Greetings militiamen and distaff, This weekend we will be at Blenheim house in Fairfax County Virginia commemorating the service of Captain Rezin Willcoxon who served in the Virginia cavalry and supportive operations during the defense of Washington in August of 1814. While the Blenheim house is actually an antebellum mansion, it was in fact built by Capt. Wilcox. Our focus will be the discussion revolving around the battle of Bladensburg and the defense of Washington as both Maryland and Virginia militia units served in this operation. My intention is to arrive at Blenheim house as early as possible (before 0900 hrs. if possible). The event is to open to the public at 11 AM, but all vehicles should be off-site and parked by 10 AM. If you are coming on site then offload your gear and park immediately. The schedule of events are as follows: 11:00 Camps Open—ongoing soldier activities; blacksmiths; civilian life; fencing demonstrations 11:30 Talk: Virginia Militias in the War of 1812 Stuart L. Butler, Virginia Military Historian of the War of 1812 12:00 Cannon firing/demonstration (Need to check length) maybe also marching formations also??? 12:30 Talk: Washington Baltimore Campaigns Steve Vogel, Historian and Author, Through the Perilous Fight 1:00-2:00 Musical Discussion and Presentation: Music of the War of 1812 David Hilldebrand, specialist in early American music and Director of the Colonial Music Institute 1:00 Civil War tour of ca. 1859 house 2:30 The Potomac Squadron and the Attack on Washington Presenter: Patrick O’Neill, Independent Research Historian 3:00 Cannon firing/demonstration/ Need to check length) maybe also marching formations 3:30 Grave side ceremony (color guard/ guns salute, etc.) 4:00 p.m. Camps Close As far as what gear to bring out…we should try to keep this simple. My vehicle is already a pact with all the gear from the past for events and therefore I see no reason for anyone else to bring any canvas to this event. We will simply set up the large fly and a single soldiers wedge tent for storing modern items. With everyones help this should come up and go down quickly. Each militiamen should have a full cartridge box of rolled cartridges. If you can roll your own cartridges in advance then do so, otherwise cartridge paper and powder will be available on-site. Make sure you bring something to sit on. I have a case of water left over from Ft. McHenry and will pack ice in the cooler, although the weather seems to be holding out is rather cool for that day. The site is providing lunch to each of us; however, I do have plenty of peanuts left over from this past weekend at Ft. McHenry and can bring some fruit for snacks. Most of all enjoy this event as it should be very relaxing. Yours in history Sgt. Roop 16th Regiment of the Maryland Militia Capt. George Washington McGees Company
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 12:41:07 +0000
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