They shot cannons, marched with rifles, played fifes and drums, and said toasts — all authentic to an Independence Day celebration at Fort Meigs on July 4, 1813.
“The fact that we are presenting something that happened [on this day] in 1813 is very important. It brings back the memory of the soldiers that fought here. People forget that this was a battlefield. This was an American battlefield,” Martin Land, 65, of Northwood said.
Mr. Land was one of about 30 reenactors Tuesday at the Perrysburg historical site during an annual daylong event that re-created ceremonies and celebrations that happened there 210 years ago.
Dressed in a field colonel’s uniform of the period, Mr. Land commanded artillery demonstrations as he explained them to about 100 spectators.
July 4, 1813, was a day of festivity at Fort Meigs. Soldiers fired 18 shots from cannons in a national salute and spent the day celebrating the founding of the nation they were defending.
The celebration included the playing of 18 pieces of music and 18 toasts from the officers. There were also 18 artillery men firing the cannons.
John Thompson, Fort Meigs manager of historic programs, noted that eighteen was a very special number at this point in time — there were only 18 states in the Union during the War of 1812.
Dressed in a uniform of a master sergeant of artillery musicians, Mr. Thompson conducted a tour of the premises as he told the story of Fort Meigs.
During a break in artillery demonstrations, Mr. Land took a minute to take a drink of water, at which time he noted the presence of at least a couple dozen children in the crowd.
He said he hoped that the day spent at the fort would trigger their interest in the nation’s military history, eventually helping them become patriots.
Brady Ruetz, 13, a seventh grader at Liberty-Benton Middle School in Findlay, said that’s exactly what the celebration seemed to be doing to him.
“It’s cool looking at all the history here,” young Ruetz said.
“I’ve already been reading some history books, and may now read more,” he said, noting that the books he had read so far were mostly about World War II.
Besides uniformed soldiers in period uniforms doing military demonstrations at the outset of the event, there were also four military musicians and seven civilians in period dresses getting ready to play their part in the reenactment.
Betsy Bayshore of Maumee got to play a fife in the 18 songs – a mix of military and parade music – which were each matched to one of the 18 toasts the officers at the fort raised July 4, 1813.
“I’ve done this every year since I researched the music like 38 years ago,” Ms. Bayshore said. “It’s fabulous to still be doing this.”
First Published July 4, 2023, 8:53 p.m.
