Historic site to present demonstrations of Revolutionary-era life April 20-21
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site will host a weekend of Revolutionary War military firing demonstrations and period activities on Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, presented by the Brigade of the American Revolution, an international organization dedicated to recreating the life and times of the common soldier of the War for Independence, 1775-1783. A battle demonstration will take place at 2 p.m. each day with uniformed soldiers firing muskets, a cannon and maneuvering to the music of fifes and drums. The soldiers will also set up tents, prepare cooking fires and demonstrate other aspects of 18th-century life.
Visitors will also see women and children, the family members of the soldiers who traveled with the army. Members of the Brigade of the American Revolution use this weekend to teach the latest knowledge in recreating life from that era. The variety of dress worn by participates provides a living window to the past — green-coated Loyalists, Germans in blue and British regulars in red will stand ready to defend the interests of the King and Parliament. Among the Patriot forces, one will find not only Continentals, like the Light Infantry, dressed in blue coats as they would have been at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, but also regiments in gray, brown or whatever color happened to be available at the time.
For more information, call 845-561-1765, ext. 22. Admission is free. The New Windsor Cantonment is co-located with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor on Route 300 (Temple Hill Road) in the Town of New Windsor, four miles east of Stewart Airport and three miles from the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in Newburgh.
