I wanted to let you know how things went this past weekend. With the late change of site and period in between where many thought it wasn't going to happen I had guarded expectations for the weekend.
Fanshawe Village turned out to be a nice site. We had a good area to camp (though the racoons were great foragers!) and the lake we fought around turned out to be a very interesting location for battle.
Saturday we had a fair amount of rain in the morning which caused us to ammend our schedule a bit but the afternoon was good. Sunday the weather was perfect and a great way to end the weekend.
We fought two new scenarios this year that turned out to be quite fun and allowed us to do some new things. Saturday, due to the rain, we combined the boat landing of Prince Charles with the afternoon battle. The Prince landed and was met by a group of highlanders. After meeting with the clans, and speaking to some of the local citizens seeking recruits, a red coat patrol escorting a cannon to Fort William happened upon the gathering. Hoping to end the uprising quickly they deployed their cannon and attacked. The ship that landed Prince Charles responded by firing its cannon from the lake in support and the highland army fought back. A spirited battle went back and forth until in true highland form, the Army of King James prevailed through the power of the highland charge, scattering the patrol and capturing the gun.
Sunday the tables were turned. We did a first-time scenario for us, focusing on the retreat phase of the Battle of Culloden. With the Army of King James shattered the remnants of the army tried to withdraw as the crown forces pressed their advantage. Sharp skirmishing took place, anchored by the French Forces who held the rear and were eventually forced to surrender but their heroism allowed a good number of the highland remnant to withdraw but it was still a sad day for the Army of King James.
Beyond the battles, we had the usual camp activities though we did add a very interesting demonstration of the May Pole (thanks Elena!) and great camraderie. So what at first looked like it might turn out poorly was again another resounding success.
Considering the last minute changes our numbers were pretty good on both sides and we were able to do everything we wanted to. Participating units from the Army of Kings James were: Clan MacLachlan(our hosts), Clan Cameron, the MacGregors, Elcho's LifeGuards, Bagot's Husars, French Forces, HRH Prince Charles Household staff, one ship, artillery and finally, an appearance by the Young Ranald of Clanranald himself and his retinue!
The Crown Forces were enthusiastically led by Peter Twist and he had a good force each day. Participating units were: 1st of Foot Grenadiers, 15th ROF, 28th ROF, 40th Grenadiers, 60th ROF and Argyl Militia.
A big huzzah goes out to the MacLachlan (Tom Hurlbut) for his hurculean efforts to make this event happen. If it hadn't been for him, we would not have had this wonderful weekend. Three cheers for the MacLachlan:
Hip, hip, huzzah!....huzzah!...huzzah!...God save King James!
Our next event is "I am come home!" held the weekend of September 18-19 as part of the Olcott Celtic Festival in Olcott New York. This is the first time we've worked in conjunction with another event so I'm excited to see how it all works out. Details will be forthcoming in the next month.
Thank you to all of you who hung with us and made it another special weekend. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Your servant,
Chris Timm
