On June 15, 16 and 17, the Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada and the Campfollowers were invited to garrison Old fort Henry in Kingston, to animate their bakery and to demonstrate War of 1812 drill and tactics. This was an event that we all loked forward to attending. The Guard and Parks Canada staff were very warm in their welcome and appreciative of what we had to offer to make this a very successful weekend event for the fort and for the MRSC.

The following is an article about our visit that was printed in the Kingston Whig Standard after the weekend.

Victoria Lightfoot can only think of one luxury she misses from her Toronto home when her family is out of town re-enacting the War of 1812 - and living the 19th-century lifestyle. She can do without her bed. She says the malls will still be there when she gets home and it's nice to leave her friends because then she misses them and it's cool to hang out again. So what's the one thing a 12-year-old misses? The nature show, The Crocodile Hunter, where Aussie Steve Irwin tackles crocodiles and snakes.

On the weekend, though, Victoria had her own amphibian friends to take her mind off of missing her program. Her family, father Kevin, mom Brenda and sisters Jennifer, 18, and Kati, 16, are members of Toronto's Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada that recreates a unit of the militia that fought during the War of 1812. (Early in the war, the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada passed an Act to create the Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada to aid the inadequate militia.)

While Victoria's mom was busy making homemade onion pie and her dad was commanding drills, Victoria was trying to catch frogs at Fort Henry.

``So, have you got them out of the sewer area, yet?'' a Whig-Standard reporter inquired.

``I think you should know that this isn't a sewer. This is a dry moat,'' she replied.

Knowing the difference between a sewer and a dry moat is just one tidbit of knowledge she's picked up since her family joined the re-enactors more than a decade ago. When asked what it's like to be a pre-teen in a family of re-enactors, Victoria said she loves it. ``I love being outdoors and when we're doing this, the kids get to sneak away and play.'' While the 50 costumed re-enactors realistically try to recreate a unit, they do give themselves - within limits - some present-day treats. Victoria was holding onto a wrapped lollipop, trying to decide when to eat it. She knows how to explain the candy to tourists who might catch a glimpse of it - and question her.

``I'd say it's rock candy and I stuck a stick in it,'' she says with a laugh.

Her father, the Regimental Sergeant - Major, has trained her well.

``There was rock candy back then,'' he said, smiling at his daughter. The Lightfoots are just one of a number of families who enjoy reenacting the lifestyle, with the men out fighting and women and children tending to domestic duties. Kevin says it's alluring because it's not like any other activity.

``I had friends who were doing it who got us involved and now I just think it's a hoot,'' he said.

He says adopting the 1812 lifestyle every other weekend during the summer is a nice break from his computer operations support analyst job.

``For me, this is a chance to get away from the radios, the TVs, the busy life. And we're educating people,'' he said. While the re-enactors don't follow an 1812 military diet of one pound of bread and one pound of salted beef, they're not getting takeout either.

Saturday's dinner included braised beef, chicken pudding, carrots, apple pie and after-dinner drinks.

The alcohol is reserved for when shows are done, though, Kevin noted.

``We're handling weapons. It wouldn't work too well if we were drinking the rum rations,'' he said.

Kevin said the difference between Toronto's Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada and the Fort Henry Guard is that the Militia, as re-enactors, make the drills as realistic as possible, unlike the Guards, who perform a polished show.

``We're a realism type unit. If we make a mistake, that's what happened. Mistakes happened in 1812, too. ``We're trying to offer an accurate representation of a military time period and there's a lifestyle to interpret.''

While Kevin admits wool uniforms aren't the most comfortable attire in 30 C weather, he has his own trick to beat the summer heat: cold Diet Coke.

``If I don't have a Diet Coke in the morning, I'd go nuts. This is an accurate representation as possible.

``Remember, we're interpreting the lifestyle.''

	The Guard
	The Drums
	The Bakery
	SentryDuty
	IMUC