Sharron's Blog: History Comes Full Circle

When Kyle was about 4, he became enamored of all things related to the Revolutionary War. He found an infomercial on Colonial Williamsburg one Saturday morning and watched it over and over. He wanted breeches and a vest and a tricorn hat. He begged for a musket and could we please go to Williamsburg??? He wore his dress up clothes much of the time and pretended to fight the British nearly every day. We went to a reenactment at Locust Grove, and he was hooked.

At Locust Grove, April 2000

My mom remembered a song by Johnny Horton that started out,

"In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with General Jackson
Down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon
And we took a little beans
And we fought the bloody British
At the town of New Orleans."

Mom went to a record store (yes there were still record stores then!) and while she couldn't remember the name of the song, she remembered the lyrics and sang it to the clerk. It was "The Battle of New Orleans." He found the CD, and Mom bought it and brought it to Kyle, excited to watch his reaction.

Never mind that it was the wrong war, Kyle loved the music and the fighting the British, and he listened to that song over and over, marching in a circle around our first floor. Claire even got into the act, and the two of them made quite a pair.

I made Kyle an outfit and we made plans to go to Williamsburg. It was a week to remember! Kyle made friends with the militia and rose in rank from "Private Kyle" to "Corporal Kyle" by the end of our stay. The militia actually put him to work and had him giving orders and teaching the "new recruits" how to wheel to the left and stand at attention.

Corporal Kyle. Notice the sergeant is holding Kyle's musket!

Shouting, "Huzzah!" as the fife and drum corps marched by.

He got to "fire" a cannon and even had Claire swabbing out the gun tube.

He got to meet George Washington and Patrick Henry. I'll never forget Patrick Henry's response when Kyle said, "I know what you said: Give me liberty or give me death!" The Williamsburg "date" that day was before the time Henry actually said this, but the actor replied, "I haven't said that yet, but I like it! I might want to quote you one day!"

We drove over to Yorktown, and Kyle walked on the battlefield and hid behind trees and charged the enemy.

It was a wonderful, magical week. We suspended disbelief and immersed ourselves in the past, and had a ball.

We had no idea it would be the beginning of such a long and interesting ride.

Kyle continued his love of history and reenacting. We visited Boonesborough and Ft. Harrod. We went to the Civil War fort Ft. Duffield and to Perryville for the reenactment. We went to Clark's Point and hung out with the Corps of Discovery and got involved with Locust Grove portraying members of the Clark and Croghan families. We went to Vincennes for the reenactment of the battle of Ft. Sackville. We went back to Williamsburg and to old forts in Minnesota, Alabama, New York, and Florida. We toured Gettysburg.

Kyle continued reenacting until it wasn't "cool" anymore at about age 13. He still loved it, but didn't want anyone to see him doing it. Around 16, Kyle decided to start reenacting again, quietly, but with a good group of guys. Actually, some of the very same guys he had met as a little 4-year-old boy at Locust Grove and Ft. Harrod were still in the company. His first reeactment as a a participant was at Vincennes, where we had been spectators just a few years before. He's reenacted at events at Locust Grove, talking to little kids just like he was so many years ago. He bought himself a real musket and even has one of the tents like he's sitting in in the picture at Yorktown above.

This past fall, Kyle was lucky enough to participate in the Battle of the Hook, an important part of the Battle of Yorktown. He "fought" on the actual battle ground

Battle of the Hook. Kyle is in there somewhere.

and rowed a period-style boat across the river ferrying soldiers to the battle.

Kyle in the front in the green hunting coat.

One night, he and some of the guys from the company ventured into Williamsburg in costume and had dinner in a tavern and sang sea chanties to the guests.

In January, Kyle will travel down to New Orleans to reenact the Battle of New Orleans, the very same battle that he "fought" in my living room, while Johnny Horton sang about it all those years ago. I wish my mom were here to share this!

But the coolest of all is that Kyle's 4th great-grandfather (my 3rd), Bennett Mattingly, was actually IN the Battle of New Orleans 200 years ago this year. And, they are just about the same age; Kyle almost 19 and Bennett around 20. The reenactment will take place just about a mile from the site of the actual battle.

I don't understand this connection to the past, but I love how it's come full-circle!