Witness History: The Arrest of William Franklin

Come one, come all, to the historic Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on Saturday, June 16 at 1pm! We will be reenacting the unfortunate arrest of the colony’s last Royal Governor, William Franklin, whose argument with his famous rebel father Benjamin caused him to make a decision that would change not only his life, but American history: loyalty to the crown and King George III over loyalty to his father, and his passionate support of the revolutionary cause. It is the story of one of the most famous family break-ups in history, and this decision caused the Provincial Congress of New Jersey to order his arrest on June 19, 1776 by the Colonial Militia led by Col. Nathaniel Heard. While we see the British as evil today, Franklin was much-loved by the citizens of the colony, but he just could not rebuke his inner feelings of loyalty to a King he deeply respected; the man who instilled him as the governor after years of hard work and service to the Crown. This reenactment that we put on every year takes place over the course of three days in the year of our independence, with Heard’s first visit to the governor’s mansion—we stage the event in Franklin’s actual drawing room—where he got the door slammed in his face, and his return later in the week with an arrest warrant and full militia to drag haughty William out of the house. It is an untold story of the Revolution, except by us, as we have now eclipsed twenty years of arrest plays and reenactments.

Civil War Journal: Amputated Leg of Dan Sickles Takes a Vacation

I guess this would qualify as the day’s strange news…

Special thanks to Kurt Epps from The Pub Scout for forwarding me this information. Have you been dying to see the amputated leg of Union Major General Dan Sickles? Well, now is your chance. The famous leg which was removed from its owner after it was struck with a cannon ball at the battle of Gettysburg is taking a little vacation to Frederick, Maryland, while the museum it normally rests in is being moved. You can read all about it here.

It does not seem like the sole reason one would want to take a trip down to Maryland for, but being that Antietam is right in the area, and Gettysburg is only about 90 minutes to the north, you might want to make a little family vacation out of it. Heck, maybe you can stop at KFC on the way and celebrate with a few legs of your own.

Dan Sickles is certainly a fascinating character. Having murdered the lover of his wife, the son of Francis Scott Key, before the Civil War (and getting away with it after pleading temporary insanity), he rose to prominence as a very colorful and competent general, in an army that was surely lacking the latter. His leg may be more famous than his battle presence, though, as when the war ended, he donated the leg to the then National Museum of Medicine, where he would regularly visit it and bring guests along. Should I get down to the area this summer, perhaps I will take a look, because I have a special connection to Mr. Sickles.

Last year, before my annual trip to Gettysburg, a friend in California, Ned Huthmacher, author of One Domingo Morning, which details the siege and battle of the Alamo, sent me a very rare three-volume set. It is apparently so rare that I have never seen an identical copy of it anywhere, not even online. It actually intrigues me so much that I kick myself for not asking James M. McPherson about it when I interviewed him several months ago. Perhaps I will send an email to James I. Robertson at Virginia Tech, asking for some help in identifying the book and to learn more. These volumes are titled Final Report on the Battlefield of Gettysburg, published by the New York Commission, which was chaired by none other than Dan Sickles. His signature appears at the beginning of the book.

Published in 1900, these books give details and pictures of every single New York monument at Gettysburg battlefield, the transcripts of speeches read at their dedications, as well as enlistment records and casualty figures for every single soldier from New York to fight on those three fateful days in July of 1863. It is probably the greatest gift I have ever received.

Shout-Out from Kurt Epps on “The Pub Scout”

Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of meeting with Kurt Epps, who you all met here, at the Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The award-winning writer, speaker, and historian was having a documentary filmed on him by a pair of students from Montclair State University, who were delving into the work Kurt does at the house, most importantly with his character, Royal Governor William Franklin. When the self-proclaimed “legend in his own mind” asked me to come along, I could not say no, and answered some questions that the two filmmakers had as well as sitting in on their interview.

There was also a gift I had been waiting to give Kurt since we both attended a dinner in November, and that is a Coors Lite bottle shaped like a Louisville Slugger baseball bat (pictured above). The Governor accepted it, and admitted he had never seen anything like it before, even though he had some choice words to say about Coors, a beer he would not be seen drinking even if there was a loaded gun to his head.

