Battle of Williamsburg

Last weekend we ventured into the tumultuous year of 1862 in Williamsburg, VA.  As I'm sure you all know, the country is in the midst of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and this was the first opportunity we have had to take part in these events.  Most of us know Williamsburg as the restored 18th century capitol of Virginia, and while we love to spend our time there visiting the late 1700s, it is easy to forget that other important historical events also took place there.  As one of our most excellent guides pointed out over the weekend, all of the original 18th century buildings standing today have also survived the Civil War, and Williamsburg certainly saw its share of that dark time in our nation's history.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

The events of the weekend were presented more as an educational and commemorative experience rather than as a reenactment of the events that took place on 4-6 May 1862.  There were a small number of Civil War reenactors encamped in town who provided a glimpse into what the soldiers there might have experienced.  While we were expecting this to be a larger event, I feel that it was a very proper homage in tone and scale.  It was an especially moving experience for us, having recently discovered the roles that many of our ancestors played in the war.  We were most especially honored to pay homage to our great-great-uncle James, who was actually present in Williamsburg on May 5, 1862 and fought with his unit in the battle.

I prepared for our Civil War excursion by (what else?!) dressing the part!  This was our first encounter with recreating 1860s apparel and we had a fun time assembling my ensemble.  Rebecca will be sharing more details about my gown and bonnet in some upcoming posts.  I thoroughly enjoyed dressing for this "new" time period, although I definitely prefer my stays over a corset any day! 

Saturday morning we arrived in town early to catch the first presentation in front of the Courthouse, which provided an overview of the events that led to, surrounded, and followed the Battle of Williamsburg.  It was a bright and steamy day and everyone huddled in the shade to listen.

 

Union soldiers drilling in camp.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

We then headed down the street to the Capitol where the Union camp was set up.  A guide provided us with some information about the conditions of the camps just outside of town and then took us through the camp as reenactors described various aspects of their camp life, describing how soldiers coped during war time.  All of the information was provided in third person, which meant that the reenactors were able to provide some of their personal perspectives on reenacting this historic time, as well as contributing a lot of very interesting historical information.  In the Union camp, for instance, we learned about rations and how they were cooked in camp, and also heard a fantastic discussion about field music.  Some ladies provided us with insight into the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which collected fresh food from towns to distribute to the camps and helped soldiers by aiding with health issues, as well as writing letters or reading for those unable to do so for themselves.

Ladies of the Sanitary Commission describe their role in the Union camp.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Next, we stopped in the Courthouse which, as in 1862, was set up as one of the many field hospitals.  Mr. Hudson met us in the main room and provided us with an overview of how injured men were triaged at the time.  We examined some of the medical instruments and supplies that were laid out and then ventured into a side room where the surgeon was speaking. 

Carson Hudson describes military medicine during the Civil War.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

He described some of the most common procedures that would have been performed at a field hospital, which of course included amputation and the techniques used to accomplish it successfully. A young soldier entered the room while we were there with a "gun shot wound" in his arm. The surgeon examined him quickly and decided that the bullet could easily be extracted with minimal damage. Across the way in another room was a pharmacist discussing the types of medicines used and how they would have been prepared, including how pills were prepared and how poisonous some of the medications actually were.

The surgeon examines a soldier with a gun shot wound, pronouncing it easily removable.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

After lunch, we joined the crowds surrounding Market Square to witness the commemoration ceremony.  Both Union and Confederate troops marched onto the field and stood together as an introduction was made.  Dr. James Robertson from Virginia Tech spoke eloquently about how crucial it is for us to remember and preserve our nation's history, eliciting a number of cheers from the crowd.  Following a salute, the soldiers and cavalry paraded around the grounds before returning to their camps.

Union troops listening to the words of Dr. Robertson.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Union troops in the commemoration ceremony.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Conferedate troops and cavalry march after the ceremony.

Colonial Williamsburg, May 2012

Following the ceremony, we took a brief reprieve from the heat in the Governor's Palace gardens and enjoyed the colorful flowers in bloom.  This was also our opportunity to capture some photos of my new outfit with a picturesque background!  Although some clouds were beginning to roll in, we did not want to miss that afternoon's Rev City events, so we grabbed our umbrellas and made our way down to the backyard of Charleton's Coffeehouse. 

