234th Anniversary Of The Siege Of Fort Mifflin Reenactment Held In Philadelphia, PA On November 13, 2011

On November 13, 2011, Fort Mifflin once again held its annual Siege Of Fort Mifflin Revolutionary War Reenactment. The actual battle took place 234 years ago. This blog entry features many photographs and two videos of the event.









































































The living historians lined up after the battle ...

Here is a wreath showing this as being the 234th Anniversary:


I picked up this really cool mouse pad in the gift shop at the Fort. I am using it right now!


Here are two videos of the reenactment [I tried (for days) to upload one nine-minute, thirty-nine-second video to youtube, and the website would not allow it so I had to split the footage into two parts] ...

Veterans Day: America's First Without Any World War I Survivors And A Salute To The World's Last Service Member Of The Great War, Florence Green

All across the United States Of America, citizens and service members alike paused to reflect on the bravery and sacrifices of the men and women in uniform. This year's Veterans Day is different from any other America has ever had. It is the first without any Veterans of World War I. Last Doughboy Frank Woodruff Buckles passed away on February 27 of this year. The United States Of America is now without a single witness to what was once called the War To End All Wars.

This blog entry features photographs and videos of Frank Buckles' Funeral at Arlington National Cemetery held on March 15, 2011: http://michael-the-researcher.blogspot.com/2011/03/frank-buckles-viewing-and-funeral-at.html

This blog entry describes my meeting with Frank Buckles on January 25, 2009: http://michael-the-researcher.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-108th-birthday-to-frank-woodruff.html

Veterans Day aka Armistice Day aka Remembrance Day was specifically made for honoring Veterans of World War I. It has been said that more than 70 million military personnel were involved in the conflict. Of that number, only one Great War Veteran remains ... a mess steward of the Women’s Royal Air Force named Florence Green. Florence is 110 years old and lives in Britain. In 2011, she is planet Earth's only physical living link to World War I. Florence Green is truly "The Last Of The Last". I am surprised British authorities did not ask her to take part in the Cenotaph Ceremony today.

Here are two links discussing Florence Green (with photographs) ...

http://www.orderfirstworldwar.com/the-salient/2011/06/florence-beatrice-green-last-veteran-of-world-war-i.htm

http://legionlive.org.uk/2011/02/21/florence-green-first-world-war-veteran-celebrates-110th-birthday/comment-page-1

Note: The Planet's other surviving World War I Veteran at the start of 2011, Claude Choules, passed away on May 5 of this year. He served in the British Army during the conflict and later emigrated to Australia. More information can be found here: http://michael-the-researcher.blogspot.com/2011/05/claude-choules-absolute-last-combat.html

Finally, I would like to give a very special thank you to all who have served.

Reenactment Of The Election Of 1836 And The Women's Suffrage Movement At Allaire Village In Farmingdale, NJ On November 6, 2011

I came home from voting not too long ago on this day, Election Day, November 8, 2011. I voted two days ago too ... in a completely different kind of Election. I took part in a reenactment of the Presidential Election Of 1836 held at the historic Allaire Village in Farmingdale, New Jersey. The candidates back then, and represented at this event, were Martin Van Buren of the Democratic Party and William Henry Harrison of the Whig Party. Electioneers were on hand trying to influence and convince voters to choose their respective candidates while female activists were rallying for their right to vote.

Here is a flyer for the event:


In the center of this photograph you can see the voting booth:


Zoomed in:












Here you see the Village Suffragettes protesting and rallying for their right to vote:




The ballots:




Voters would sign the book on the right and simply take a ballot and put it in the box on the left:








The Historic Howell Works Museum And General Store:




Here I am after casting my ballot wearing a hat that I purchased at The General Store:








Counting the ballots:


I believe the final tally was 17 votes for Harrison and 16 votes for Van Buren. The percentages were 51.52% and 48.48% respectively. Although Van Buren won the Election and the Presidency, Harrison did carry New Jersey with 50.53% of the vote in 1836 (Source: http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1836&f=0&off=0&elect=0&fips=34&submit=Retrieve). Harrison's victory in this reenactment exactly mirrored the results 175 years ago, and the percentage was remarkably similar as well.

Who did I vote for? I will not tell. This was a really fantastic event and very unique since this era and these particular candidates are barely, if ever, discussed. I stayed until the very end because I really wanted to see the results.

Here is a magnet that I purchased at The General Store:


I wanted to make reference to the fact that the hat that I bought was made in the USA. Here is a shot of the tag. The hat cost $8.95 which was a good price. It just shows that items can be manufactured here, in this country, and still be affordable. This is significant, and this is a very important message to convey.


Here is the Village's website (more fine events are scheduled for the remainder of the year): http://www.allairevillage.org