Being a blogger himself, Kurt was kind enough to give me a shout-out on his website, aptly named The Pub Scout. Below is an excerpt of what he wrote last night:

Admittedly, I’m no devotee of Coors Beer, and I confess I rarely follow professional baseball these days, but thanks to a friend named Greg Caggiano, I became an owner of some pretty neat memorabilia today. It’s that bottle in the shape of a Louisville Slugger in the pictures to the right of this blog. I was impressed by the detail of the wood-grain look, and even the number 18 on the bottle cap. In my youth, I recall that all the Louisville Sluggers I ever got my hands on had the bat size stamped on the bottom. This bottle bat has the number of ounces in the bottle in that hallowed spot.

Of course, back in the day, all bats were made out of wood and cost about $6. Today, they’re made of space age metal, can rocket a ball at you faster than a bullet from a .357 Magnum and cost as much as a ticket to a Yankee game.

I don’t know how much a collectors’ item like this is worth, nor do I care. There was no beer in the bottle (which may have actually increased its value to me). Still, it’s neat to have. Maybe the Mets should come up with something like this to keep their fans happy…

It was a great afternoon hanging out with Governor Franklin, as well as the film crew of Rob Dickerson and Matt Fabiano. They shot about fifteen minutes worth of an interview, but I managed to film a few minutes of it myself, with a sort of behind-the-scenes look. Enjoy this story Kurt tells about the house and how he first got involved with acting there:

The next time Kurt will be at the Proprietary House is June 12, when we reenact the arrest of William Franklin. All are invited to attend this free and lively event, where we get to see him in full form. Just don’t acknowledge the picture of George Washington hanging in the foyer, for it is highly insulting to his excellency.

Interview with Historian, Author, and Painter Gary Zaboly

Gary Zaboly’s masterwork on Rogers’ Rangers.

I first came into contact with Gary Zaboly through others in the tightly knit Alamo history community, that includes another interviewee, Al Bouler, who in this highly talked about interview, discussed what it was like being a historian and impersonator of David Crockett. Zaboly, on the other hand, has focused his energies differently, which includes writing a book on a much-forgotten, and unfortunately so, chapter of early America history, and that is Major Robert Rogers and his unit of Rangers that fought in the French and Indian War and helped to tame life on the wild and rugged 18th century frontier.

There are few historians who can match the expertise on this subject than Zaboly can, who has written a massive coffee-table size book titled, “A True Ranger: The Life and Many Wars of Major Robert Rogers”. Zaboly is also a painter, who has illustrated scenes of Rogers and also Texas history, for other magazines and books as he is an avid Alamo buff as well. He also tends to comment on my Facebook when I post something about movies, and I guess you can say he is an expert of sorts on classic films. I asked him about his historical passions and much more in our interview below:

GC: Osprey Publishing has referred to you as a “highly regarded expert on 18th century Rangers”. Where did this interest develop from, and how long have you been studying history?

GZ: My interest in early American frontier history developed in my pre-school days, primarily from all the B Westerns on TV at the time, and then of course from Disney’s Davy Crockett series in 1954-55. From that point on I was hooked, and almost everything dealing with the subject—from illustrated books to motion pictures—captured my attention and stoked my curiosity. Over the years I began to study the subject more deeply, my emphasis focusing on such particular areas as the Alamo, Rogers’ Rangers, the French and Indian War, the Revolution, and Custer’s Last Stand. But when it came to dealing with colonial frontier history in the 1750s-60s, most of the available publications seemed to be largely bereft of the nitty-gritty details I hungered for, and so over the succeeding decades I personally rummaged through libraries and archives to find answers to the many questions I had. Being an illustrator, this was a doubly important task to fulfill. Transferring my eventual piles of research notes and images to organized binders and reference files proved to be a boon to both my writing and my artwork. I’ve written scores of articles related to the above mentioned subjects, and a few books, and illustrated many more; hence my reputation, such as it is, as an “expert.” But I can only claim expertise as far as my research—and my interpretation of same—has taken me. Sometimes what we think we know to be true is true only as far as research has taken us. It’s unfortunate that a single life is really too short in which to do all the research that’s necessary to arrive at the answers to so many nagging questions.

GC: Having seen the 1940 film “Northwest Passage”, with Spencer Tracy, which is a story of Major Robert Rogers, the foremost Ranger, what is your opinion on the film, and how accurate is it?

