Northport Students Reenact Revolutionary War

On Nov.1, seventh-graders in the Northport-East Northport School District learned about different facets of the Revolutionary War from the reenactment group Boots and Saddles.

Students from East Northport Middle School joined students at Northport Middle School for the reenactment. Split into groups, students rotated between five stations behind the school, each facilitated by a reenactor dressed in attire from the time period.

The seventh-grade class learned about the different aspects of the war, including the British Calvary, or the “Dragoons”, the Scottish highlanders, material culture and everyday implements, the artillery and more.

Students also heard from reenactors fighting on both sides of the war — the “loyalists” and the “patriots.”

Many students did not grasp how different things were during that period time until they heard from the expert reenactors. When explaining things like food rations or how soldiers often used their coats as blankets, students were aghast, especially during the soldiers’ explanation of bayonets.

When handed a musket ball, one student pretended to fall under its weight. “They shot these out of guns?” he asked, in disbelief.

After students had experienced all of the stations, they gathered together to watch three reenactors on horseback. Each competed against the others’ accuracy. The reenactors, while riding, had to retrieve rings off a hook with swords, and then chop “heads” of cabbage atop poles in half. Students cheered for their favorite riders and their horses. The afternoon ended with a bang as the Huntington Militia lit and fired one of their cannons.

Story, photos courtesy of Northport-East Northport Union Free School District:

1. Seventh graders from the Northport-East Northport School District watched as Revolutionary War reenactors competed in a battle of agility and speed, and cheered for their favorite horses.
2. Northport seventh-graders Cassidy and Julia trying British Dragoons helmets on for size on Nov. 1.
3. Students from the Northport-East Northport District enjoyed learning about household items used during the Revolutionary War on Nov. 1.