"We need people that want to wake up early on a Sunday, put on three layers of clothes in August and go stand in a field and entertain the public," said Costantino, of New Hyde Park, who has been with the regiment for five years.Īnd much like Gen. "We need participants," said Justin Costantino, one of the younger members and a sergeant in the Third New York Regiment in Coram, which portrays the Suffolk County-based companies of 1775. Interest among Long Islanders to don British redcoats or Continental Army gear for faux battles is on the decline, they said. … He already asked me if we can come back next year.In just a few short years, Americans will celebrate the nation's 250th birthday with a bevy of living history events commemorating epic battles with the British for independence.įor a small group of Long Islanders who are working to keep the region's deep connections to the Revolutionary War alive, there is fear those celebrations could be muted. “He’s a Revolutionary War fanatic,” Wilson’s dad said. Wilson’s father, Steve Rochford, had read about the re-enactment but didn’t tell Wilson what they were going to do, just to put on the outfit from his first-grade project. It’s a war he finds interesting because “America battled the biggest country in the world.” “He’s my favorite person in the Revolutionary War,” Wilson said. Wilson Rochford, 7, a second-grader at Seacliff Elementary in Huntington Beach, walked the park dressed like George Washington. There’s one kid Pritchard probably couldn’t stump. The women had only about a week to remarry after their husbands died if they wanted to receive rations. Pritchard loves educating children and is full of fun facts, such as the one about the wives of English officers, who traveled to the colonies with them. His girlfriend joins in, too.Įven though Pritchard is on the enemy’s side, he’s actually of colonial descent, related to a soldier who fought in the the 2nd Maryland Regiment.īut “somebody’s gotta be the bad guy,” he said. Pritchard is a regular now after about 20 years, averaging about one re-enactment a month. Then there’s the uniform, with the wool coat and trousers, the gold-plated buttons, the leather boots, the gloves and the hat. The musket, a Brown Bess replica, can put you back nearly $1,000. It’s a little weird,” said Pritchard, a retired Los Angeles County fire captain. “I thought I’d like to check that out but I don’t think I’m going to dress up like that. Pritchard said he first heard about re-enacting when he saw a sign in Brookhurst Hobbies in Garden Grove. If you came from aristocracy, you knew what you were doing – wrong.” … If a captain’s rank came up, I could buy it. “He was a real captain of this regiment,” Pritchard said. Ferguson’s Company of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Lionel Smythe and is in a Welsh regiment, Capt. Joining the soldiers were settlers, artisans selling wares and public figures such as Ben Franklin. They camp there at night, talking by the fire, eating period food (like boiled meats) and smoking pipes. About 60 re-enactors had prepared for months for their character, which they call their “impression.” Some traveled from as far as Utah and Arizona for the weekend event.
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