Helpful Links

Here is a link to our NCRA Facebook Page – 

https://www.facebook.662/com/groups/136052949792

 

Here is the email address of our member Roger Gary who publishes our newsletter (it’s a really fantastic newsletter by the way) –

abigailsnroger@hughes.net;

 

Here is a link to the Facebook page of another local 18th Century reenactment group –  The 2nd Connecticut Regiment of Militia –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/177450709000666/

 

Here is a link to the Facebook page of our friends at The Northwest Colonial Festival in Sequim Washington – 

https://www.facebook.com/colonialfestival/

 

And here is a link to the Facebook page of some Redcoat reenactors – The 7th Co’y Brigade of Gaurds –

https://www.facebook.com/search/str/7th%2BCo%2527y%252C%2BBrigade%2Bof%2BGuards/keywords_top

 

I recently responded to a new reenactor and his family with some advice about attaining period clothing and equipment.  I reproduce that advice here for the benefit of all new reenactors:

Concerning clothing and equipment there are basically five ways you can attain these things.  Virtually every reenactor has attained things through a mix of all five of these methods:

1)  You can buy them ready made by a significant online company like Jas Townsend or G. Gedney Goodwin or by smaller online shops.
– Expensive, not always very authentic, but reasonably fast.

2)  You can purchase patterns by JP Ryan and Fabrics or other materials from online places like Fabric-Store.com or Wm. Booth Draper and then make your own clothes.
– A great deal of work and time, and a great deal of fun, also it’s a good way to meet other reenactors as the patterns are often hard to follow and you will need some help and advice.  For many of us this is a big part of the reenacting experience and the items we produce this way are greatly enjoyed and treasured.

3)  You can Purchase Previously owned items on Ebay etc.
– Sometimes you can get good deals this way and it’s pretty fast but be careful as you won’t be alb to try it on beforehand.

4)  You can buy things in person from vendors (called sutlers) at major reenacting events and at marketing events like the Monroe Gun Show (that show just happened this March 10-11)
– You can really look at things, try them on, and compare to other merchants, and negotiate for really good deals (especially if you’re Dutch)

5)  You can Let your fellow reenactors know what you might need and then buy their extra items that they offer to sell you.
–  Honestly, we have found by experience that this is the best method.  The items we have attained from our fellow reenactors are often even more dear to us than the things we have made ourselves.  we also pick up a wealth of valuable information and advice this way and it builds great relationships.  Relationships are one of the most significant benefits of reenacting.  For many of us they are the most significant benefit.

Here’s an idea.  Post on the NCRA Facebook page introducing yourself and your family and your new membership in our group and let people know what kinds of things you are looking to attain.  Some reenactors might respond to you on Facebook and some will wait to meet you at an event you announced you were planning on attending and will have extra things for you to try, on or borrow for the event, or purchase.  Here is a link to the NCRA Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/136052949792662/

Take your time.  Don’t rush your decisions and purchases.  Be careful and save your money.  There’s no need to get stressed about it.  No one is going to be critical if you don’t have everything right yet.  We have all been there.  It’s part of the reenacting journey.  It’s all part of the fun 😉

Oh, and here’s a link to our website’s “Helpful Links” Tab where you might find some good sources for items:

Helpful Links

All God’s best to you and your family and we much look forward to meeting you all in person,

Wylin&Family

 

Here are some links to online stores selling reproduction colonial items –
(Please note that your best deals on such items are normally obtained from fellow reenactors at events, or from 18th century gun shows, or from eBay)

Here is a link to Roger Gary’s friend the colonial shoemaker:

“Historical Leather Works”

Clay & Jamie Laundry

Ph. (406) 287-9324 or (406) 853-9468

historicalre@gmail.com or hleatherworks@gmail.com

They make the fine colonial shoes and boots and will give a 10% discount to NCRA members.  The shoes are guaranteed to fit.  They also make period saddles.