GZ: Northwest Passage essentially got me started on the subject of Rogers’ Rangers. I’d first seen the Northwest Passage TV series of 1958, but it only had a minimal impact on my boy’s mind at the time. About five years later the MGM movie version was shown on local TV, and it proved a watershed viewing for me: it was an entirely new, entirely different type of frontier history. I soon sought out the novel by Kenneth Roberts, and fortunately it appeared that year (1963) in paperback for the first time, published by Crest Books. It proved even more thrilling and inspiring than the film, and I’ve probably read it seven times again since then. As history, the film, like all Hollywood films, is inaccurate from many standpoints: in terms of the uniforms, the layout of the village of St. Francis, and much of the history itself. But when it comes to conveying an idea of the raw wilderness conditions Rogers’ men had to endure on that expedition, it succeeds very well. Even though filmed in Payette National Forest in Idaho, Northwest Passage did manage to credibly depict the rangers’ march through the swamps and rugged hills of southern Quebec, northern Vermont and northern New Hampshire, not to mention their voyage by whaleboat up Lake Champlain in northern New York. In 1759 those regions were just as barren and devoid of human habitation as shown in the film: a virtual no-man’s wilderness land. One of the ironies of 1940′s Northwest Passage is that it paints Major Robert Rogers as something of a racist. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real Rogers learned much of his craft from early, friendly contact with the Indians of New Hampshire, and he dealt fairly with the Mahicans and Mohawks and other English-allied Native Americans during the French and Indian War. When he became the British commandant of the integral British frontier trading post of Fort Michilimackinac in 1766, he was dubbed “the Good Father” by the local tribes because unlike his predecessors, he knew how to treat them with kindness and fairness.

GC: You are also an accomplished painter, and have illustrated scenes not only of the Rangers, but the Alamo and Texas Revolution as well. How long have you been painting and what is your favorite aspect of the Texas Revolution?

GZ: I’ve been illustrating books and articles relating to American history since the early 1970s. The Alamo continues as my major subject area of the Texas Revolution not only because it’s a hugely dramatic event, but also because so much about it remains a mystery, and much research and dissection remains to be done. The amount of progress, knowledge-wise, that’s been done on this subject over the past 50 years has been considerable, yet so much is still unknown, or blighted by long-held misconceptions.

Zaboly’s painting of Colonel Travis and Alamo lore, a piece purchased by congressman Charlie Wilson in 1989.

GC: Tell us about your book, “A True Ranger: The Life and Many Wars of Major Robert Rogers”.

GZ: It’s the comprehensive biography of Robert Rogers that I always wanted to read but could never find. It’s very long, and fully footnoted and sourced, and it contains tons of information about Rogers that I had collected over the years, virtually all of it highly fascinating (to me anyway), and much of it new in terms of the scholarship. I think I wrote it mainly for other historians, not necessarily for the public at large, although I consider it readable for anyone. The book begins with Rogers being sprung from a New York City debtor’s jail cell by Highland troops and soldiers of the Royal American Regiment, which exemplifies how popular he was among even the British regular rank and file. But he had enemies in certain high places, and much of the book deals with the machinations they contrived in order to destroy him. Of course the book’s main concern is how Rogers transformed a motley collection of independent colonial ranger companies into a full-fledged, effective corps of rangers, and the skirmishes and battles they won, or lost. It also underscores his Ranger legacy, and how so much of his famous Special Forces “Rules” remain as viable and important today as they did in the 1750s.

GC: Whenever I post a link or picture of a classic movie on Facebook, you always seem to have your two cents about it. What is your favorite movie, and who are your favorite directors/actors/actresses?

GZ: Oh, I’m a big movie lover. I have my personal favorites, most of them historical in nature (1952′s The Big Sky, 1955′s The Last Command, the aforementioned Northwest Passage, 1960′s The Alamo, 1939′s Drums Along the Mohawk, and so on), but also high on my list are Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Citizen Kane, and such odd numbers as Inside Movies. I’ve long been a student of film history, and since teenage days have collected many classic films, of both the silent and sound eras. Director-wise, I’ve always especially loved [D.W] Griffith and [John] Ford. Actor-wise it’s a tough call, but high on my list are John Wayne, Steve McQueen and Charlton Heston. Actress-wise, there’s a wide range of names that come to mind: from Jean Arthur to Loretta Young to Ida Lupino to Anne Archer to Zooey Deschanel—the list is long!

GC: Lastly, I ask this to every historian I interview: why is it so important to keep the past alive?