The "Revolutionary City" scenes that afternoon were chosen for their relevance to the issues of the Civil War era, but I will cover my thoughts about those in a separate post.  Immediately after that, we planned to attend the military music demonstration, but unfortunately it was rained out.  Fittingly, the day closed with a deluge of rain, much like it did at the actual battle on that same day, exactly 150 years ago.

Ashley walking in the rain.

Photo by RH from a post on the Colonial Williamsburg facebook page.

That evening, we attended a concert program, "Uncivil Harmony: Music of the Civil War".  I saw the Christmas version of this program last December and greatly enjoyed it.  I was excited for the rest of my family to experience it this time, and the presentation did not disappoint!  Once again, Mr. Hudson, along with several other talented performers, combined his many talents to give us a evening filled with stirring stories and music.  If anyone has the opportunity to see this program, I highly recommend going!

The next morning, we paid a visit to the Confederate camp where they were laying out blankets and clothes after a second night of camping in the rain.  We had a lovely chat with the washerwoman, met some ladies who were sewing while preparing lunch, and watched the cavalry taking care of their horses.  One reenactor described how coffee was made in camp and how he's adjusted his period recipe to make it more enjoyable today!  Sunday evening, we participated in a walking tour that focused on the experiences of female residents of Williamsburg during the occupation of the city.  We met a tavern keeper who was working as a spy and a mother who described the recent marriage of her daughter to a soldier.  The final woman we met was Dorothea Dix, superintendent of Union nurses, who described how she chose and managed the nursing staff throughout the war.

Additional photos from the Civil War commemoration weekend in Williamsburg may be found in our flickr set.  Stay tuned for more posts about our 18th century activities during this visit and Rebecca's "Threaded Bliss" review of my 1860s ensemble.

A birthday surprise!

This past week marked what I'll simply call a "significant" birthday of mine, but our family didn't celebrate until tonight, when we were all able to be together.  My family surprised me with a very special birthday present, something I've been (not so secretly!) longing for for years.  They know me so well!

This is a copy of an original 18th-century silver pinball ring in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg.  Isn't it lovely?  :-)  I'm planning to get it engraved next time I'm at CW.  At some point, I'd also love to add the chain, but for the present, a ribbon will do just fine to suspend it from my waistband.  Now I just need to make a new pinball, because my old one is too big to fit into the ring!

Update! Jefferson Webinar

The recorded sessions from last Friday's Jefferson webinar, hosted by the Smithsonian and Monticello, are now available to view online!  You can view the free recordings by visiting the companion website.  Since I was stuck at work during the day, I was unable to view the webinar live and I am very excited that these sessions are now available to watch!  Monticello posted a fun photo from one of the sessions on their facebook page today with a fun game of "add a caption!"

Threaded Bliss

Blue and White Striped Linen English Gown, 1770-1780

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2011.

This post is about a year late.  I began this gown about this time last year and finished it in June 2011 and wore it to several events last summer, including Under the Redcoat and at our shoemaking workshop.  It wasn't until I dug it out of the closet on Friday to wear to our annual ECD Drancy Fess Ball that I realized I'd never given it the proper "Threaded Bliss" treatment.  So here it is, better late than never!

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2011.

The pattern: Draped by me.

Construction details: The construction details of this gown are identical to those of my red floral print English gown and Ashley's lavender linen and "DAR" gowns, but since it's been so long since we're done a gown post here, I'll just give a brief overview with some detail pictures.

Because of the stripes in the fabric, I did the back panel first, creating a chevron pattern down the center back and forming the two back pleats alongside it.  This back piece was then mounted to the linen lining and pleats secured using a spaced backstitch.

Detail of center back chevron.

Next, I draped the front of the bodice in the linen lining, as always using the neckline of my stays as my guide for the shape of the "scoop."  Because of the stripes (and because I had plenty of fabric), I decided to cut the shoulder straps as part of the bodice fronts.  After examining pictures of extant striped gowns, I decided on the angle I wanted for the chevron pattern at center front and then cut out the bodice front pieces in the striped linen. 

