Old fort history coming alive as never before for the Fourth
YOUNGSTOWN — Old Fort Niagara is preparing for its largest living- history display ever this holiday weekend as it celebrates the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War, and you’re invited.
More than 2,500 re-enactors plan to gather along the mouth of the Niagara River—more than doubling the population of this tiny village — to commemorate a war for control of North America.
They will wage six battles over the course of three days, attack a tall ship in the harbor and carry out a nighttime artillery salute, all to depict the scene in July 1759 when a British army, along with 1,000 Iroquois allies, laid siege to the Frenchheld fort.
Why should you care?
If things had gone the other way, you might be reading this in French.
“This is a chance of a lifetime to go to a premier living-history event of this magnitude here, and if you miss it, you’ll never see it again,” said Greg Henning, who will serve as “camp master” for the French army. “People will be talking about this around campfires for the next 20 years.”
Meet Some of the Re-enactors
The special program starts Friday with a “Battle on the Beach,” and ends with prisoners of war marched out of the fort at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Because of sheer volume, the encampment will not be confined just to the Old Fort this year, but will spill out into surrounding Fort Niagara State Park.
Expect 10,000 visitors per day — 10 times the number who normally attend smaller similar events at the fort, said Robert Emerson, executive director of Old Fort Niagara.
“Nobody gets the weekend off here,” Cathy Pasquantino, owner of the Youngstown Village Diner, said with a chuckle.
“. . . This will be mammoth,” said Pasquantino, who is president of the Youngstown Business and Professional Association.
Emerson said that exclusive of hotels — because many re-enactors camp at the fort —organizers estimate that each person will spend about $80 per day and that the weekend will pour more than $1.8 million into the local economy.
Mayor Neil C. Riordan said the “authenticity and historical accuracy” of this event will garner national and international attention.
The siege of Fort Niagara was among the early battles key to the future of North America.
After 19 days, the fort’s walls had been breached by artillery fire, and a French and Indian relief column was defeated a mile from the fort in a bloody battle in the morning.
On July 25, 1759, the French surrendered the fort, ushering in a new era of British control of the Great Lakes.
“Unlike other parts of the country, the French were the first explorers here, and they were here almost a hundred years before this war, so they were well-established by the 1750s,” Emerson said. “They had Fort Niagara and a smaller fort, Fort du Portage. The trade along the river was a huge industry. They had strong ties with the natives here. They were well-entrenched.
“This all started over who would control the Ohio River Valley. If the French empire had remained, we’d be under French influence, and who knows what our laws, customs and language would be like today?
The weekend is designed to be more than educational, Emerson said. It also will be “just plain fun.”
Along with the battles, the event includes: a nighttime artillery salute with fireworks at 9:30 Friday, a naval battle with a tall ship at noon Friday, and living history camps filled with people from the U. S. and Canada portraying life as it was in the 1750s.
History buffs from across the continent will participate.
“We have an attorney from California, for example, Norman LaForce, who will narrate the naval battle,” Emerson said. “His ancestor is Rene LaForce, who was the captain of the French ship ‘L’Iroquoise’ here in this war, and he’s bringing a group with him from California.”
Thomas Faith of Elma is chairman of the re-enactment committee.
“We sent out invitations to the best,” said Faith, who also serves as a major in the Rangers Regiment. “This is a pretty special event.”
He said that the Rangers and Native American contingents have been working for three years to present two scenarios to be performed in native languages — the French Embassy to the Native Americans at 11 a. m. and the British Embassy to the Native Americans at 2 p. m., both on Saturday.
“This is important because both countries competed on a daily basis for the loyalty of the Iroquois,” he said, adding that it also highlights the crucial role of the interpreters.
Re-enactors including Henning and his wife, Dee Dee, both high school teachers from North East, Pa., outside Erie, explained that they have been “living-history interpreters” for more than two decades, and participate in a variety of venues across the continent.
“It’s like a family reunion for us,” said Greg Henning, who also served on the event’s planning committee. “We have made friendships through this hobby that last decades. And our members come from all walks of life. It’s a nice mix.
“Our three daughters learned how to sew, start a fire, cook over an open fire, and they have made friends from all over the United States and Canada.”
Tickets are $13 per day, free for children 6 and younger, and may be purchased at the door or online at www.oldfortniagara.org . For information, call 745-7611.
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