The Revolutionary War

This program focuses on how soldiers lived and fought during the Revolutionary War period.  Student volunteers are put into “uniforms” of the American and British armies as well as the typical attire of the American militia and the various weapons are discussed in relation to how these influenced the tactics of the war.

 Everything depends on how long we have per class/session.

 It covers the difference between the “Regular Army” and Militia in terms of creation, arms, organization and effectiveness, as well as the differences between American and British operations and backgrounds.

 We will open a soldier’s haversack and see the typical items that were carried, some of the medical tools employed and some items that were used in day-to-day life.

 Several items of historical trivia (such as why “Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni” and “Where did they get ‘yankee’ and ‘doodle” from anyway?”) and such are covered as well as items most students would be unfamiliar with:  Fires started by flint and steel, tools used by spies, the role of women and so on.

 

 

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One thing that is explained is that real battlefields looked nothing like those of movies:  They were less strewn with bodies than they were with body parts.  War wasn’t a large exciting event with an thrilling soundtrack, but a horrific terror from which many feared they would never escape.  Given time, there's even a mock scalping.

Moreover, most of war was not even fighting, but rather endless tedium of marching from place to place, often in either no shoes or poor shoes, wondering if there would be enough food, sleeping on bare, often wet, ground and learning about the needs for certain sanitation.  (Most kids don’t actually realize the importance of some form of toilet – neither did soldiers, which cost many lives.) 

In some parts it is humorous, at other times the grotesque is emphasized to keep the attention of all engaged. 

With the permission of the Principal, the demo concludes with the drill of loading and firing the 18^th Century flintlocks (blanks only). 

(They can beg or plead, but students are not permitted to have a role in this.)

 

Questions?  Contact Colonel@HistoryWell.com