle.  This wasn't as pleasant a talk as we had expected. The Dragoon invited us to visit them behind the Prentiss Store to see the horses and talk. My son wanted to do that.  Hmmmm, they aren't going to recruit my son into the Dragoons are they?  He likes the idea of riding on horses and always reenacts calvary officers in our unit celebrations.  If he has the opportunity to ride a horse, he might not tell them he is 13. Not to fear, we couldn't find the horses. 

     We walked back to Raleigh's Tavern to see "The Business of War" where the British officers had a staff meeting. 

They debated the most effective means of occupying the town.

During the meeting, Benedict Arnold expressed his discontent with Col Tarleton.

   Then the Phillipsburg Proclamation was read, which allowed slaves of rebel masters to join the British side. I'm trying to remember but I think it is here that we saw the scene where a free slave with previous sailing experience was basically conscripted into service by the British, ending his liberty.  It was a heart wrenching scene, not only because this man lost his freedom, but also because his friend, (a slave himself), was rewarded by the British for introducing them to the sailor. The slave himself was devastated by this turn of events.

    The next scene was behind the Coffeehouse where slaves discussed the possibility of going to the British side.  The final scene was behind the Capitol, where Cornwallis reviewed the troops. We did not get to see all of this, because we had an appointment at the museum to meet with Banastre Tarleton. Off we rushed!

     Colonel Banastre Tarleton was extremely interesting. I can't remember everything (I need to start taking notes) but I recall that he was not a great student nor was he interested in reading books. (I made a mental note to tell my son later this is a man NOT to emulate.)  He got caught up in gambling. He used money from an inheritance, as I recall, to recruit a legion in America. This legion is not like the legions of Ancient Rome. Instead it is a mix of men with varying abilities that don't carry heavy equipment, so they can move lightly and attack quickly and easily. Now, I am not doing Tarleton justice, because the man himself seemed to be one of the most pleasant men I have ever met. This was in direct contrast to almost everything I had ever read about him.  (If the source was correct, a couple of weeks ago I read that Lafayette was friends with Tarleton after the war. That surprised me.) When one of the guests queried him about his negative reputation, he told her not to believe everything she read in the newspapers. (I must admit, I do not believe everything I read or hear in today's media. I know that there are even biases in history books and that becomes the basis for some of the history Socratic discussions my kids have each week.)  Tarleton also explained his side of the story for his brutal reputation, by reading a few of his letters (primary source documents.) Tarleton told us about the four battle flags he had captured, and told us he hoped that they would stay in his family for generations and he hoped they would be in excellent condition 250 years later.  During the Q&A, my son asked him why he wore a green coat and why he had a bushy helmet. To demonstrate the lack of thickness in the helmet, he had one of the kids in the front row knock on his hat. Then a little girl asked him why the British and French did not get along with each other. Tarleton was played by the same man we met as Lafayette last summer, when my son asked him if the contentions between the British and French went back to the Hundred Year's War.  (Later I asked my son why he did not go further back to 1099?  What can I say? My son likes to take my lead for a bit then forge his own path.)  Whereas Lafayette gave quite the discourse on the Hundred Year's War, Tarleton went all the way back to....1099! You know, it just occurred to me why Lafayette may not have mentioned 1099.  That was the French Norman invasion and conquest on England, that put the Norman, William the Conqueror on the throne. Of course, the British Tarleton would go all the way back to 1099, because that is the source of their grief with the French. Even though I keep telling my kids about 1099, now my kids will definitely remember, since they have heard it from Tarleton himself.  

     After his talk, Tarleton left through the stage side door, instead of staying for guests to come up to meet him, as other speakers typically allow in such talks. No matter.  I sighed contentedly and looked at my son by my side and asked, "Wasn't that great?" As he agreed with me, we started to get up to leave, when the actor cheerfully popped back in and took off his hat and told us he had met Tarleton backstage and he had come back to answer further questions. Never have we seen him out of character before. 

