21 April, 2023

Battle Road 2023 AAR

 

Troop, what an amazing weekend!!!!  The weather on Saturday was perfect for both spectators and participants alike.  Most importantly, the crowds were back!  It is always so nice to see so many people interested in our nation’s history! The events at Minuteman National Park went extremely well and the authenticity of both armies (especially the rebels) was considerably improved.

 

The final event on Saturday was at Tower Park.  While the Lexington Minuteman provided an outstanding lunch for all participants, the afternoon battle did not live up to its usual expectations.  Surprisingly the Rebels absolutely refused to push us!  We did everything we could to try and draw them out of the woods, but they remained completely stationary.  We finally gave up and fled in disarray, much to the delight of the crowds!

 

However, it was Trooper Duncan-Gilmore who made the biggest impression on the crowd.  After doing a wonderful job speaking to the audience, she was an extremely popular target of photographers.  Importantly, she made a particularly great impression on a number of young girls who looked at her in awe as they posed with her for pictures!  


Sergeant Fuhrmann did a great job leading the company in his first appearance as Sergeant and both Troopers Burney and Brown continue to be the backbone of the Regiment. We are lucky to have them both!

 

On Monday, the Battle on Lexington Green was a huge success with the traditionally large crowd!  The pancake breakfast afterwards remains a wonderful tradition.  By the time we did the battle at the Old North Bridge, the clouds were forming and we did get a bit of rain, but we were able to get the full ceremony in before it opened up.

 

Fifer Werner deserves the “Iron-[wo]Man” award for the weekend - after getting a 2:00 am wake-up call on Monday, she did the battles at Lexington and Concord and then marched in two separate parades!  She definitely reflected the best of our hobby!  I am also very pleased to announce that in addition to her fifing duties with the 16th, Fifer Werner will be joining the Tenth Regiment’s company of music.  This will allow Wren to learn from their excellent core of musicians, Anthony Jenkins and George Souza.  This also reflects the excellent cooperation among the units of the Boston Garrison. 

 

Over the course of the three day weekend, we had the following members in uniform:

 

Captain Langan

Sergeant Fuhrmann

Trooper Burney

Trooper Brown

Trooper Duncan-Gilmore

Fifer Werner

 

For our next event, we have been invited to a one-day Light Infantry training day on June 3rd.  The event will be held at the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Mass.  Most of us should be familiar with the location since we reenacted the Battle of Bunker Hill there last year.  I’m hoping to take a longer tour of the museum after our training – for those who were there last year, the WWII exhibit is spectacular!   Since it is being sponsored by the 64th Regiment, I know it will be a great event!  I’ll be sending out detailed information over the next few weeks.  Since we already voted on our schedule, this event will strictly be a volunteer only event.

 

Thanks to everyone who made it such an outstanding weekend!!

 

YMH&OS,

 

J. Langan, Captain

16th QLD