Two good 18th Century Forums worth Joining.

The Woodsrunner Forum: http://neclhg.freeforums.net/

The Minuteman Forum: http://minuteman.boards.net/

Cleaning Your Gun In The field.

Cleaning Your Gun In The Field is part of my "A Woodsrunner's Day" series.

Securing Corked Bottles 2. Another Way.

Cover the cork with a piece of cloth or light leather & tie around the neck of the bottle.

Securing Corked Bottles. The Beer Knot.

Call To Arms! All Muzzle-Loader Users PLEASE Sign This Petition!

The law against using these primitive tools off the range has no legitimate reason for existing, it was shear ignorance on the part of the law makers that placed muzzle-loading pistols on a RESTRICTED license!

If we don't fight for our rights to legitimately use these primitive guns, then no one else will, because the majority of the Australian public are also probably totally ignorant in regards as to what these pistols actually are. Restricting these pistols has no basis in public safety, criminals do not use these guns & have not done so for at least the past 300 years!

So please, if you are a black powder enthusiast, a living historian or a historical re-enactor, sign this petition. 

https://www.change.org/p/to-the-honourable-the-speaker-and-members-of-the-legislative-assembly-of-new-south-wales-in-parliam-muzzle-loading-pistols-to-be-placed-on-a-less-restrictive-licence/u/23405047

Historical Trekking. The Advantages of using a Copper Water Bottle. Purification.

Copper water bottle on the far left.

https://vasantihealth.com/blogs/news/the-truth-about-storing-water-in-copper-vessels-debunking-the-myths

https://www.copperh2o.com/blogs/blog/copper-water-bottles-and-scientific-research

Forum Notifications?

Just in case you have not been receiving any notifications from our group forum, there are a stack of new posts in a variety of topics.

This forum is not the same as the old one, & some of you may have failed to click on the subscribe to topic! Anyway, like I said, there is a heap of new threads & information there if you are interested.

Keith.

http://neclhg.freeforums.net/

Wilderness Camping & Safety. FIRE.

 Any fire small or large, day or night has the potential to attract unwanted guests, so an all night fire is going to at least double that risk. Raiders are opportunists & a fire glowing in the night or the smell of smoke will draw them like ants to honey. Because I am a living historian, my historical treks have to be as authentic as possible. Now even today there are risks in camping out, but back in the 18th century those risks were far greater, so I set myself scenarios. Some nights I have camped with no fire, this requires knowledge of how to stay alive in winter with little bedding, because bedding is bulky & adds weight to your pack. It also requires knowledge regarding what foods to carry, because with no fire, you can not cook food, so you need to carry some food that can be eaten without having to cook it.

Other nights I do light a small fire in a fire hole. This is a scrape in the ground to contain the fire surrounded by rocks back & sides. The heat reflects off the rocks back into my shelter, & they help hide the fire from prying eyes. But a small fire does not last long once I have fallen asleep, & at some time in the night the cold will wake me & I will stoke the fire from my supplies under cover behind my bed & from a supply of wood at the end of my shelter. Despite the fact that I am always mindful & therefore alert to sounds in the forest, this waking up from the cold is for me a security measure. It is an opportunity to look & listen to the sounds around me before I make up my mind as to whether or not I should re light or stoke the fire.

If I had placed a large log on the fire to keep it going all night I would probably sleep soundly, certainly I would not be waking frequently because of the chill seeping through my bedding. This would create a security risk, one because as I have already said, the fire would be noticeably visible from a distance at night, & secondly because I would not be so alert. Just something for you to think about next time you are camping out & practicing your skills.

Keith.

Digging for Witchetty Grubs with Dorothy Napangardi

Living History Activities in Sweden.

Group Forum Moving to a New Site. Please sign up for membership.

As many of you may have realised by now our group forum was taken over by Tapatalk, since then I have had a lot of problems, & the HELP at tapatalk is non existent. SO, I checked with other members on this forum & we decided to move to another site.

There are years of information on this present site which we don't want to lose if we can help it, a lot of work has gone into this site by a lot of present members. If you are still interested in this group/forum, then please go to our new forum & sign up for membership http://neclhg.freeforums.net/ . Some of you have been made Moderators on this present forum, obviously you do not have to accept & if this is the case please let me know. I will need help transferring all the posts from this forum to the new forum, but I know this will not happen overnight, & some of you may simply not have the time to spare to help.

If individuals could copy & paste their own posts to the new forum, this would be very much appreciated. If you are unable to help. then the Moderators & myself will do the best we can. Please check out the new forum, it does not look the same as this one, but I hope that we will have less problems with it.
Regards, Keith.

SALT PORK, SHIP’S BISCUIT, AND BURGOO: SEA PROVISIONS FOR COMMON SAILORS AND PIRATES, PART 1

A painting of a typical East Indiaman from the 17th century by Isaac Sailmaker, c.1685.

https://csphistorical.com/2016/01/24/salt-pork-ships-biscuit-and-burgoo-sea-provisions-for-common-sailors-and-pirates-part-1/?blogsub=spammed#subscribe-blog

Update On Our Group's New Forum.