These outer pieces were then fitted to the back panel, the edges folded under and then topstitched with more spaced backstitching.  Chevron angles at the side/back seams were not common at all with striped fabrics and I honestly didn't cut the bodice pieces with any thought of creating them.  When it came to pinning the fronts to the back, though, I found that they just so happened to fall like that because of the angle at which I had chosen to cut them to achieve the center-front chevron.  What are the chances?!

The next step was to finish the inside by adding the interior lining and attaching it around the neckline and at the center fronts.  The sleeves went in next, cut in the period-appropriate manner with stripes encircling the arms horizontally.  Ashley pleated the sleeve caps with the dress on me and basted them to the lining of the shoulder strap.  The shoulder piece of the striped linen was then overlaid and topstitched down to cover the raw edges of the sleeve.

The interior of the gown, with unfinished armscyes and the extra fabric

of the skirt folded down.

The back of the gown, with stripes converging everywhere!

Finally, the skirt panels were pleated to the bodice and secured to it using a backstitch.  After wearing the gown a couple of times, however, I decided I didn't like the way the pleats were falling (this fabric has a nice crisp feel), so I took those stitches out and replaced them with whipstitches, which help the pleats hang and move more freely.  While both techniques are documented methods for securing skirts to bodices, with this particular fabric, the latter is definitely preferable for the look I wanted to achieve.

The fabric: A delightful blue and white striped linen from Wm Booth.  I bought it a couple of years ago and they sold out of it soon after, but it seems they've recently gotten it back in stock again.  I wish there were more stripes like this out there these days to help spice up campfollowing wardrobes a bit more!  My only caveat with this particular fabric is that, like most linen, it's a nightmare to iron, but the stripes just make it so much worse!  My lovely pleats took hours (seriously, hours) to get back into place with the iron after I washed the gown.  Of course, "back then" I'm sure they wouldn't have bothered as much as I did, but I have a horror of wrinkles, so I couldn't help myself.  Otherwise, though, the fabric is lovely, with an ideal weight and a very nice crease.

Finishing the look: The nice thing about this shade of blue is that it basically goes with anything, which adds to the fun of mixing and matching petticoats to create different looks.  During UTR (which seems to be the only event we actually have pictures for!), I paired the gown with a navy blue linen petticoat, a checked apron, and a very minimally decorated straw hat.

Under the Redcoat, Colonial Williamsburg, June 2011.

For a wander about town later that week, I swapped the simple hat for one a little more elaborately trimmed (though still within the means of a woman who would have worn this type of gown), abandoned the apron, and added a silver watch suspended from a silk ribbon.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2011.

For our ECD Drancy Fess Ball this weekend, our theme was "Mythical Beasts."  Ashley went as the Loch Ness Monster in what we foundly call her "Nessie Dressie" (so dubbed because of the serpentine trim, aka the blue/yellow changeable sacque), and I went as "Nottingham Ale" (a very "mythical" beast indeed, wouldn't you say?).  ;-)  To achieve this character, I paired the gown with a clay-colored linen petticoat and further aided the lower-class impression with a linen checked apron, yellow stockings, and a printed cotton kerchief (and, of course, the obligatory pewter mug!).  Pray forgive the wrinkles in the photo - this was after a non-stop 2 1/2 hours of dancing and lifting of arms, so the bodice was badly in need of a repinning!

As "Nottingham Ale" for our ECD Drancy Fess Ball, April 2012.

Additional photos of this project can be found in its flickr photo set.

Jefferson Webinar Today!

Today the Smithsonian and Monticello are hosting a free live webinar focusing on my favorite Mr. J., offered in conjunction with the exhibits I mentioned in my recent TJ birthday post.  Jefferson: Revolutionary Thinker will include a series of discussions which will touch on the subjects of religion, slavery, the westward expansion, and more.  The lineup of presenters include Monticello president Leslie Greene Bowman, as well as directors and historians from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and even Colonial Williamsburg TJ interpreter, Bill Barker.  Visit this page to see the full program and bios for the presenters.  The program begins at 9:50am EST with an introduction and runs until 3:50pm.  Registration is free for anyone who would like to participate, and will remain open throughout the day.  You can register online here.  For anyone unable to view the presentations live today, the recorded material will be available online at a later date.

