Feel free to ask the reenactors questions, they are more than happy to tell you about their camp, their clothing, or just talk history with you. Strolling through these tent cities gives you a glimpse of how people lived in the past, cooked their meals, and the things they used. Connect to Townsend’s on line store here and his YouTube channel here.Īfter checking out sutler row, we set off to explore the other encampments. If you have an interest in cooking historic foods, or other 18 th and early 19 th Century ways of life, Townsend’s YouTube channel is well worth a look. While roaming amongst the sutlers tents, we had the good fortune of stumbling across John Townsend, one of our favorite vendors of early America goods. Welcome to go in, look around, and make purchases. Although sutler row is geared toward reenactors, everyone is Sutler row had an assortment of food vendors selling smoked turkey legs, porkĬhops, ham and beans, fry bread, apple dumplings, and more types of vittles Row as a giant shopping mall for reenactors. Mugs, bowls, cups, tomahawks, beads, personal items, and, well, think of sutler Historically accurate persona, from clothes and shoes, to fabric and thread, Here was everything the reenactor needed to create a One of the largest I had seen in years and was spread out along both sides of Large tent stores and sell period correct items. For the benefit of non-reenactors, sutlers are vendors who set up Like any good reenactor, the first place we headed to was As we paused to enjoy the ambiance, Kelly commented how odd it felt being at a reenactment as a spectator instead of a participant – I had to agree with her. This three-day event, held a few miles south of La Fontaine, is set in a stand of open timber along the picturesque Mississinewa River, with minimal intrusions from the modern world.Īdd to this the smell of woodsmoke, the occasional sound of a musket firing, people in period dress, and a sea of canvas tents, it all blended perfectly to give the impression of stepping back in time. Since Kelly and I are historical reenactors, and we’re thinking of adding early America to the other time periods we reenact, we decided to venture out to Mississinewa 1812 and see what we could learn. Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key, and Johnny Horton’s The However, we did get two songs out of the war, The Another reason the War ofġ812 is largely forgotten is we won very few battles, and the war essentiallyĮnded in a draw. Indians raids on the frontier than maritime issues. Stopping our ships at sea and forcing American sailors into the Royal Navy. We were taught in school the War of 1812 was over Britain To quickly clarify, this was our second war with Britain, coming almost thirty years after the Revolution, so it’s not surprising people often confuse the two. Now, if you’re not too familiar with the War of 1812, don’t feel bad, most people aren’t, and that’s because it’s largely a forgotten war. Take for example our most recent Indiana trip which led us to Mississinewa 1812 – the largest War of 1812 reenactment in the country. Being married to an Indiana girl, I spend more time in the Hoosier state than I ever dreamed I would, but I truly don’t mind because there’s tons of things to experience and places to explore.