Well the help people still haven't replied, either there are a lot of complaints, or they are just bloody useless. I gave up trying to change the forum via their board, & found another way. I have not done too badly considering, & it looks as though the forum is usable. More problems may arise, but if they do I will work on it. Better than having to start a new forum elsewhere & lose all those years of posts & information. The new forum looks different to the old one, I have installed new & different images in some of the sections. Check it out for yourselves at: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/eighteenthcenturylivinghistory/index.php?sid=75d999d1f3064aa04a403a813cc2cb2a

Pirates and Privateers History Page.

Stories & Articles Here: http://www.cindyvallar.com/pirates.html

The King's 8th Journal.

This blog can be found here: http://kings8thjournal.com/category/articles/

Images from His Majesty's 60th Regiment of Foot March Training Weekend.

Scouting.

Camp dinner. Feral Chinese Water Deer.

Setting up camp.

https://www.facebook.com/60thfoot/posts/387107188312772

17th Century Netherlands Backpack.

Netherlands. 17th century. War-Scene-xx-Sebastian-Vrancx.

17th Century Camp & Tactical Event. Daniel Benton Homestead.

	19 May at 9:00 to 21 May at 16:00 EDT
	160 Metcalf Road, Tolland, Connecticut 06084

2nd annual 17th C. encampment and tactical event, concentrating on the period of the Pequot through King Philip's War era. Native, English, and Dutch colonial impressions are welcome. Participants may arrive and set up after 9:00am on the 19th. For more information contact Tom Nedweden at 860-798-3747.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1835948029987015/

Gorham's Rangers Uniform. The reversible coat of 1761.

Description of Ranger deserters from Gorham’s Company of Rangers in 1761.

"clothed in the Uniform of the Company, viz. Coats, red turn'd up with brown, with brown Capes and brown Insides, which may be worn either Side out; Waistcoats of the brown Colour; Linnen Draws, leather Jockey-Caps, with Oak-Leaf or Branch painted on the left Side".

Five deserters from Major Gorham's Company. 'Boston News Letter' 1761.

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a208450.pdf

http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Gorham%27s_Rangers

18th Century Tin Kettles.

“GYPSIES” by J. Harris, London 1788.

In a previous post on this blog you will find a list of Indian trade goods, and in that list it states: "Brass & tinn Kettles large & Small". But of course these sizes are relative. The large tin kettles are almost as big as a water pail, so the small tin kettles are simply small in comparison to a pail, but not necessarily small enough to carry in a knapsack.

There are modern tinsmiths selling small tin kettles which they say are "based" on examples found in museums. By this they mean they are made to look roughly the same as the example in the museum. They may not be made of the same material, and they are often not the same size or shape.

Extant Tin Kettle This Early Specimen was Recovered From a Well at Fortress Louisbourg Smaller Size : 6” Tall by 8 3/4” Wide 3 Panel Body Construction with Single Riveted Flat Ears for Attaching the BaleCapacity: 1 Gallon, 1 Pint c. 1719 - 1768(Fortress Louisbourg NHS, Parks Canada)

This tin kettle is dated 1719-1768, but note that it is wider than it is tall. 6 inches tall is fine, but it is almost 9 inches wide. 

Tin Kettles or Pails with Flat Rectangular Crimped Dog Ears Found at Fort Ligonier & Reconstructions of the Same As Pictured in Neuman and Kravic’s “Collector’s Encyclopedia of the American Revolution” Heights Excluding Bales and Ears: 9 1/4” and 7 1/4” (Fort Ligonier Collection).

These look basically the same as ones being sold now, but again, look at the sizes. In this instance the width is not mentioned and it can be difficult to judge the width by the depth.

A Small Post Revolution British Tin Kettle Round Double Riveted Tin Ears, Iron Bale, and Tin Cover Sporting an Iron Ring Handle Provenance : 1st Foot Guards c.1800-1810(Armémuseum, Stockholm Sweden)

A smaller tin kettle that we are more used to seeing, but look at the date, it is 19^th century.

Brass Sheet Metal Kettle, Likely FrenchFrom the Wreck of the Machault Sunk in the 1760 Battle of Restigouche in the Bay of Gaspé in Quebec Provincec. 1755 - 1760(Parks Canada)

So, if your period pre dates the American revolution, and you are looking for a small kettle to carry in your knapsack, I suggest you use one of the tin lined brass or copper kettles being offered by some of the present day traders.

A modern made tin lined brass cast trade kettle. Not the best example of what is available today, but it is closer than using the wrong size of tin kettle.

RECOVERING THE TINSMITH’S ART Tin artifacts are among the most fragile items from the site, but substantially perfect replicas can be copied from the scraps, using historic craft skills.

http://deldot.gov/archaeology/bloomsbury/pdf/19_recovering.pdf

If anyone finds any more primary documentation in regards to pre American Revolution tin kettle sizes & shapes, I would be very pleased to hear from you.

Keith.