Reader Mark Keigwin was kind enough to send in copies of newspaper reports and brochures for this living history event held October 3-5, 1997 in Kingston, NY. Mark reports that there was a high level of interest in this event, with spectators lined 5 to 6 people deep around specific events. He also included copies of loyalty papers that were handed out to the spectators. Throughout the weekend, re-enactors from both sides patrolled the streets of Kingston and randomly asked tourists for copies of their loyalty papers. A nice little touch to get the public involved in the spirit of things. Mark mentions that he kept of copy of each paper in separate pockets so that he could fish the appropriate set when challenged. How's that for Yankee ingenuity! Historical Background On October 6, 1777, about 1,200 British troops under the direction of Major General John Vaughan, landed on the beach above Kingston Point. Seizing a guide, the invading force marched to the village of Kingston, encountering no resistance from the inhabitants who had fled their homes. The troops plundered and then burned all of the buildings in Kingston except one -- the Van Steenburgh House on Wall Street. Within three hours they had completed their destruction and returned to their ships by way of Delaware Avenue and Kingston Point. The original purpose of the British expedition had been to provide relief to General Burgoyne's army at Saratoga, but at some point, Genral Vaughan learned that Burgoyne had already surrendered and that may have been a factor in his decision to loot and burn the town. Crown Forces It is estimated that a total of 300 re-enactors representing both sides of the conflict were present at the Kingston event. The 17 units re~ resenting King George's forces included the 16th Light Dragoons, the 1st Foot Guards, the 10th Foot and the 64th Foot; German units included the Hesse Cassel Jaegers, and Hessian regiments Lieb, Specht and Von Donop; Loyalist units included the Queen's Rangers, the King's Rangers, Butler's Rangers and other ranger units plus the Royal Navy and Royal Artillery contingents. Crown forces units came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Patriot Forces The Americans were represented by l3 different units, mostly militia units, augmented by artillery and some Continental units. Sheldon's Horse 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, the 2nd Continental Artillery, 1st Canadian Regt., 6th Massachusetts Regt., and the 1st New York Regt. represented the "regulars". Militia units included the local 1st Ulster County Militia Company from Kingston, NY augmented by two companies of Albany militia, the Tryon County militia, the Rehobeth Minutemen, the Bergen Company of militia, Colonel Pawling's Independent Company of Levies, and the Pawtuxent Rangers. The Weekend's Events American militia and Crown forces arrived on Friday evening and registered their units and set up the respective camps. This was followed by a safety meeting that evening to plan the weekend's events. On Saturday morning, the British forces landed by boat at Kingston Point and skirmished with the American militia, driving them off rather handily. Then everyone boarded buses back into Kingston to prepare for the afternoon re-enactment of the street fighting in the city. At 6:30 pm, there was a ceremonial bonfire to commemorate the burning of the town (the local fire department vetoed the idea of burning down a real structure, for safety reasons). Following the bonfire, there were evening candle light tours of the military camps, as well as colonial music and dance events for the re-enactors and the public. On Sunday morning, the British held court martials of prisoners taken the day before, while in the afternoon, a tactical demonstration featuring Continentals and American militia versus all the Crown forces was enacted for the public. Based on the literature that I received from Mark Keigwin, it sounds as if the re-enactment was quite a success and was well attended by the public and the re-enactors. Back to American Revolution Journal Vol. I No. 2 Table of Contents Back to American Revolution Journal List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by James E. Purky This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com