Coventry, CT – Travel back in time for a weekend of Revolutionary fun at Connecticut Landmarks’ Nathan Hale Homestead with Hale at the Homestead and a Musical Muster on Saturday, July 25th & Sunday, July 26th, hosted by the Nathan Hale Ancient Fife and Drum Corps – who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year!
During Hale at the Homestead, on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, participants will experience a Revolutionary War military encampment as the Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes and Drums reenact the typical daily lives of soldiers in the Colonial army. The afternoon will include tactical demonstrations of period weapons, such as drilling, musket and cannon firing, as well as camp cooking, craft demonstrations, and children’s activities. Suggested donation of $5, children free.
Then on Sunday at noon, join the Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes and Drums Corps and over a dozen Fife and Drum Corps from across Southern New England for a Musical Muster and parade featuring an assortment of fifes (flutes) and wooden rope tension snare and bass drums. During Revolutionary War it became customary for each company of 100 or so men to be assigned two fifers and two drummers to sound signals, hours and alarms, as well as play popular music on the march. Musical Muster is free; donations welcome.
Organized in 1965, the Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes & Drums of Coventry, Connecticut have been officially recognized by the State of Connecticut as the reactivated 19th Connecticut Regiment of Foote – Continental Line. The Corps consists of four units: the Field Music; Knowlton’s Connecticut Rangers; Capt. Stephen Buckland’s Artillery; and the Company of Artificers. The musicians are attired in the regimental uniform of Col. Charles Webb’s 19th Connecticut Regiment of Foot in which unit Capt Nathan Hale served in 1776. Their commitment to authenticity has resulted in their having won the coveted recognition from the Company of Military Historians. Several of the muskets carried by the Rangers are actual Brown Bess Tower Muskets, not reproductions! To learn more about the Nathan Hale Ancient
Fifes and Drums, see www.nathanhalefifesanddrums.org or follow them on Facebook.
About the Nathan Hale Homestead
Nathan Hale Homestead is the birthplace of Connecticut’s State Hero, Nathan Hale, who was hanged as a spy during the Revolutionary War. The house, built in 1776, belonged to Nathan’s parents and family, and is located on the only site he ever called home. Its furnishings include several Hale family possessions and other collections amassed by Connecticut lawyer and philanthropist George Dudley Seymour, who purchased the Homestead in 1914 and began a program of restoration that is largely preserved today. The Hale Homestead is situated on 17 acres, adjoining the 1500-acre Nathan Hale State Forest, lending to the site’s substantial rural character.
About Connecticut Landmarks
Connecticut Landmarks’ mission is to inspire interest and encourage learning about the American past by preserving selected historic properties, collections and stories and presenting programs that meaningfully engage the public and our communities. For more information, please visit www.ctlandmarks.org.