Camden Revolutionary War Field Days

In all my years of living in the South, a war reenactment has never been on my list of things to do. The ladies and I stumbled across this event after finding out that our initial site of interest was closed for a private event. 100s of actors come out to show how things went down between the Patriots and the Red Coats. The participants camp out for two days, in real revolutionary war attire and gear. No modern convinces of any kind! Not even an outhouse. We were able to listen to a colonial band play songs hear as soldiers would have marched into battle. This was a family friendly event, with arts and crafts and field games for the children to participate in. A fashion show was also held to highlight the what would have been the fashion craze for the 1780s. 

This event is held every year in Camden every November. The participants know their Revolutionary War history well and travel across the South to participate in other battle reenactments. Artifacts were on display that were commonly used during the 1780s. Vendors sold period goods and food such as bread and cheese, tools and animal skins. 

I learned lots of interesting facts about like during the 18th century. Traveling painters would go door to door with painting almost finished, leaving only the faces of the people blank. You were able to have your face painted in the blank spots to personalize it. The picture below is an example. 

I also learned that 30,000 Germans fought in the War of Independence on the side of the British. The King of England and Kaiser of Germany were first cousins, and the Kaiser lent troops to aid in the war effort. Germans generally had a separate camp from the British soliders, mainly due to the language barrier. This influx of Germans lead to the creation of many German towns in the early days of the United States such as Germantown, PA. 

Hessian is another name for a solider of German descent.This is because the majority of the soldiers were from the same area of Germany.  The Germans also profited from the us of their solider by the British during the war. 

The Kershaw-Cornwallis house, pictured above was open for tours during the event. Originally built in 1777, the British occupied this house during the war by General Cornwallis. The house is host to several famous peices of furniture. The most famous being a be made for President James Madison and his wife Dolly. The bed was passed down to a relative of the first lady who lived in South Carolina. The intricate cravings were carved by slaves. 

The camps were set up as they were in 1777. The participants, cooked all of their food in the camp without and modern convinces. Water was even drank out of tin cups.