Tag Archives: Burning of Kingston Gallery

The Burning of Kingston, 2009, Kingston, New York

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The Reenactment at the Burning of Kingston might not be the largest I’ve been too, and certainly not the most historically accurate. But it might be one of the most interesting. The action ranges all around the park where it’s held, through the woods, up and over the hills. And the whole time the crowd follows quietly behind, like the audience at a golf tournament. There’s a haphazard, somewhat chaotic character about the action I found very appealing, and perhaps that was the most authentic part of all. War I would presume isn’t typically well orchestrated, and following along behind the soldiers, often finding themselves taking the wrong route and having to double back through the crowd drove that point home. Being so scattered, there’s not a large crowd in bleaches watching the action, so it’s possible to forget you’re even among them. Being close to the action, feeling like you’re a part of it at time, brought the reenactment to life, and to me that’s what living history is supposed to do.