Another type of mocassin

For something different and to try something new (and because someone requested these), I tried a new pattern of moccasin. These are a style that is present here in the Western Great Lakes and seems to be somewhat common to the north and further west. This style is seen in some historical images of the 19th century and in a few extant moccasins in museums and collections. Likely these date even earlier. A prehistoric pair...

A Winter Outing

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be invited along with a group of friends on a historical outing in Northern, MN.  This group annually has a winter voyage utilizing the clothing and equipment of the 18th century fur trade.   The location was near the confluence of the Mississippi and Leech Lake Rivers in NE Cass County. This would have been a location between two NWCo posts in the late 18th and early 19th centuries....

A Fusil by any other name – French era guns

  Almost a year ago, I attended the Eastern Woodland Indian History Conference at Ft Pitt in PA. While there, I got into an interesting conversation with Alan Gutchess (Director of Ft. Pitt and overall smart guy) about the terms we use for French era guns. In a nutshell, he told me that he thinks that modern historians and reenactors have the terminology somewhat wrong. Basically he said that the guns called fusils de...

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Alright… not an emperor, but some gens libres referred to themselves as “lords.” It has been awhile since I have done any sewing; and, although I need a few new shirts, I decided to finally make myself a new late 18th century capot and a double-breasted waistcoat. For the capot, I decided to go with a plain natural “white” and I added red welts in the seams.  This is a neat effect that I have...