michaelsbagley

That is a gorgeous stylus.... Fountain Pens have become a bit of an obsession of mine as well. I even turn them (from kits).... but nothing that beautiful.

I've made a couple of "tarp" shelters over the years. From a pragmatic perspective, they are light, have a multitude of possible configurations based on where/how you set them up, and one of the cheapest options to buy, and cheaper (but more timely) to construct oneself. From a historical context, there are several mentions of the use of the "prelart" by the early French traders of the late 17th through mid-18th century. I'm too lazy to go through my books to provide a bunch of citations, but Jeff Pavlik's web page on the topic provides some good references and places to start hunting for better citations if that is your thing. https://colonialbaker.net/prelart.html

I did not receive said email.... but was alerted through other means. That said, I tried the "forgot my password" 4 or 5 time over as many hours before I realized the emails from this domain were being directed to my "spam" folder (I really don't like spam). Once I checked that email folder, I focosed on the reset my password one and did not check to see if there were other messages.

Ignore him. I propose that we create a committee to estimate the approximate idea of a notion to initiate the passing of a vote to instigate a conversation regarding change.

Just think, in another year the Pyracy Pub will be old enough to legally drink al the rum that is allegedly consumed here.

Some topic necromancy, as this has been on my mind a lot for a possible small project I will likely never get around to... But I found the below linked item, family business ran from mid-17th century through to the 19th century. So who can say which end of those 200 years this merchant's mark is from. New Netherland Institute

This is a great topic to resurrect... I am starting to plan how much I can streamline my gear so as to fly with it. in 2014, my wife and I managed to do Fort Taylor with 2 modern carry-on luggage pieces, my large canvas snapsack (it's made from a 36' square piece of canvas sewn into a tube, then eyelet/grommets on both ends for closures), and a custom canvas bag just barely big enough to hold the tarp shelter I've used since my first experience at Fort Taylor. My goal for January is the have all of my luggage fit into my leather snapsack (it's about 28' long, and about 24" circumference), and my large canvas snapsack. The target is those two pieces of baggage only. we'll see as I get things together if I succeed or not.

I would believe "covered" in that context would more be an indication of wearing proper clothes (as in waistcoat etc) more so than just a hat. I know in later eras (particularly by the end of 18th century) it was considered bad form, impolite even to wear a hat indoors. I have not seen anything indicating that social nicety extends back as far as the GAoP or not.... but my guess would be yes. And since the quote specifically mentioned "at home" (Which would be indoors), I think it is the proper clothing. To add to that hypothesis, shirts and chimised/shifts are considered undergarments, so to be "covered" would be to have ones underclothes covered (similarly like how it is not considered proper to hang about in ones underwear today, in polite company anyways )

Recently, I attended (and payed a central role in organizing) the 8th annual Put-in-Bay (Ohio) pyrate festival and reenactment. This event has bounced back and fourth between the 3rd and 4th weekend in June over the last many years, with it falling on the 3rd weekend for the last few. 2017 (the 9th year) will see the event moved back to the 4th weekend (June 23rd, 24th, 25th, with some activities going on Monday June 26th as well). This coming weekend (June 8th, 9th, 10th) will see me out at the Olcott (western New York) Pirate festival. Not sure how long this one has been going on, but it will be my first year there. It is looking to be very well attended, and by a great majority of the same reenactors as Put-in-Bay. Also, seriously considering Fort Des Chartres Illinois (just outside of St. Louis Missouri) for their autumn event in early November. I think that sums up what is left of my 2016 pirate schedule

Found this link, it has very good detail on the uniform requirements for a kettle drummer. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/19062/4/Queen_Anne_Commands.docx.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwi43MiM3brNAhUXW1IKHW4dCC84FBAWCDMwBA&usg=AFQjCNHJj8PKG59-lJtDa97JTPj30ABHJw&sig2=OFqNq4YJzhWKO6qRdaajoQ

So, I am finally getting my start on remaking my Independent Company of Foote of the Queen Anne Era uniform... And while I feel my past research has been fairly solid... I have done some further poking around. I stumbled across the below entry from this link -> http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol25/pp316-331 If you scroll down to the second entry dated to June 21, you will find what I take to be the equipage order for an entire regiment. The regiment is attribute in the order to one Brigadier-General John Hill.... (a name I plan to investigate further, but a quick google search ties that name to the "Quebec Expedition" 1711). But there is some great information regarding to the amount, type of, and costs of the equipage for an army. Not a full equipage list, but the below resupply list for cartouche boxes and other supplies for the company (of Foot) at Newfoundland dated to March 1700. Again scroll down to entry for March 13 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol15/pp52-59 Also of great interest... a list of equipage for the Virginia colony, explicitly slated for the militia... Look for the first entry for Aug 20, dated to 1702. -> http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol17/pp16-31 Continueing to edit this post rather than post a million new entries... I found this item dated to 1720 (a little post Queen Anne's war, but still very much GAoP) scroll down to the first entry for Oct 16, reference to the use of Hammocks at Fort Nicholson (a wood stockade used in the Albany NY region during Queen Anne's war), and interesting enough, a specific mention as to "leather knapsacks" as I have often wondered when the transition from leather packs to canvas occured, and this shows that leather was still in use in 1720 America. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol32/pp165-187

Bought the Blu-Ray off Amazon (it's available in the US as an import). I agree with modernknight1's assessment... A lot of historical inaccuracies, particularly in the clothing. But if you go into it not sweating the details, it is an awesome film. Great story, and very enjoyable.

