YANKEE DOODLE ANDY

My weekend in the Revolutionary War

- Andy Simmons

CANNON FIRE WOKE me up—that was our alarm clock.

It was the first morning of the Battle of Bordentown, New Jersey, and I was with the 5th New York Regiment, Revolutionary War reenactors, preparing to help free my countrymen from the yoke of British oppression yet again.

Dragging myself from the comfort of my Gore-Tex sleeping bag, I slipped into my uniform: flax overalls, a long-sleeve “common shirt” and a fringed hunting shirt over that. I dipped my size-9 feet into a pair of borrowed size-13 buckle shoes (my wife gave me pantyhose to stuff in the toes), topped my head with a cocked hat, pulled open the tent flaps and stumbled into the 18th century.

Behind our neat row of white tents, men and women bearing a remarkable resemblance to Paul Revere and Dolley Madison prepared for the day ahead. In the bustling kitchen area, they brewed coffee over a fire they'd built using a flint, a piece of iron and some charred cloth, while others cleaned muskets and a few tooted on their fifes. Other than overhearing a pair of officers on horseback discussing their colonoscopies, it was my elementary school textbooks come to life.

A few hours later, the cannons roared again—this time they were pointed at the enemy. The first battle had begun, and our objective was to hold the field, the one across the street from the Ocean Spray plant. Altogether, there were about 500 on our side versus 400 Brits, Loyalists and Hessians, all under the watchful eye of 1,000 spectators.