He also mentioned that he,the actor, enjoyed reading history books while growing up. (Ah, I made a mental note to tell my son it is okay to emulate that characteristic!) He spent quite a bit of time talking to us more about the flags and Tarleton. Basically there are a lot of specifics we do not know about Tarleton. The facts they rely on are from primary source documents, since secondary sources might be biased or not as accurate.  He told us that Tarleton is in the movie, "Amazing Grace". He is? We saw that movie last autumn and missed that! We need to watch that movie again.  He is also in the movie, "The Patriot" but that is more Hollywood than factual. He told us lots of interesting things and now I have forgotten so much. This was a rare treat that we definitely treasured. Finally my husband asked him something off topic, about his equestrian skills, because we have been impressed with his horseback riding. Again his answer was extremely interesting. The kids brought it up later and we used the information to talk about goal setting in life.  

    After this incredible presentation, we went upstairs to finally view the four battle flags. (This link will only work for a short time, in relation to the flags, because they will only be at the museum until July 19.) These flags have stayed in Tarleton's family all these years, only recently being auctioned off. The new owner lent them to CW for the last couple of years and will be taken out of the museum in a few weeks.  The flags are indeed gorgeous. 

     When we left the museum and  went back to Market Square area, we saw Col Tarleton...

the Dragoons...

 and the British officers escorting Cornwallis around town.

 While near Market Square, we noticed a prisoner being taken in for questioning. We followed to see the action. When we got there, we saw another prisoner...the singer from Revolutionary City! 

 The crime? He had signed the oath of allegiance to the king...in pencil...twice!

We stayed to see what would happen next.

Another guy was brought in and they were put to work moving logs from one side to the other.

They were constantly yelled at. You cannot work as a team!

 Make the pile neater! Don't talk to each other! Take your coat off!  Make a neater pile by starting from scratch; start moving all the logs back! Finally the singer started...singing! He sang "Hail Britannia" and threw some of the words at the British. He wanted us to join him and we would have gladly, but we didn't know the words. He usually gives us an easy refrain to sing with him in RC. Nevertheless, that tune has been running in our minds all weekend.

Finally they were released.

     Then we walked to the back streets to see the new archaeology dig. There wasn't much action there that day, but we did see the entourage again...

We went to Raleigh Tavern for a snack.  While walking by the Prentiss Store, we found the Dragoon's horses in pasture. 

  Then we went back to Market Square to see Retreat. We had to go through a military checkpoint and at this point I was not in the least bit worried. No one had ever paid any attention to us all day, when we went through the checkpoint.  However as I neared the soldier, he seemed intent on someone behind me. I was not about to let him get in my way so I just ignored him and slipped by when suddenly he engaged his rifle and told my kids to halt! Where were their passes?  Passes? What passes? My daughter said they had CW season passes and pointed to the one on her dress.  My son said, "I'm only 13!" 

The soldier called another soldier over.  Soldier #2 came over, trying to suppress a smile and sort of whispering something to Soldier #1. 

Soldier #1 insisted that the kids were trouble makers. I suppose this was an invitation for the parents to step in and agree, but we have pretty good kids!  My husband was in control, yet silent, from his military training. I was flabbergasted and my husband said the range of emotions on my face was priceless. Finally he asked my husband if he could control the kids and he said, extremely seriously, that he'd take charge of them. My son says he recognizes Soldier #1 and I suggested perhaps he works for RC in the Benedict Arnold scene. My son agreed.  My husband said he thinks he recognized him from our trip to Mount Vernon in April when the British reenactors were there. I don't think it's the same guy in the picture. But I do remember our talking to a group from Scotland, who wore the same plaid uniform.        

    Retreat...

 After dinner we went to the Capitol for the Tattoo.

Remembering Drummer's Call, we were looking forward to this. However, this was nothing like Drummer's Call. We stopped in front of every Tavern, while men came out with their mugs of ale, acting a bit tipsy!  They joined behind the fifers and drummers and the group kept growing larger and rousier, as they were led back to Market Square.

   Hmmmm, well, this at least became an object lesson to my kids on what alcohol can do. The reenactors weren't really drunk, they were just acting like it. I didn't understand the value to this.  Later I found out this is exactly what Tattoo was.  In fact, it was originally called "Taptoo." (In Latin we've learned about assimilation of words into the English language, so this would be an example of that. "Taptoo" assimilated into "tattoo" because it is easier to roll off the tongue.) At dusk, the fife and drum corps would round up soldiers, indicating to the tavern owners to turn off their taps for the night.  

     We went back to the hotel, talking about all of our favorites of the day. In exhaustion we quickly fell asleep, in preparation for the next day of "Under the Redcoat."  (Stay tuned for part III.)