I think the question is so brief, it comes off as vague. Henry Morgan was a buccaneer. Buccaneers tended more to land raids (that is a usual, not absolute), and mostly just used ships to get around the Caribbean to the ports they raided. Criminal types, bandits, pirates, buccaneers, thieves, pick-pockets (or is that a later term, I am unsure)... The terms for the various styles of criminal elements could be a whole discussion topic on it's own. Ships... Well, not my specialty. I know 18th century ship types better than I know 17th century types. I might recommend, breaking down what it is you want to know into smaller chunks, and asking more focused questions. You will get a lot more, and better responses breaking things down into manageable portions rather than asking broad vague questions. I hope this helps.

Thanks Pete, To split some hairs.... Because it's fun to do that.... Put-In-Bay is the name of the village, the island is actually named "South Bass Island". It took me only, what 4 or 5 of the 7 years I've been doing the event to get that sorted in my head. Hotels, cabin rentals, pretty much all accommodations on the island are fairly high. It's a resort island. While not as expensive as Key West, the prices are definitely higher than anywhere on the mainland. But yes, an ongoing deal for free period camping has been arranged for the pirate reenactors. Also, to date, our grocery bill has been a part of the deal. So while we do have to cook and prepare our food (and clean up).... Despite many choosing to dine out, for those that want to cook for themselves, food costs are not a concern for this event (as long as the requests are reasonable). This is a distinction I very much want to keep clear. The festival, is a bar crawl, street festival, reason for a pirate themed crazy costume party. The overall festival is run by the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce, led by a now former member who conceived the idea while a member of the Chamber. I literally act as a subordinate of him to organize and coordinate the historic/reenactor corner of the festival only. And while we do draw some great, very high quality historical reenactors, by (as yet) unspoken agreement, I have been keeping the standards low so as to be inclusive, and help the numbers grow. That said, there has been annual improvement of the quality of the portrayals by the participants. But the numbers have been steadily growing, so there has always been, and likely always will be a higher number of loose portrayals as compared to the number of "serious" historic impressions. The now annual "Make & Mend" event I run, has helped with helping others grow their historic portrayals. There have only been 2 or 3 small boats at the even for the pirates to play with. This year is shaping up to be the first year when that number grows by a few. While we haven't been given proper moorage, the boats have always been sheltered for free and at no cost to us... despite the fact that docking fees on the island are not cheap (again, this is a party/resort island). I think that should cover the basics. Addendum: Most of the coordination/organization is done via Facebook. It isn't a requirement to be on Facebook in order to come and be a part of this, but anyone not on Facebook, please let me know if you are interested so I can ensure you are kept in the loop and informed of everything.

I forgot Olcott and Rodman were the same weekend (well they were last year, and will likely be so again next year when Rodman is resumed in 2017). But I'd love to have you for PiB, I really hope you are able to work it out. Please let me know if there is anything I can do from this side to help (finding a tent/shelter to borrow, a weapon to borrow so you font have to fuss with transporting that, or anything along those lines). Cheers

Is Dana Point in September again? I'm guessing weekend of Sept 16, 17 and 18? As for Put-In-Bay, the dates for 2016 are June Fri June 17, Sat June 18, and Sun June 19, with the option of staying until Monday June 20 (but no official events or obligations for Monday). Also, I don;t know how many Mercury will be attending (but I am certain a few are), but Tim Clark and Jeremy Nichols (those who were at Fort Taylor Dec 2014 will have met them) are organizing an event in Olcott, New York state for July 8,9, and 10. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1448628595443326/?fref=ts(to save your the google, it's a little less than an hour from Buffalo NY, and a little more than an hour from Rochester NY)

I was flipping through my book with reprints of all of the 1687 Laroon's "Cries of London" images... While I was looking for something else, I stopped on this image, and paused.... and though I would do some topic necromancy and bring this up. I thought it had been posted elsewhere, but my Pyracy-Pub-Search-Fu seems to be weak today. Before posting the image, I do want to say, this seems to be a rarity, and not a common thing, but this does appear to be a gent with a mug strap on his belt.

My wife makes an awesome "Cherry Bounce" which is a cherry flavoured, bourbon based beverage, that has it's roots in the late 18th century if not earlier. A few years back she an a couple of other people challenged each other to a "bounce off" at a War of 1812 event we do.... She won hands down (of course she cheated by using top shelf bourbon when everyone else was using the cheap stuff).

The information on any individual is pretty scant. It is mostly a mention of the unit with some history of the unit, a list of officers, with their rank, and maybe a sentence or two of information about the office in question (at best, less in most cases). While the book states 1714 as an "end" date, there is plenty of data that goes as late as the early 1720s. But I am unsure about any books that focus on the period after this in as much detail. It might exist, but I don;t know of it yet. Glad it helped, and if you do find other sources, please do share them! I am always on the hunt for additional good books on soldiers of the Williamite and Queen Anne eras (or the eras surrounding that time).

