HM 71st Regiment of Foot
presents
The Fort Frederick Market Fair Garrison
April 23-25, 2010
Fort Frederick State Park
11100 Fort Frederick Road
Big Pool, MD 21711-1313
Overview
During the annual Fort Frederick Market Fair, HM 17th Regiment of Infantry, in our alternate guise as Captain Aeneas Mackintosh's Company, HM 71st Regiment of Foot, will be hosting a garrison weekend for Revolutionary War-period Highland units. Attendees will be interpreting British military life during the late 1770s and early 1780s, focusing on the experience of Highland soldiers, while portraying a small detachment tasked with protecting government property and maintaining law and order during a civilian market fair. Activities will focus on guard mount, with sentry posts at the main gate, the catwalk, and the barracks. Patrols will be dispatched to monitor activity at the market fair and apprehend any stray soldiers from the garrison. Social history vignettes will be on-going throughout the day, including morning and evening formations, kit inspection, roll calls, and drill. The event will provide an opportunity to enjoy the many attractions of the market fair while also providing a quality living history program to complement the site's other activities.
Arrival and Departure
Attendees should plan to arrive on Friday, 23 April, 2010, beginning at 5 PM. All attendees must register with the Market Fair volunteers upon entering the site. On-site registration hours are Friday, April 23rd, 5 PM to 7:30 PM, and Saturday, April 24th, 7 AM to 9 AM. All participants must be on-site and registered by 9 AM on Saturday morning. Gates will be closed on Friday evening at 8 PM, so all arrivals after that time will have to park outside the gates and register in the morning. Vehicles will not be allowed near the Fort, so be prepared to walk in with all of your gear. Public hours are 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and 9 AM to 3 PM on Sunday. Programming will conclude at 3 PM, followed by break-down and departure.
Lodging & Meals
All attendees will be billeted within the re-built East Barracks on-site. The site will provide water and straw. All participants should bring linen mattress ticks, or paillaises, in which to contain the straw, since site regulations forbid loose straw within the buildings. Meals will be provided for Saturday breakfast, lunch, and supper, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Menus will be set according to available documentation, and will feature such typical issue staples as oatmeal, peas, rice, and beef. Donations to help cover the cost of rations will be appreciated. All participants should inform their commanders and the event coordinator of any known allergies, particularly to foodstuffs, and pre-existing medical conditions.
Registration
Registration is by individuals only, although unit commanders may gather individual registration forms and fees, combine them, and send them to the coordinators. All registration forms and fees must be received by March 15th, 2010. The registration fee for this event is $25, all of which goes to the Friends of Fort Frederick, who use the money to support annual programming at the Fort. For registration materials, please contact 71stregt at gmail dot com. The registration fee is non-refundable. Numbers are capped at 20 ORs and NCOs. There are three slots for campfollowers and additional roles for women can be created. Upon receipt of your registration, you will be added onto the participant listserv, which will contain additional information about the event.
All attendees must read the Market Fair Event Rules here: Click Here
Impressions
Impressions for military attendees are limited to British Highland Regiments serving on the eastern coast of North America during the period 1776-1784. Specific emphasis will be placed on the 71st Regiment of Foot, although individuals with impressions of the 42nd, 74th, 76th, and 84th Regiments are very welcome to attend. All military attendees are expected to have properly-documented kits.
Required Items
- Regimental Jacket
- Regimental Waistcoat
- Gaitered Trousers (Brown wool trousers are preferred, linen trousers accepted)
- Knit bonnet of proper construction with regimental button and cockade. No brass or pewter bonnet badges allowed.
- White Linen Shirt
- Black leather military shoes by Robt Land, Fugawee, Saguto, or Wilson, with proper buckles
- Wool Socks
- black horsehair neckstock
- linen roller/neckcloth
- Government accoutrement set consisting of 18-round belly box, sliding bayonet frog, and belt. Sword belts used as bayonet carriages are acceptable, as are shoulder pouches if documented for your impression. No swords will be allowed for ORs or NCOs. All participants should bring 40 rounds of pre-rolled blank cartridges, two fresh flints, and a wooden flint or driver.
- Short Land Pattern Musket with bayonet, unless otherwise documented for your impression. Musket must be fitted with a hammer cap and a flashguard.
- Canteen
- Mess utensils, such as tin cup, bowl or plate, spoon &c
- Knapsack or blanket roll (if knapsack, blanket must also be included; if blanket roll, period-correct "market' wallet should be provided for storing belongings). Knapsacks may be of painted canvas, with a goat skin covering if applicable for your unit.
- Bed sack/mattress tick for holding straw
- Two good flints with a leather or lead wrapper, and one wooden flint or driver
- One period-correct gun tool, worm, brush, and picker
Requested Items
The following items are all requested by the event staff, since we will be following the guidelines established by original orderly books, which state that off-duty troops should wear kilts instead of their trousers, which were reserved for duty-wear. Plaids will be reluctantly accepted as a substitute for a kilt. Regimental purses are not required for use with the kilt on this occasion due to the lack of a firmly documented pattern for ORs. As part of our interpretive activities, there will be a kit inspection on Saturday. This is the list of items, taken from Thomas Simes' Military Instructor of 1779 and adapted for the uniform of a Highland corps. Attendees are not expected to have all items, but should be aware that this is what a real Highland soldier was expected to have with him in garrison. If all military attendees have a kilt, or plaid, with proper belt, hose, and garters, an extra reward will be given to the entire garrison.
1
kilt
3 shirts-- 2 white linen, 1 ammunition shirt of checked linen
2 white stocks or rollers
1 black stock
2 pair of socks
1 pair of hose
2 pair of shoes
one pair of spare soles
1 forage cap/night cap/blue bonnet
1 piece of buff leather for cleaning the arms
1 ball of blacking
1 oil bottle with stopper
1 hammer cap (hammer stall)
1 pair of shoe buckles
1 pair of garters (red worsted wool tape)
1 kilt belt
1 stock buckle
1 knapsack
1 blanket
2 combs-- one rough and one fine teethed, or a combination comb with different
scale teeth on each side
1 coloring brush-- for applying blackball
2 shoes brushes
Individuals wishing to attend as campfollowers should contact the coordinator at 71stregt at gmail dot com. Three slots are open for women attached to the garrison, while any other female attendees will be assigned alternative roles.
Schedule
The daily schedule will be announced at morning formation on Saturday and Sunday. Formations will occur at 9 AM on those days, 5 PM on Saturday, and 3 PM on Sunday. Our interpretive focus will be on guard mount, but other vignettes, including random roll calls, equipment inspection, drill and firing sessions, and field punishment will occur. These elements of the program are not tied to a specific time in order to provide attendees with a realistic feeling of not knowing the full plan, just as the original ORs were often kept in the dark. When making inquiries, attendees should always follow the chain of command, starting with their corporal, who will ask the serjeant, and so forth.
Chain of Command and Deportment
The chain of command for this event has already been established. Officers and the senior serjeant will be provided by the 71st and 76th Regiments. Depending on the final turn-out, additional NCOs will be appointed at the discretion of the event staff. All attendees should behave and carry themselves in the manner established by period military manuals and instruction books. Attendees are encouraged to read or re-read Cuthbertson's book, and copies of Simes' Military Instructor in .pdf format will be provided gratis upon application to the event coordinator at 71sregt at gmail dot com.