Tasting The Flavor Of Revolutionary Days

By Nancy K. Crevier

Joy and Mike Filler of Newtown have been members of the 5th Connecticut Regiment for 13 years. An honorary reenactment unit of the American Revolutionary Army, the original 5th Connecticut Regiment was formed in May of 1775, with a second regiment mustered in early 1777 during New England’s fight for independence from Great Britain.

Disbanded after the war in 1783, a charter from Governor Ella Grasso allowed the reformation of the 5th Connecticut in 1975. The 5th Connecticut Regiment does encampments all over the state, as well as at least one major out-of-state trip each year.

As part of the unit, Mr Filler, an adjutant (a sort of military secretary) and his wife have organized an encampment of the regiment as part of the August 6 Tercentennial Birthday bash at Fairfield Hills. The unit, numbering about 20 reenactors, will be camped in the high field, past the softball field on Fairfield Hills.

Reenactors usually keep their real names, said Mr Filler, but often take on a persona of the era. “My character is a farmer, a sheep farmer, middle class,” he said. “We create our own family ‘history.’ In doing so, the reenactors enable visitors to the camp to get a genuine feel for what a soldier’s life was like for 18th Century soldiers and their camp followers.

Camp followers, said Mr Filler, were comprised of hundreds of women and children who were unable to subsist on their own when the male provider of the family went to war. Even the difficulties and hardships of camp life were preferable to the destitution the families would have endured on their own.

Visitors to the August 6 encampment are encouraged to interact with the regiment soldiers. Soldiers will demonstrate musket drills throughout the day, cooking demonstrations, and discuss the camp setup, daily life, and the foods Revolutionary Army soldiers ate.

Joy Filler, a camp follower reenactor, tries to stick to locally grown foods when cooking on site. She points out that colonial people had access only to seasonal foods. “They [the colonists] could only eat what was in season unless it was preserved,” she said. Chickens were eaten year around, as they were domesticated and always available, but beef and pork products were autumn fare, as the colder weather was necessary to keep the meat fresh. Because New England was heavily farmed during the colonial period, Mrs Filler notes that wild game was rare as part of a meal. Dried foods, smoked foods, and salted foods supplemented the colonial diet.

Even wheat flour was not generally available. Rye was the grain crop of choice in colonial New England, and was coarsely ground into flour for breads.

Stews and soups based on root crops and squashes were a big part of the soldiers’ diets, according to Mrs Filler.

“If we can have a fire, I will probably make some sort of berry pie,” she said. “Maybe raspberry.”

Being largely a Loyalist town during the Revolution, a reenactment in Newtown would be incomplete without a British regiment to add some spice to the day. Mr Filler is hopeful that some of DeLancey’s Loyalists, a Tory reenactment unit, will be camped on the other side of the field.

“That’s usually good to get in some arguments,” said Mr Filler. Camp visitors can rest assured, though, that they won’t have to duck any volleys between the two camps.