Thirty years ago the Jamestown Settlement held its first ever Military Through the Ages Living History Event. This is not a reenactment but a demonstrative event of the dress, arms, drill & food of a military unit from antiquity through to the current era. Units are required to do a 30 minute presentation of period appropriate unit drill, cook an accurate mid-day meal and have organized public interactive activities. They are judged on these activates as well as on their camp, attire & equipment. Judging also takes into account the research difficulties of the pre-Napoleonic Wars eras.
The Cobham Consort
Now its not all about guys and weapons, they also schedule musicians who feature music from various eras. There was even an all female unit, the Woman’s Land Army of Great Britain from WWII. These women were enlisted & trained to replace the foresters & agricultural workers who were in the regular armed forces. Their camp had all sorts of interactive equipment & was so crowed that I couldn’t get any photography done at all. They also were the 1st place prize winners in several categories.
I’m a medievalist by academic training and my interest in things military stops right about 1865. So here’s my view of JMTA.
The Warriors
This year the oldest unit represented was medieval. A Roman imperial unit had registered but was unable to make the event.
Scala Karoli c. 800
Scala Karoli is Carolingian and portrays a feudal household accompanying their liege lord to the coronation of Charlemagne.
Vikings c.1000
The Vikings demonstrated both individual & shield wall tactics during their drill session. Viking equipment was very basic; a shield for defense, a saxe, ax or maybe sword for offence, and maybe a helm and/or mail shirt for body armor.
The Devil’s Nightmare Swiss Mercenary Company c.1529
These Swiss mercenaries are on their way home from Byzantium. Each man of the company earns as much in one month as the average farmer back home does in a year. They spend their pay on portable wealth such as fine clothes, excellent equipment, good food & gold coin.
Pike Men Against Horse
The Swiss demonstrated the manual of arms for pike plus some marching maneuvers. Marching with a 14 foot pole is no simple matter.
Archangel Seaman c.1690
The Archangel is an English navel vessel but the navy hadn’t gotten around to uniforms as yet so the crew look like ordinary civilian seamen. Navy craft carry their arms on board to be issued as needed, so few seamen would have walked around with anything other than a personal knife. The white canvas slops he is wearing were worn over knee breeches to protect them except in the hottest of climates were they would be worn as the only garment over the legs. The sleeved weskit he wears over his upper body would not have been worn while working aloft.
British Royal Artillery c.1781
These “Redcoats” aren’t wearing red coats because they’re artillery. The gentlemen with white coat facings are officers & the ones with red facings are the enlisted gun crew. The Yorktown Royal Artillery gave an excellent firing demonstration. The various cannon units do demo firing pointed out over the James River.
American Militia Unit c.1812-1814
The small US regular army of 1812 wore fancy blue wool uniforms. The bulk of the US armed capability lay in local militia units with limited financial resources. Blue linen colonial style frocks with red trim were a popular militia uniform. The pants might match the frocks or might be of plain linen. Various styles of hat were used. It was rare for everyone in any given unit to have identical uniforms or a complete set of accouterments. Militias received rather indifferent training and were generally inept at drill & marching.
French Soldier c.1812-1814
In contrast this French soldier has a winter uniform, a summer uniform, and a complete set of accouterments plus headwear for fatigue, campaign, and dress parade. He also has a knapsack, haversack, canteen, blanket, and spare clothing plus tents and camping gear in the supply train. His marching and drill were certainly not inept.
The Weapons
Viking c.1000
Vikings went for simple, sturdy weapons. Iron work was expensive so axes were the favored weapon. Big knives (or short swords) called saxes were also common. Swords were very costly and seldom carried by anyone but a war band leader. Scandinavia doesn’t have an abundance of good bow woods so archery wasn’t a major player in a Viking attacks but was used for hunting. Hard bread & dried fish were the usual sea rations.
