Muskets firing. Cannons booming. Soldiers marching.
My sons were in boy heaven as we attended the first annual Fall Fest at the Smith-Appleby House in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The event, held in mid-September, included a Revolutionary War re-enactment battle and camp, spinning demonstrations, and recounting of little known Revolutionary War stories. All for free.
After a small donation ($4 per adult, children free), we also joined a guided tour of the Smith-Appleby House. Our guide did a wonderful job explaining the significance of the house (built BEFORE George Washington was born!) and it's contents to the children in our group. My oldest is developing an interest in history (a child after his mother's heart!) so to hear a tour guide say we were walking through history made a big impression.
Even though they liked the house, all the boys claimed the battle re-enactment as their favorite part of our day. Not surprising for boys who spend a lot of time battling each other with make-shift guns and light sabers!
Ellie on the other hand did not enjoy the sound and smoke of war, even if it was only pretend. She preferred to play the colonial children's games of tug-o-war and hoop rolling. I think the camp tents also held her interest more than the battle did.
We enjoyed our time at Smith-Appleby House and will no doubt talk about it fondly when we discuss the Revolutionary War during our home school history lessons. If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking their website for tour dates!
Have you attended a Revolutionary War battle re-enactment? If you were going to be a reenactor, would you want to be a Redcoat or Colonial solder?
5 comments:
I'm completely jealous--we've never been there! We're totally going next year. :)
Amanda, I think this was the first year for the re-enactment. They are having a couple of more tours of the house this year on the weekend but that's not quite as exciting as the battle. :)
What a nice story! Bear and I were at Smith-Appleby on Saturday and had a great time, although she didn't care for the sound of cannon fire either.
Erika for iheartrhody
www.iheartrhody.com
That looks pretty amazing! And I'm with the others - jealous. There's a lot about the East Coast that has appeal (in the history department.) Just not the larger cities. ;)
I love living on the East Coast. New England is a fabulous place for home schooling. So many activities and field trips you can do! :)
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