Tag Archives: examing
Colonial Soldier at the Burning of Kingston
Burning of Kingston, Kingston, County of Ulster, New York
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Snipers at the Battle of Kingston
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.
Posted in Hudson River Valley
Also tagged american revolution reenactment, american revolutionary war reenactment, burning of Kingston, Burning of Kingston Gallery, colonial reenactment, kingston, reenactment battles, revolutionary war reenactment, revolutionary war reenactments, weapon
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Cleaning His Weapon
The Burning of Kingston, Kingston, New York
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One thing I’ve noticed which doesn’t reflect accurately Revolutionary War re-enactments is the dearth of young people amongst the ranks. I’m thinking there would have been a large number of them who did the fighting, but re-enactment seems to be a middle aged men’s game. I was at one such event a few years back, hanging out in the campsite when a reason was given to me by one of the participants. “We got our start going to Grateful Dead concerts and the like, and over the years that scene got a bit too crazy, we all had families, and we just fell naturally into this. We’re all really just old hippies.”
I find that very comforting and appropriate somehow.
