Civil War re-enactments are common events for people interested in the history and warfare of that era. Less common are events that bring the Revolutionary War back to life. This weekend, the Muster at the Mill at Uncle John’s Cider Mill remembers what organizer Scott Mann describes as the “gentlemanly nature of warfare” in those days.
At the first Muster at the Mill last year, Mann and his wife Carol-Anne were married in a ceremony complete with period clothing.
Mann says British soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder in long lines. The smooth-bore muskets they used were inaccurate, he explains, and that this formation masked the fire of those weapons to "send a wall of lead" toward the opponent.
The Americans did have units that hid behind rocks and trees to pick the British off, Mann continues, "but in general, that was not the case."
In contrast to Civil War re-enactments, Mann says a Revolutionary War event like this one will be much smaller.
The Muster at the Mill will feature demonstrations by a woman who raises her own sheep, shearing the wool that is spun into yarn that can be made into period-correct items. Also on hand will be two surgeons displaying medical treatments of the day, along with settlers and food.
There will also be bagpipes and fife and drum music at Muster at the Mill.
