| We had camped in Prado Regional Park, about 25 miles east of Los
Angeles proper, only to discover that we were going to be sharing it with a
few hundred other people
over the weekend, and we thought we had fallen into a time warp. But no, we had found the
annual Marching through the Ages Exposition held by folk who
re-enact past battles and dress the part. But unlike those groups who just
celebrate one era, this was a collection of groups celebrating many eras.
As with any battle you must have two sides and each had an encampment. This
immediately caught our eye with 'The Duke of Wellington's 33rd Regiment of
Foot" from the late 1700s. |  |
 | A huge bang heralded
the arrival of the pinnace from HMS Surprise. Their rowing was not up to
scratch but I gather this was not a navy crew but one which included a
Roman! and they were being taught. I'm not sure about their marksmanship
either but.... |
| Just as in morris dancing, this is a mixed participation activity
and this 'young' colour ensign was cross dressing. However it is all taken
very seriously and this particular group has been part of an escort for the
Queen in England at events such as the opening of the Armouries Museum in Leeds.
They didn't believe the invitation when it first came but they felt very
honoured. Quite what the current regiment (based at Halifax) made of these
colonials is perhaps open to conjecture but they have made several visits to
the UK and are invited to stay with current officers. Another way to see the
world. |  |
 | We sometimes forget
that the US has been at war with Mexico down this part of the country and
there were groups representing that conflict. Each group had given
enactments of battles in chronological order during the 2 days but we had missed most of them
unfortunately. This was one of the few horses we saw. Perhaps few people in
California keep horses now and use ATVs instead. |
| No period battles would be complete without a cannon or two. I
think this was one of the older ones but I'm not sure. It just looked older. |  |
 | Given the variety of
periods covered, the Indians were conspicuous by their absence. But history
enactment is like morris dancing in often being an intellectual pastime. I guess the
Native Americans aren't so keen on this part of the culture. However this Indian scout (Apache?) certainly looked the part. I'm not sure who's side he
was on though. |
| The 'dead' artilleryman was just dead to the world. The cannon
looked good though and the general had just the right touch of nonchalance.
Wasn't he on the losing side though? |  |
 | There was a fair
amount of standing around as each group waited for time to catch up with
it. At such times the Confederates and Yankees seemed to get on much
better. |
| But then it was the turn of the Second World War, and a more mechanised battle. The German officer crouching behind his scout car
is waiting
for the tanks to arrive. There was also a group of vehicle enthusiasts who had brought
their vehicles along some of which (in working order) are very rare. |  |
 | There were three
tanks which bumbled along making a lot of noise as they went. There are not
many of these still in working order and these were all unique specimens.. |
| Perhaps the strangest group to find taking part was the Romans
since I don't believe they were ever in the the US. But since its inception
this exposition has "expanded backwards" to include earlier conflicts, all
in the name of education. Someone had really gone to
a great deal of effort to design and build an authentic looking catapult, and the costumes
certainly looked effective too. |  |
 | At the end of the
day all the groups gather for the presentation of awards. A major objective
of the event is education, and each group sets up a small exhibition area
where they give as authentic an idea of daily life in their period as they
can. This is often the area where women make the greatest contribution to
the event, and where running around with swords or guns is not the main
activity. Thus the most interesting award was that for the group which gave
the best education throughout the weekend to all the public attendees. |
| Perhaps it is because we are so close to Hollywood that there is
such an interest in some of what must seem to Americans as the least
relevant parts of history. Certainly a great deal of effort had gone into
the costumes. Unfortunately we had little opportunity to judge the enactments
for their
historical accuracy and knowledge. |  |
 | One of the prizes
went to this group who I think must have been fighting the Romans. The
headdress was wonderful with all the feathers but more than others struck me
as a figment of the Hollywood image rather than reality. Given the great
attention to detail that we saw everywhere else, I am probably wrong. |
| The best of show prize (and several others) went to the Clan
mac Colm which seemed to be a cross between the Scots and the Irish. I'm not
sure who their opponents would have been but there were a lot of them and
they were amongst the most vocal. I'm not sure their women were quite the
part. Remember we have met Scots and Irish women! I would have liked to have
had longer to talk to them. |  |
 | Of course renegades
are always noisy and in the US that has to be the Confederates. We have yet
to visit the south but we have certainly had inklings that some still feel
the result was wrong. |
| But a good time had been had by all and the opportunity to dress
up had been well taken. Scary though soldiers may be, this lady would have
frightened me enough. She certainly had the most dangerous weapon I saw -
just look at the foot long hatpin! |  |
 | All armies had their
camp followers and this is my idea of a camp follower. Alas I suspect that
this is not what the camp followers looked like or how they acted. But then what are
dreams for? |
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