This year, I attended my third ‘Military Through the Ages’ at Jamestown Settlement. For those of you who have not attended this event, it is a high-quality, prestigious time-line event. Since it takes place in the environs of the reconstructed Jamestown Settlement and museum, it is doubly interesting. As usual, there were a wide variety of living history impressions on display here.  It is always a challenge to capture them all on film, but I have done my best. There is only a limited amount of time to do so, since we have to man our own displays as well. Again this year, the 193rd was well represented by our membership. This year, we concentrated on representing a Red Army field hospital, which was well-received by the public.

The timeline represented this year extended from the time of the Emperor Charlemagne (around 800 A.D.) though the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, represented by groups from the Hundred Year’s War though German mercenaries from the 1500′s and English privateers preying on Spanish shipping in the late 1600′s. The various conflicts of the eighteenth century were well represented, both in Europe and North America by such groups as Roger’s Rangers and His Majesty’s Detached Hospital in North America.

After a brief stopover in the War of 1812 (Fort Norfolk Garrison) the timeline marched into the American Civil War with a large representation of Yanks and Rebels of various units, including the ‘Nancy Hart Militia’ (imagine women in hoop skirts carrying muskets!)

One of the highlights of this year’s encampment was the British 24th Regiment of Foot from the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. This guys always look sharp, but this year, they upped the ante and brought some Zulus with them. The Zulu reenactors looked great and knew their stuff and this aided the group in netting some of the top awards.

There were several good WWI units as usual and this year included for the first time since I have been going, Imperial Russian (11th Siberian Rifles). Then we had another good display from the Irish War for Independence with the West Cork Flying Column and their nemesis, the Black and Tans. Then on to an extensive WWII array including our group, British Commonwealth forces, Americans and Germans.

The last two displays moved into the Cold War period with a fine Vietnam display (which gets better every year) and the First Company of 154th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 1987, who put up an excellent and creative display for their first year. I know that I haven’t mentioned every group here, by a longshot, but there are just too many. Come out next year and see for yourself.

This is a great show, which would be worth the drive, even if your group wasn’t participating.  For me, it is a hoot just to see impressions that I don’t get to see in the usual single time-period events. Apparently the public thinks so as well, given the turnout, which I understand was larger than anticipated. I know we had a lot of people come through our camp and show a great deal of interest. That is, of course, one of the most gratifying aspects.

“Decision in Fate of Justice William Smith House Approaching

MERCERSBURG, PA- One thing is for sure now, the Justice William Smith House has two options: it will be shipped to Ireland or bulldozed to the ground. Mercersberg, Montgomery, Peters and Warren Volunteer Fire Department purchased the home for its land. Their fire house is long overdue for expansion. It all comes down to the MMPW’s fire board. They will pick the bid that decides the fate of the Smith House. Only the Irish bid can save this historic landmark. “We’ve been very successful in saving the history,” says Karen Ramsburg, president of Save The Justice William Smith House committee. The fire board will publicly announce all the bids on Thursday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. and should also make a final decision that night.”  Read more at: your4state.com

Also:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39804636/from/toolbar

The title says it all. March 20-21 was a great weekend for the annual Military Through the Ages event at Jamestown Settlement. Despite having been out at Newville the previous week and dreading the 7-hour drive, I still felt compelled to attend. I’m glad I did. This was even better than last year. I don’t know if there were more Living History displays this year, but it seemed like it. There were certainly some that I hadn’t seen before. The warm, sunny weather was icing on the cake.

With the recreated Jamestown Settlement as a centerpiece, the living history groups are spread out across the grounds of the museum. Near the Jamestown palisade, there was a substantial Viking encampment. Across the road was their likely nemesis, the Emperor Charlemagne’s troops. I asked one of the guardsmen if the Vikings were a problem and he felt confident that they could handle them.

The Middle Ages encampment included camps from the Hundred Year’s War, the Hussite rebellion and the War of the Roses. It occurred to me that the fifteenth century would have been a miserable time to live. Moving on, there were German mercenaries contemporary with the Jamestown folks and a little later, a couple of groups of privateers. Both crews assured me (tongue in cheek)  that they were not pirates, but honest subjects of the Queen, sailing under letters of marque. A little further down the road were the Sea Rats, who are unabashedly pirates and one of my favorite groups.

Then I came upon a group of Scots who were taking part in the ’45, or the Jacobite Rebellion. While Bonny Prince Charlie was no where to be seen, his loyal followers had a quite nice set-up. Moving into the late 18th century, there were groups representing the British crown and the American colonists. The Continental Army had nice display with a curious field piece which featured a full-sized carriage with a rather small gun. Not being well-versed in the artillery of the period, I was impressed.

The War of 1812 was represented and there was  substantial American Civil War section. As I remember the Union Army engineers won a couple of awards and the Union Navy (USS Aristook) to0k home the reenactor’s choice award. The British army at Roarke’s Drift rounded out the 19th Century.

