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Natives of Our Land
The making of a documentary that brings a war back to home.
Waking up every morning to the sound of bagpipes in the air, watching the men load their muskets with black powder. Another day of shooting awaits, not only for the thousands of reenactors, but for the crew of directors, film makers, and life-time historians.
From across the United States and into some countries in Europe, thousands of people pull themselves into their worn and battered clothing, grab their equipment and head out of their white pup tents on to the old battlefields of New York. These are the same battlefields where many of our English, French, and American Indian ancestors fought to gain power over the main waterways in the mid 1700's. From the battle of Lake George in 1755 to the Fall of Montreal in 1760, the documentary, “Forgotten War” is a celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War.
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Filmed in the Pittsburgh area, the PBS documentary “The War that made America, left many New York historians feeling discredited to their own past” says Nick Westbrook, lifetime historian and director of Fort Ticonderoga. With the help and funding from the organization Lakes to Locks Passage, Mountain Lake PBS of Plattsburgh, was able to travel to various historical battlefields throughout the North Country to re-create the war that not only made America but Canada as well.
“I was very cognizant of trying to tell a balanced story"
Karin O'Connell and Damian Panetta, of Mountain Lake PBS, traveled to seven states and five Canadian provinces to try and bring together the most accurate and diverse version of the French and Indian War that anyone has ever re-created. Tracking down numerous authors and talking to her advisor, O'Connell was introduced to a wide range of historians and descendants of families involved in the conflict. “I was very cognizant of trying to tell a balanced story so I spoke to British, French, French Canadian, British Canadian, Scottish, American, Iroquios, Abenaki, and Mohican peoples,” says O'Connell. O’ Connell and Panetta succeeded in gaining the cooperation of many renowned experts and were able to produce and direct a number of battles.
As the reenactors fought their way through Fort Niagara, Saratoga, Fort Ticonderoga, Vergennes, Rogers Island, and Nova Scotia they told the tales of their ancestry. The famous to the not so famous Robert Rogers, Ensign Langis, Joseph-Louis Gill and Susannah Johnson were some of the important figures in the North Country War whose stories have been forgotten. “The guys who played the rangers really want to teach others. They bring history to life,” says Leon Gregory who played the role of Robert Rangers on the battle sites of Fort Ticonderoga, Roger’s Island and Ndakinna.
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Stockbridge Mohican reenactor Mike Dickinson says, “The filming was an illusion. It's very hard to re-create the image of the lands. They have been lumbered more than three times; the trees don't grow as thick anymore. Some of the battles' weren't shot on actual sites because, not only is it illegal on some sites, but, they no longer exist.”
PSU student Kelly Marsh interned for Mountain Lake PBS at the time and got the chance to shoot some behind the scenes footage. “Before all the tourists came for the day, you would walk up top to where the British, French, and Indian camps were and there would be an Abenaki Indian in full regalia chatting up with a French Marine, as they stand waiting for their breakfast. It was surreal. It almost seemed I was living in the past.”
"I have not yet been involved with one (documentary) so true to history.”
“It's like a time-machine” says Westbrook, who helped plan and recruit the 2,200 reenactors that took part in the reenactments at Fort Ticonderoga. “I am a community story teller, telling stories of Fort Ticonderoga is my job and I have not yet been involved with one (a documentary) so true to history,” says Westbrook.
The campsite is now dark, except for the faint orange glow from the campfire. Still in full getup, reenactors talk amongst themselves about the accomplishments of their day. “I learned a lot,” says Gregory. Even after the long day of shooting, reenactors still embellished the illusion of the 18th century. Gregory says, “The Native reenactors made their own knives with detailed leather work, they had real 'self-painting' (tattoos).”
“Forgotten War” began preproduction in spring of 2007, and O'Connell says, “We hope to premiere the film at the War College at Fort Ticonderoga in early May and broadcast on the 7 upstate NY PBS stations (and possibly nationally) in the summer of 2009."
As an 18th century reenactor, you have the power to mark your own place in society. Some choose to be working class to remain neutral while others choose depending on their own personal ancestry.
“The clothes make the man, people were using fashion as a statement of their affluence,” says Virginia Westbrook, a historian who has been re-creating outfits for her family for years. Since she started in the 1970's, the clothing has been an underground secret for all.
Where do you find the proper clothing?
“All of the cloths have to be made of all natural fiber material, and it was hard (to find the right cloths) in the 70's because permanent press was the rage. Since then it's a constant search for materials, many of the good independent places have fallen through,” says Westbrook.
Luckily, many historical places, such as Fort Ticonderoga, have re-encampments where a reenactor can find the proper clothing and accessories.
Like Forgotten War, a lot of research is necessary to recreate and design the proper look however, it is more difficult. There are no volumed books for us to learn the fashions from, all there really is are portraits. “You always have to be skeptical of what the artist was thinking, you have to know your history.” says Westbrook.