Raleigh Boaze, was our featured speaker this year on Fort Loudoun Day 16 May 2015 Saturday.
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A living history interpreter in frontier deerskin and linen, not a re-enactor, Raleigh Boaze flashed a smile and a blade when somebody mentioned a man bag.
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Were frontiersman extra sensitive someone asked?
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About the Braddock Expedition, its gigantic logistical problems, its impact afterwards, and how the battle unfolded, Raleigh Boaze detailed for the audience.
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Bill Hunt, our last year’s speaker, was in English Lieutenant Dress Uniform. He often portrays Andrew Montour, a metis, and who was paid high compliment by Conrad Weiser, and George Washington.
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And two engineers were there under a tent, using ink from lamp oil, the other drawing the outlines of a fort with 4 corner bastions.
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Correction for video: 419 N Loudoun is the Baker-Darlington-Hardy House.
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Norman Baker, French and Indian War Foundation historian, working with the Boy Scouts sprayed a line representing where the 16 foot high wall stood, impressively showing the curtain wall to be 18 feet wide at its base.
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Norman Baker walked the group around the perimeter of the fort to show its size and command of this 40 foot rise overlooking the Winchester walking mall.
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Steve Resan, another French and Indian War Board member, walked about as James Wood (Senior). By the way, James Wood died in 1759, but here James Wood was — walking about, clearly present in front of us all, occasionally clearing his throat, and establishing firm footing with his cane, could inform all comers of the details of his life.
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Patrick Murphy, another board member and author of French and Indian War in Shenandoah County, Life on the Inner Frontier 1752-1766, confirmed there were Eastern Woodland Buffalo, for which James Wood paid bounty.
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Our speaker, Raleigh Boaze, on Fort Loudoun Day, after his speech on the Fated Braddock Campaign, showed us his rifle, the source of daily modern metaphors:
flash in the pan,
half cocked,
cock sure, cocky,
lock stock and barrel,
keep your powder dry
buck = 1 dollar for a male deerskin
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Raleigh Boaze spoke of the clothing he made and how he made the rifle he carried.
Porcupine Quill, cut and flattened, vegetable color dyed, decorated his knife holster, belt, and other parts of the frontier woodsman clothes
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More details to come of all those who came to help portray living history, and of all those Board members who helped with this event, setting up chairs, tables, the tents, and who brought food and refreshment on a day that bore down some hot temperature.
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Our 16 May 2015 Fort Loudoun Day advertisement:
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Fort Loudoun Day , May 16, 2015, 10am to 1pm
commemorates the start of building Fort Loudoun in May 1756.
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We are delighted to announce a speaker, Raleigh Boaze
AND …
last year’s speaker, Bill Hunt who portrayed a British Lieutenant
AND …
A group portraying Washington’s Engineers
The Dept. of Geographers https://www.facebook.com/ArmyGeographer was a staff unit of Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War.
They functioned as road surveyors & cartographers for
Washington’s northern & southern armies.
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For Ft. Loudoun Day we will portray
Washington’s engineering managers
during the construction phase of the fort 1756-1758.
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We will have our survey instruments, maps and probably an inked diagram of Ft. Loudoun made with period drawing instruments. We will have our own table & fly.
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Subject of talk by Raleigh Boaze:
“General Braddock’s Failed Attempt to
Capture Fort Duquesne and the Colonies Involvement “
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Raleigh Boaze is a living history interpreter of the 18th century colonial frontier. Mr. Boaze presents a first person account of life on the ‘American’ frontier in the years 1754 to 1775. Dressed in backwoodsman attire and accoutrements, he describes the settlers’ strife at the hands of the Native Americans aligned with the French opposing encroachment of the British colonists beyond the Appalachians and underscores the importance of this period in the eventual founding of our country.
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Mr. Boaze presents his interpretation of the 18th century frontier life in schools and before civic groups in the Mid-Atlantic region and has been instrumental in bringing about changes to history texts used in the public schools to ensure that they accurately portray life on the frontier during this period.
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For the source of celebrating Fort Loudoun Day,
see letter from George Washington to Adam Stephen May 18, 1756.
Another site to check for that same letter is here.
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SEE PREVIOUS FORT LOUDOUN DAYS.