I was giving a tour this morning to the Brewers from California when we ran right into the Continental Army! We took some pictures, admired the different coats and picked out the guy we thought was playing Washington. At one point, I gestured to two of the ladies and told the Brewers that they were "camp followers." Without breaking her stride, one of the women immediately corrected me, "We are NOT camp followers. We're women of the army! That's very different." (I think I might have called them prostitutes.)
This week's New York Magazine has interviews with four reenactors--a camp follower, a privateer, George Washington and a "very cranky Dutch refugee." I love these people. Seriously! A camp of five hundred tents and people dressed up singing eighteenth-century songs around the campfires? It's only a matter of time before I'm carrying a musket, I'll tell you that!
What a fabulous thing to run into on a tour! I have to believe that students would perk up a little bit at Broad and Wall if they saw soldiers marching toward the Federal Hall Memorial! Very cool. Thanks for sharing it.
Posted by: Doug | November 30, 2008 at 10:56 PM