Lord Gray’s Retinue c.1471
The late middle ages wasn’t much for simple but study is still the order of the day. A lord would have owned at least 2 battle steeds & 2 more solid riding horses. He would have a shield, sword, a lance or two, and full plate armor. He would have lead a dozen or so of his own armed men plus 2 to 4 liege knights and their armed retainers. This lord is visiting his estates with only his personal retainers and family.
Longbow Arrows c.1471
Lord Gray is English and his personal guard includes several longbow men. Longbows for war took a heavy arrow with reinforced nooks. The bows themselves pulled at least 100 pounds. Archers skeletons can be identified by their shortened right arms and scars from torn and healed ligaments on their left shoulders. (I hope to learn to make arrows as good of these.)
Archangel Onboard Arms c.1690
Navel vessels carried a wide assortment on weaponry with minimal standardization throughout the force. The firearms were smoothbore flintlocks. Most were over .50 cal., and small shot or buck & ball were popular loads. The long barreled musket 2nd from the left would have been used by a sniper-in-the-rigging firing a single round ball. Short broad swords, cutlasses, and heavy knives were the most common weapons used. Boarding axes were used primarily to cut away damaged rigging. They weren’t as effective as stout knives in the close quarter fighting needed to capture a ship.
Navigational Instruments & Hand Drawn Chart c.1690
The Archangel’s navigator has drawn these charts of the James River area using reproduction navigational equipment. He was showing folks how they were used as part of this unit’s interactive presentation. These aren’t weapons but knowing where your ship is can certainly be a weapon.
The Women
Military means men in most peoples’ minds. Yet for most of human history military units were small & local with local women living & traveling with their husbands. These women cooked, washed & mended clothing, provided medical care, and took care of the meat-on-the-hoof that went along with nearly every form of military unit until the mid-19th century. So here are a few women travelling with a military group.
Viking c.1000
Vikings often set up temporary camps in deserted areas where they could beach their boats. They would raid from these sheltered camps where their women would stay with their older warrior sons. This Viking lady is demonstrating a variety of spinning & needle art skills.
French Soldier’s Wife Hundred Years War c.1414
This Good Wife is carding wool which she will then spin into thread with a drop spindle. This is the same tools & technique the Viking good wife used 400 years earlier.
Ladies of Lord Gray’s Household c.1471
This Lord has several estates to manage. It was common for the Lord’s household to accompany him as he visited his various properties. He traveled as an armed company to guard against lord-less men. His family was much safer with him and he needed his wife to oversee certain facets of estate management.
Jacobite Ladies c.1745
Women also followed their military men as refugees and social status did not shield a woman from becoming a refugee. These women have followed their clan leader husband and father into the Scottish Highlands in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The Food
The military moves on its stomach, so here are some common foods for the soldier. These were all cooked onsite as the lunch part of the unit competition .
Scara Karoli c.800
Charlemagne’s troops marched on dried fruit, fruit paste, hard cheeses, various breads and baked egg pies similar to a modern quiche. Various local alcoholic beverages were also consumed but there was not much in the way of meat for the men.
Viking c.1000
The Vikings used dried fish and hard breads while at sea but wanted a heavily laden table on land. So they pillaged themselves a smorgasbord of foods. Roast pork, beef, fowl, and sheep were eaten along with root vegetables, fresh greens, various beans, leavened and unleavened breads, mushrooms, fresh and dried fruits, various cheeses and eggs. (I think I want to be a Viking , at least at meals.)
Lord Gray’s Retinue c.1471
Lord Gray is traveling between his estates so his retinue is eating a light noon meal while they rest their horses. This savory dish has mildly spiced fresh mushrooms, onions, and celery.
Jacobite c.1745
The Jacobite Scots are having sheep sausage with leek garnish and fried bacon. There is also leavened bread and beer.
I visited the post 1865 areas briefly even though it’s not a time of great interest to me.
US Expeditionary Force c.1918
I just liked this display. They had 3 shelter tents up and their gear laid out ready for an inspection. There was the as issued army gear, some personal items from home, and some locally acquired foodstuffs. It really did look like part of a company bivouac
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