The Continental Line, Inc.
By John U. Rees Part I“Cooking Excavations”Their History and Use by Soldiers in North America For soldiers, building a fire meant the difference between merely eating to fill an empty belly and the satisfaction of a warm, nourishing meal. Without cooking fires during a prolonged rainstorm at Brooklyn in August 1776, Captain Alexander Graydon was…
By Kim Newell Think of music and the calls as a foreign language. You don’t have to learn the whole language, just these certain phrases. Also, when recruiting, remember to recruit MUSICIANS; it’s imperative they have interest, as well as physical and mental maturity and ability. CALLS YOU’LL HEAR IN CAMP:REMEMBERāTHERE ARE ONLY FIVE DRUM-ONLY…
By Brian Hathaway and Steven Sandford [Editor’s Note: This column came about in response to a topic on the Revwar MailList encouraging open discussion about “pet peeves.” Brian volunteered to collect the information, research the topics, and come up with a series of pamphlets that directly addressed each “complaint.” The result would be to encourage…
By Sgt. Addison P. Leftfoot “The oblique step is of great use on many occasions, and renders several of the evolutions much more simple and easy; by it you always preserve your front, and avoid wheelings and other motions, that are very dangerous to be attempted, when near an enemy; besides the not losing any…
By John U. Rees The recreated 2nd New Jersey Regiment portrays the men of the original unit as they would have looked during much of 1778, but the 2nd Regiment, and the Jersey Brigade as a whole, had a long, varied, and distinguished history. General George Washington’s brief but candid comment to Major General William…
By Bob Sullivan As a sutler selling eighteenth century printed material, one of the most asked questions I receive is, “Why did they use “f” instead of “s”? Well, good reader, it is not an “f”. It is an ancient Saxon character called an “eth” character. The eth character made its appearance in printed matter…
By Kim Newell Music serves as the alarm clock, walkie-talkie, and bullhorn of the American Revolution. All soldiers should be able to recognize and know what to do when they hear these verbal cues. Practice areas are set up where fifes and drums can play near the camp. Any sounds coming from elsewhere in the…
by Jim Newell, German Regt. Thankfully, no battles occurred there during the RevolutionāLancaster was much too important for that. The Borough of Lancaster was home to the Continental Congress in 1777 after the advancing British forced the evacuation of Philadelphia and before they moved on to York, Pennsylvania. Lancaster, some 50 miles west of Philadelphia,…
By Sgt. Addison P. Leftfoot Editor’s Note: Sgt. Leftfoot has served with several re-enactment units and often claims to actually “channel” the spirit of Frederick William Baron von Steuben himself when questions about drill arise. Look for Sgt. Leftfoot’s Musing & Maneuveringas a fairly regular column in The Continental Soldier. Questions or suggested topics for this column can…
By Don Hagist This article is reprinted, with permission, from “The Brigade Dispatch” At the time of the American Revolution, a method for a soldier to show surrender or submission was to club the firelock, that is, to hold it shouldered but reversed, with the butt in the air and the muzzle down. Although this…