 

Monticello, April 2010

In the Footsteps of L.M. Montgomery on Prince Edward Island

For those of you who have been anxiously anticipating more sewing projects, please rest assured that a whole host of them are forthcoming in the next few weeks!  We're very excited about them all and are looking forward to sharing them with you.  But in the meantime...

Beautiful fields of lupines splash brilliant colors across the Island's landscapes.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we visited Prince Edward Island three times in the 1990s, primarily because our entire family (even our dad!) adores Anne of Green Gables and we were all interested in seeing the place that inspired it.  Needless to say, after the first trip, we fell thoroughly in love with the Island and its people and it irresistibly drew us back a couple more times.  Lately, we've been discussing our mutual desire to return at some point in the future, and we brought out the old photo albums to reminisce and wallow in our very fond memories.  Here's a brief photo summary of some of the L.M. Montgomery historic sites we visited, interspersed with a couple of random Island views, to complement our previous post.  Enjoy!

This is the small house in New London (once called Clifton) where Lucy Maud was born on 30 November 1874.  The tiny upstairs bedroom interprets the event, with a cradle placed at the foot of the bed.  Also featured in this house museum are some of Maud's many and fascinating scrapbooks and her wedding ensemble.

When Maud's mother died a couple of years after the birth of her child, Hugh John Montgomery sent his baby daughter to live with her maternal grandparents, the Macneills, in Cavendish, on the north shore of PEI. Their homestead - the house where Anne of Green Gables was written - sadly no longer stands, but the foundation has been preserved and is open to the public.

Down a winding, tree-canopied path, across the road, and through "The Haunted Woods" (yes, these are the woods that inspired the ones in the book!)...

...is Green Gables house, which was the home of Maud's grandfather's cousins, brother and sister David and Margaret Macneill.

Parks Canada acquired the property in 1937 and restored it to its turn-of-the-century appearance. Each room has been staged to interpret an aspect of Anne's Green Gables, from the dining room...

...to Anne's room (note the "puffed sleeves" dress and the carpet bag!)...

...to Marilla's practically plain bedroom, complete with amethyst broach on the dresser...

...to Matthew's room...

The house also contains some Montgomery artifacts, including the typewriter on which Maud prepared Anne of Green Gables for publication.

In 1897, Maud left the cozy Cavendish community that she loved and went to teach for a year in Lower Bedeque. The one-room schoolhouse in which she taught still stands and has been restored to its appearance during Maud's tenure there. The house where she boarded, which was just across the street, has unfortunately disappeared.

One of LMM's favorite places on the Island was the home of her Campbell cousins at Park Corner. The house has come to be known as "Silver Bush," after the novel it inspired.

Maud stayed here often in this upstairs bedroom...

...and was married in the house's parlor, in front of the fireplace, in 1911.

The house remains in the Campbell family (incredibly lovely people to chat with) and is full of family heirlooms, including the Crazy Quilt that Maud and her cousins made, which is a truly stunning piece of work.

A view of Silver Bush, complete with "the Lake of Shining Waters."

The manuscript of Anne of Green Gables is owned by the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown and is frequently on display.  We were fortunate enough to catch it featured in two different LMM exhibits during our trips.

And of course, any pilgrimage in homage of LMM would not be complete without a visit to her final resting place in Cavendish, nearby the old Macneill property. Maud and her husband Ewan are buried together, right next to Maud's mother, Clara Macneill Montgomery, and her grandparents Alexander and Lucy Woolner Macneill.

Of course, there are many other gorgeous views to be seen around the Island, some Montgomery-related, like Dalvay by the Sea, which you might recognize as the "White Sands Hotel" of the TV Avonlea (and yes, it really is a hotel)...

...and some not-so-directly Montgomery related, but one can easily imagine them as views that the authoress herself could easily have seen and relished, like the picturesque West Point Lighthouse against the famous Island red sands (the lighthouse serves as a restaurant and inn, in addition to being a functional lighthouse, and was our absolute favorite place that we stayed)...

...and the typical, very lovely farms that define the landscape of this magical place.