 

http://www.jas-townsend.com/index.php

http://www.gggodwin.com/Subcategory.asp?category=11

http://smilingfoxforgellc.com/index.asp

http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php?goto=fabric_type&menu=f&fabric_type=1

http://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/index.aspx

http://www.militaryheritage.com/wool.htm

http://www.crazycrow.com/

http://www.fugawee.com/men%27s%20colonial.htm

http://www.jarnaginco.com/revwarframe.html

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/aboutus.shtml

http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Index.aspx

 

Here are some links providing interesting information –

http://www.nps.gov/mima/learn/education/upload/essentials.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Army

http://www.outwatersmilitia.com/clothing.html

http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/uniformschange.html

http://www.11thpa.org/Accoutrements.html

http://www.18cnewenglandlife.org/18cnel/mens.htm

http://www.srcalifornia.com/uniforms/p10.htm

http://www.srcalifornia.com/uniforms/v9a.htm

http://www.srcalifornia.com/uniforms/s7.htm

http://www.srcalifornia.com/uniforms/p5.htm

http://www.11thpa.org/religion.html

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html

http://www.11thpa.org/Bess.html

 

Hello again, I’m Wylin Tjoelker, your colonial Parson/Chaplin and I would like to share with you a list of books which will help you to understand the views, the vision, and the passion of the people living in the colonial time period which we represent.

First of all, if you really want to know what made these people tick, you need to avail yourself of a Bible.  Even the few non-religious people of that time had an uncanny ability to quote it off the cuff.  Just before the American Revolution, the entire country had experienced an astounding reality called “The Great Awakening.”  That singular event is key to understanding the source of the courage that enlivened the colonists and inspired them to actually risk all to resist tyranny.

So, you might assume, ok, I’ll go the authentic route and attain a reprint of the 1611 King James Bible.  That’s good, but if you want to understand the colonists even more, try to get a reprint of the 1560 Geneva Bible, complete with it’s side notes about the people’s responsibility to resit tyranny.  In truth, the American Revolution was a hugely significant step in a centuries-long struggle for freedom.

The mass majority of the population of the colonies at the time, from the most uneducated frontiersman, to the most highly-educated founder, was highly conversant in Bible speak.  It was used as the main textbook in the schools at the time, and the other textbooks were stuffed full of Bible verses as well.

Among the highly educated, the Greek and Roman classics were also read.  George Washington was particularly fond of a poem by Cato.  They were also influenced by political, social, and economic treatises by their European semi-contemporaries.

Here are a couple of books that I have found to help put this era into perspective:

Forged in Faith by Rod Gragg

God of Liberty by Thomas S. Kidd

 

Here is a link to a website specializing in the religious foundations of our war for independence – David Barton’s WallBuilders: 

http://www.wallbuilders.com/ABTOverview.asp

Here is a link to their online book store:

https://shop.wallbuilders.com/

Here is a link to the sermon I read that Sunday morning at our NCRA 2015 Colonial Encampment:

http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=73

Here is a link to an important article dealing with the American founders religious motivations in our war for independence:

http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=24548

 

Here are some of the best books that can be found that provide photographs and illustrations of original colonial clothing and equipment:

Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution by C. Neumann and Frank J. Kravic

Don Troiani’s Soldiers of the American Revolution by Don Troiani and James L. Kochan

The Revolutionary Soldier 1775-1783 by C. Keith Wilber

Sketch Book 76 by Robert l. Klinger and Richard A. Wilder

And here are some gems that my wife Hilda has found particularly helpful as a colonial seamstress:

Tidings From the 18th Century by Beth Gilgun

Whatever Shall I Wear? by Mara Riley

 

 

Hello, I’m Wylin Tjoelker NCRA Secretary, photographer and webmaster.  I portray a colonial parson and militia chaplin.  By popular request from some who had attended my “Prelude to the American Revolution” talk at our recent Colonial Encampment of July 2016 and at the church service during the Northwest Colonial Festival of August 2016, I include below a link to the latest text of that talk:

The Roots of the Revolution