Lloyd Perry sports an old-style pipe at the encampment on Saturday. Photo by Beth David.
The soggy weather didn’t stop a handful of hardy souls from sleeping out at Fort Phoenix on Friday night through Sunday for the annual fall encampment by the Fairhaven Village Militia. Most members of the militia held out until Saturday, when the rain stopped and the weather got warm.
Michelle Bissonnette (right) tests the chicken for doneness with Lori Richard during the Encampment at Fort Phoenix on Saturday, 9/23. All the food is cooked on an open fire as it would have been during the Revolutionary war. Photo by Beth David.
According to participants, the public showed up in force as soon as the threat of rain disappeared, although there were healthy numbers even before then. The weekend included activities and demonstrations of life in the 1770s, including the periodic firing of muskets for no apparent reason, and the firing of the fort’s five large civil war era cannons at dusk on Saturday.
John Garcia of the Fairhaven Village Militia explains what an ale shoe is. The “toe” of the ale shoe is placed in the coals to heat up the liquid. Mr. Garcia, the FVM’s tinsmith, explained that he tested out the one he made. It worked, and it didn’t leak. “It’s very satisfying to make something that’s actually useful,” he said. Photo by Beth David.
The September encampment recalls a battle of the Revolutionary War that resulted in the destruction of the fort and the burning of the whole village by the British. Four thousand British soldiers attacked the four villages along the Acushnet River. It took years for the local waterfront businesses to recover. For more information visit http://fairhaventours.com/fort-phoenix-fairhaven-ma/.
Pat Tavares holds a leather design tool so her granddaughter Olivia Caspar can hammer in the design, while granddad Bert Wilkinson stands by in case he’s needed (he was a bit later on). Photo by Beth David.
Fairhaven Village Militia Commander Ellie Sylvaria (right) keeps an eye on things as cannon #3 at Fort Phoenix is fired by fellow militia members Howie and Claire Smith at the encampment on Saturday, 9/23. Cannon #3 got a little fussy at first, and had to be re-picked and re-lit, but then it fired as expected. The FVM fires off the fort’s five civil war era cannons several times a year. The Smiths were celebrating 50 years of marriage this week, prompting the invitation to light the cannon. Photo by Beth David.
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