Fun with Census Records: The Case of L.M. Montgomery

In a previous post, we used U.S. census records to trace the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her immediate family.  Now, we'll turn to our north and to another one of our favorite childhood authors and take a look at Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) using the same type of resource, this time in Canada.

Lucy Maud Montgomery at age ten in 1882.

Photo linked from wikipedia.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on the 30th of November 1874 in New London (then called Clifton), Prince Edward Island.  The first Canadian census in which we can track her is thus 1881, where we find her at six years old living in nearby Cavendish.  The trouble with this particular census is that it does not indicate the relationships of the individuals within a household, so without knowing a bit of additional information about LMM's life, things could get confusing at this point.  Here we see her, listed as "Lucy M. Montgomery," living in a household with McNeills: Alexander, Lucy Ann, Chester B, and Mary E.  LMM's mother died before young Lucy Maud was two, and her father shortly after relinquished his infant daughter to her maternal grandparents, the Macneills.  Maud was thus raised by her grandparents, who we see here with two of their children, Maud's uncle and aunt.

To view the complete record, click here, and then click on "view image."

Here is Hugh John Montgomery, Maud's father, still on Prince Edward Island in that same year, 1881.  The widower returned briefly to his parents' home before departing for Saskatchewan.  In 1890, after he had established himself and a new home out west, Maud's father sent for her to come and live with him and his new wife and family.  Although she stayed with him for only a year, the 1891 census caught her with her father's family in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, just before she left to return home to the Macneills on Prince Edward Island.

This census, unlike the previous one, indicates the relationships of each member of the household, and also the place of birth of each individual and each individual's father and mother.  Here we see Hugh Montgomery at age 49; he was born on P.E.I., as were both of his parents.  His new wife, 28-year-old Mary, was born in Ontario.  Then comes 16-year-old Maud, who, as we know was born on P.E.I., as was her father.  But what's interesting is that it indicates her mother was born Ontario.  Clearly either the census taker assumed that Maud was Mary's daughter as well, or he was not told anything to the contrary for some particular reason or another.  Beneath Maud are her two new half-siblings, Katie and Bruce, as well as a Scottish servant.

To view the complete record, click here, and then click on "view image."

After the short stay with her father, Maud was glad to return to her roots on Prince Edward Island and she remained there until her marriage.  The 1901 census shows her living alone with her grandmother; her grandfather had died in 1898.  Things get more exciting, however, when you look at the household three below theirs.  Brother and sister David and Margaret Mcneill, here living with their adopted nieces, were the owners of "Green Gables" house, just down a path and across the road from Maud and her grandmother.  They were cousins of Maud's grandfather, and Maud spent a good deal of time visiting the pair when she was growing up.  They would later become one of the inspirations for Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

To view the complete record, click here. 

An easier-on-the-eyes transcription can be found here.

On 5 July 1911, L.M. Montgomery married the Rev. Ewan Macdonald and the couple moved to Ontario.  I have a feeling Maud got caught in between with this year's census.  Here is her husband listed alone without his new bride in Ontario, which implies this was taken prior to July.  I have been unable to trace the unmarried Maud on Prince Edward Island, however, so I'm assuming she was married and had left the Island prior to the P.E.I. enumeration later in the year.

L.M. Montgomery in 1907, just prior to the publication of Anne of Green Gables.

Photo linked from extraordinarycanadians.

Canada has not yet released the census records for any enumeration after 1911, so this is as far as we can go with Maud's life for the present.  While these few censuses (censi?!) don't come close to representing the full, varied, and very exciting scope of Maud's early life (they don't show her at college or boarding away from Cavendish as a teacher, nor do they show her living with her Campbell cousins, as she did for some months following the death of her grandmother while she prepared for her wedding), they do offer an intriguing glimpse of the places and people that structured her life.  We look forward to the release of additional records to see what else we can learn about the life of this influential and extraordinary writer.

In the mid-1990s, we visited Prince Edward Island several times to see the historic sites and places that were such an integral part of the life and works of LMM.  We've been feeling awfully nostalgic about those trips and recently dug out the photo albums to reminisce and wish ourselves back there again.  In an upcoming post, we'll share some of those photos (however old they may be now!) to give you a brief tour of one of our all-time favorite places to visit.  Hopefully one day (soon!) we'll get back there.  :-)