Pick up this book http://www.drenthpublishing.nl/colonialsoldiers/colonialsoldiers.html Specifically Volume 2, Book 2 It has officer rosters for most of the Caribbean island for the broad span you have listed. Well of the English held islands anyways. I have the books, but sorry, even narrowing it to 2 years is more typing than I am capable of. If you narrow it to a specific island, on a specific year, and specific rank, I might be able to look up a couple of names for you, but anything more is just too expansive and if you need more, you should likely buy the book as research material. If you google search the title, you might find North American sellers (or sellers for where ever you may be). I am in the Mid-West and ordered directly from the publisher in the Netherlands, and received it in under 2 weeks.

So I recently saw the below book come up on a miniature wargaming forum.... It is a pair of volumes (although Volume 2 is in 2 books, so it is 3 books) about Colonial Soldiers of Britain. http://www.drenthpublishing.nl/colonialsoldiers/colonialsoldiers.html I haven't had time to read them yet, but at a quick flip through, it is a treasure trove of information about structure, number of and rank of officers, enrollments lists (specially of officers), and other information about soldiers of the 1650-1714 period (although I saw many references in the book that dated as late as 1717). I have not yet found any good material culture information (colours of uniforms, materials, equipage etc.), but I am still very happy with this purchase. As far as I can tell, ordering straight from the publisher in the Netherlands is the only way to acquire these books (at the moment). But saying that, I ordered these about 2 weeks ago, and considering they shipped from the Netherlands, receiving these books in that short a span is pretty good timing. One thing I did find on my initial browse of the books.... Is some solid information about marines in the North American colonies. I have previously been pretty strong in my opinion of the complete lack of evidence to British Marines being deployed to North America or the Caribbean during the War of Spanish Succession/Queen Anne's War period... And it looks like I was wrong. That said, it seems they only existed in very small numbers (as in a company here or there, attached to a regiment of Foote) and all accounts of Marines I have found so far, are in the northerly New England area, and in the areas of what is now Eastern Canada. The ONLY reference I have found to Marines in the Caribbean was mention of a company in Barbadoes in the King William's War period (1689-1697), and the author specifically states the Marines in this instance may just be sailors (as in sailors dressed as sailors) armed and given a designation of Marines. I will update if I find more information regarding marines.... But I think it is notable enough to mention that contrary to my former assertions, they did exist in small numbers in limited contexts. Oh, and this does mean I will be resurrecting this project, and planning to make my second attempt at a Queen Anne's War soldier of an Independent Company of Foote over the coming months (most likely over this coming winter).

I will agree this a true generalization... But I have found that by allowing low standards, and firmly encouraging , even somewhat rewarding authenticity efforts, I have created an event that has some great authentic impressions, some decent transitiinal efforts, and some well... still finding their way. But one thing I can say, is there is a decided (and thankfully so) lack of silk clad officers... Most of the impressions, good, coming along, and beginning are all pretty evenly run of the mill sailors.But that is a pretty rare thing... And my events are well photographed (thanks to having a wife who is a good photographer, as well as some regular attendees that are as well) :)

Hey, a friend just had the mainspring on his Pedersoli Queen Anne Pistol go out.... So far google has not been kind to me. Does anyone know of a source for replacement parts? Track of the Wolf only seem to have the replacement mainsprings for the Pedersoli Bess's, and I am unsure if any of the springs sold by L&R, RE Davis, or Dixie Gun works will fit as a substitute. I figure with the way this model of pistol proliferates the pirate reenactment community, someone here has to have experienced this problem in the past and can offer some good advice to pass onto my friend. Thanks!

Awesome job! Can't wait to see some pics of you wearing it at an event (or better yet, in person in those circumstances).

If you're planning on attending as a spectator/playtron etc... Ferries run about every 30 minutes if you take the Miller Ferry (the cheaper option). See http://www.millerferry.com Downtown is about 3 miles from the Miller Ferry dock, shuttle service to downtown can be gotten for a handful of $ ($3 last time I used it 6 years ago). Strong word of advice, park in the mainland (there is a free lot down the street from the ferry dock) and cross on the ferry as a pedestrian. Not only is it cheaper, parking and driving around the island is more stressful than a convenience. There is the island expess, I've never taken it, my understanding, it is a faster crossing, and drops you off downtown so no worries on shuttles, but I think it runs less frequently, and is more expensive than the Miller Ferry. Outside that, show up have a great time! The only warning I can give, is this is a resort party island. During the day it is very family friendly... But after supper, it turns into a wild rouccous island wide college style party. The local law enforcement is VERY strict on open container laws, so do your drinking in the one of the many bars within a 5 block radius of downtown. Or if you don't want to drink in a bar, and have rented a hotel or other accommodations, drink in the privacy of those locations. Now, for a reenactor participant.... Get in touch with me. It is one of the more challenging events logisticly to participate in.... But it is well worth it and lots of fun!!!