WWI was represented by the Salvation Army’s Doughnut Dollies as well as the German, American and French armies.  In the postwar period, the Irish-English war of 1920 – 21 was represented by the Irish Republican Army and their opponents, the Black and Tans. Great Display!

WWII saw the Brits at Dunkirk, the German army, our late war Red Army group, British paras of Operation Market Garden and two American GI groups. The Twentieth Century was rounded out by the Vietnam camp which was bigger and more impressive than last year. These guys are mostly Vietnam veterans as well, so this is a particularly poignant display.

The 193rd Rifles won third place for best uniforms in our division, which is an accomplishment given the competition. Being invited to MTA is an honor, so just being here implies that you are good. The final parade of all the units which precedes the honors presentation, serves as the finale of the weekend. This gives everyone a chance to get a good look at the participants in their respective units.

As I have said before, if you haven’t been to this event, you owe it to yourself to go. There are some other timeline events around, but this one is definitely a biggie!

The Justice William Smith House, circa 1759 is gaining recognition after two distinguished Penn State Professors of History and Art/Architecture have taken an interest in the property. Dr. William Pencak respected author and historian and Dr. Richard Pencek Professor of American Studies are raising awareness of the house and its importance in Pre-Revolutionary War American History.

In 1765 the Smith House served as a meeting place where the first armed resistance against British Rule was organized over a nine month period of time that compelled the British Army to abandon their garrisons in western Pennsylvania. These events were known as the Black Boys Rebellion. In a January 5, 2010 Public Opinion article Dr. Pencak stated, “It [Smith House] is not only the most important historical site in Mercersburg, but probably the most important historical site related to the American Revolution in Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River.”

As a professor of History and Jewish Studies, Dr. William Pencak has penned several books including: Beyond Philadelphia: The American Revolution in the Pennsylvania Hinterland; The Law in America, 1607-1861; Riot and Revelry in Early America and War, Politics and Revolution in Provincial Massachusetts. He is now writing a history of the (John) Jay family, America’s first chief justice and a lengthy article on the Church of England in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. Dr. Pencak’s book Jews and Gentiles in Early America (University of Michigan Press, 2005) was the runner-up for the National Book Award in American Jewish History 2005. He was appointed Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians for the period 2006-2009. For a complete list of books written by Dr. William Pencak go to: http://www.bookfinder.com/author/william-pencak/

Dr. Richard Pencek teaches classes in Art and Architecture. His team of experts and students have restored buildings and Curtin Village, Spruce Creek Mill and Centre Furnace to name a few. They have won awards for restoration from Pennsylvania’s Centre County Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. Currently they are completing a log house in Mifflinburg Pa. where the class has built the windows and made their own floor boards from c. 1840 planking and chinked and mortared the entire building. Dr. Pencek classes are very unique in that his classes are hands on with over 60 former students in the field.

Dr. William Pencak will be in Mercersburg on March 4, 2010 to speak to grades 7 and 8 at the James Buchannan Middle School about the history of the Smith House. Later in the evening he will be lecturing at Mercersburg’s First United Methodist Church on N. Fayette Street from 7:30-8:30 pm with light refreshments to follow. The public is invited to attend.

By Karen Ramsburg

For more information on the Justice William Smith House go to http://savesmithhouse.com

“Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is when both sides of an argument allow emotion to trump common sense.  In the case of the Justice William Smith House, the birthplace of the American Revolution, this means the choice to demolish the house without considering any other options.

No one is arguing that MMP&W Fire Company, the current owners of the property, do not have the right if they so choose to do so, to demolish the property.  What a prudent person would ask is given the historical value of the property whether this is the most fiscally responsible decision the local fire board could make.

The local preservationist group, Save the Justice William Smith House, Inc., has offered the fire department three other possibe options all of which would not only meet the fire company’s needs but would save the house as well.

The first option is to advertise on national historic websites for the sale of historic properties.  The price to be determined by the fire company.  In this particular instance they would recoup their $125,000 loan leaving them the difference as a profit to use as they see fit.  Another option offered was through Congressman Bill Shuster’s (R-PA) office.

This offer involves getting the house on the National Historic Register.  When this occurs Congressman Shuster is willing to help save the house and meet the fire board’s needs.  Another option was grants through historic preservation and the state transportation department.  Any one of these options would meet the fire department’s needs and save the house as well.”

The article goes on to detail why preserving historic buildings such as the Smith House benefits the community far more than the short term gains realized by something like a parking lot. We applaud the author, Tim McCown and the Philadelphia Progressive Examiner for supporting such a worthy preservation effort.

For more information on the Justice William Smith House or to make a donation go to http://savesmithhouse.com.

To read Tim McCown’s entire article, see:

http://www.examiner.com/x-3629-Philadelphia-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m12d20-Snatching-def eat-from-the-jaws-of-victory?cid=email-this-article