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Battle of New Orleans is ON!


capnwilliam

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The annual Battle of New Orleans reenactment IS going to happen! January 6, 7, and 8. Although most of the city (and St. Bernard Parish, where the battle took place) is totally devastated and will so remain for a long time: still, the French Quarter is coming back, much of Uptown and Jefferson Parish are booming, and the National Park Service and the battle reenactors are ready to do battle!

Come out and root for the home team: especially Lafitte's Baratarians! Capt. William and his Pyrate Queen are on the crew! :)

Capt. William

"The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"

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  • 2 weeks later...

The cannon were under several feet of water for a time, but are now dry, and firable! The Baratarians have had two practices and we are ready to go!

Expect to see some differences, if you do go. St. Bernard Parish, where the Battle is held, is - well, gone. :P As in wrecked, destroyed, uninhabited. So too for much of the city of New Orleans. The French Quarter is up and running, though: Magazine Street is booming: parts of the city were not flooded (including, Thank God, my neighborhood).

The historic green streetcars on St. Charles Avenue are undamaged, but their power station was destroyed. The modern red copies that ply Canal Street and the Riverfront were destroyed, but THEIR power source is operable. So, the city did a rare smart thing, and moved the green cars to the red car routes!

The Visitors Center at the Battlefield is gone: just the foundation slab remains. The historic weapons there were damaged, but are being repaired by Springfield Armory. :P The old brick wall that surrounded the Civil War cemetery is largely collapsed. The historic Beauregard - Malus house took about five feet of water, but dried out and has no evidence of damage - save the waterline. :P

Capt. William

"The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"

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Rummy, I know that me First Mate Jan will be takin' pics, so I will get her to post some fer ye!

Bosun Carmina, I sure do hope that you can make it. If you do, come see the Baratarians. We'll be camped out on the left side of the road , far down, by the cannon. Please to stop by and say hello! B)

Capt. William

"The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"

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Saturday the 7th is the day for visitors and demos this year; shortened schedule due to the situation. Friday is set-up day for reenactors.

Carmina, hope to see you there! Stop by and see the Baratarians. Other than wearing a top hat rather than a skull and crossbones bandana; I'm the guy in my avatar photo! :lol:

Well, must sign off now, and start getting ready to do battle. :D

Capt. William

"The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"

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Well, we beat the bloody British for the 191st time: some blokes just never learn! B)

It was a much-shortened event this year: but I think, all the better for that. We Baratarians fielded a full cannon crew, Steve Abolt was there with his Cotton Balers (7th Infantry), the local USS Carolina crew was there, so too General Pushmataha and his Choctaw Militia. Beale's Rifles were there, headed by me good mate Ricardo, and also Plauche's Battalion, headed by me good mate Tim.

Friday was set-up day. The Pyrate Queen and I tried to brave the cold but were forced to "yield the field" to Jack Frost around midnight. Fortunately we live only several miles from the site, so we were able to get the tail-end of a good night's sleep and be back early on Saturday.

Saturday we were danged busy, and mighty proud that we could field a full Baratarian cannon crew, and with members to spare. I spent much of the day showing off my new little cannon: or phrased more elegantly, doing interpretation for the Park's visitors about period cannon drill.

In the course of which I was delighted to meet Bosun Carmina and the Sea Wolf, who drove down from Mobile for the event. We hope to see both of them again, and that they will become part of our crew! :)

Well, the 191st is over; time to start getting ready for the 192nd.

Capt. William

"The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"

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We were so glad that we could make it! The whole experience was awesome! To see all the different groups with such an eye towards authenticity was amazing!

Sea Wolf and I were very impressed with your group and honored that you asked us to join! We are beginning to research garb for next year!

You can see Sea Wolf's pics in her photobucket at:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v78/Seawolf88/

If the link doesn't take ye straight to the page,

the username is: seawolf88

and the password is: pirate

The pics are the first ten on the main page, unless she has since put them in the Battle of New Orleans album.

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Thanks for sharing the photos! We have a few that I took, posted on the Baratarians yahoogroups site. Please join our group and feel free to be as active as you wish. Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baratarians/. In the photos section there is a folder for Battle 2006. Enjoy the pictures. By the way, I coppied the links to your shots of the battle and posted them on our site. I hope that is okay.

I am looking forward to having you as part of our crew. We are meeting soon to firm up our articles and bylaws, so I will post them after that time.

Thanks again for coming!

Jan McArthur, President

Louisiana Purchase Still Living Historical Society

Jannet nyk Donnachie

The Pyrate Queen

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