GZ: Our past is our present; our present is our future. All of it is vitally, inextricably connected, and the more we know about where we came from, the better equipped we’ll be to deal with the challenges of the future. So much national conflict today arises from the fact that history ain’t taught a damn in our schools anymore. Also, even fiction can’t compete with the sheer drama, action, mystery, and color you can find in history. Which is why so much fiction is drawn from history.

I want to thank Mr. Zaboly for taking the time to conduct this interview, and also want to point out two things that are becoming redundant in each of the three interviews I have conducted with a historian on this site. First, for the two “Alamo buffs”, both were drawn into history, largely in part due to Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett. And secondly, both Gary and Kurt Epps, who I interviewed here, both point out the unfortunate truth that history is not being taught as it should in our school systems today. This is a sad truth that I can only hope will be corrected one day.

Interview with Historian, Writer, and Beer Expert, Kurt Epps

The readers of this site have been introduced to the wonderful Kurt Epps numerous times, mostly as his character of New Jersey’s last Royal Governor, William Franklin. As a member of the Board of Trustees for the Proprietary House, which served as his mansion from 1774-1776, I had a chance to meet some very unique people, including Kurt, and have a chance to participate in the re-enactment of the Governor’s arrest in June.

But Kurt is not only a reenactor, or historian, but also an accomplished actor, writer, and speaker, who has also contributed reviews to the Beer Advocate, as well as maintaining his own blog, The Pub Scout. No matter what his ventures are, though, he will always be the governor to me, and as Woodbridge, NJ town historian Jeff Huber once said to me, regarding Kurt and his character, “Once he goes, he does not come back.”

Kurt Epps, Greg Caggiano, and Jeff Huber at the arrest reenacment.

Kurt Epps takes his role very seriously, but he has fun along the way. A former teacher, I can only imagine what his classes would have been like. It is because of people like him that the past is kept alive for future generations, so that we may know what came before us, and why it is so important.

I had a chance to sit down with Kurt and talk to him about his role as a living-historian, what he does for the Beer Advocate, and much more. Below is our conversation:

GC: You have become a local celebrity for your portrayal of Royal Governor William Franklin at the Proprietary House and other Perth Amboy events. When did you first start this portrayal, and why do you love to do it so much?

KE: “Sure I have. I’m a legend in my own mind. I moved back to Perth Amboy, which was my hometown, in 1987 just prior to the birth of my eldest son, Brett. A dynamic, wonderful woman I had known since my youth from my church, Mrs. Alma Cap was deeply involved with the saving and restoration of the House, and she convinced me to get involved. I became a member, then eventually a trustee. During that time, Mrs. Cap, who put her heart and soul into saving the House, concocted the idea of reenacting the arrest of Governor Franklin. She knew that I had some experience acting and asked if I’d portray the governor. I agreed. I’ve been doing it ever since—nearly a quarter of a century. I’m the most arrested recidivist in Perth Amboy.

Mrs. Cap also spearheaded a number of other dramatic events involving the governor and his rebel father, Benjamin. Perth Amboy’s famous actor Charles White (his sister was Ruth White, also an esteemed actress) and I did shows at the house—sometimes with scripts, sometimes improvisatory—which highlighted the diametrically opposite positions each man had with respect to the “troubles” between England and her colony. Charlie White was a quintessential professional who made it very easy to interact with him in such scenes.

Once, a large group of students was scheduled to visit the House and tour the rooms and grounds. Mrs. Cap thought it would be wonderful if Charlie and I—as Ben and William—would make an appearance while the students were there. So, in full costumes and with no scripts, we waited upstairs for the group to assemble, and when we felt the time was right, we just came down the stairs arguing about the revolution as though no one else was in the House. All conversation stopped and all eyes focused on us. We’d move from room to room, with the multitude of students following us to “eavesdrop” on this historic confrontation. Of course, we pretended to be oblivious to them. It was absolutely riveting theater—due in large part to Charlie’s great timing and theater sense. We just “clicked” together every time we were in costume in the House. There was humor, pathos, anger and screaming—during which the students—and their teachers– stood frozen with mouths agape. When we concluded the scene (it lasted for about ten minutes) we both stormed out of the house in different directions. There was TOTAL silence in the House for at least 30 seconds, and then a thunderous applause began. It was thrilling.

Another time, writer Robert Collins of Metuchen contributed a play entitled “Poor William” to the House, and I performed it a number of times it with two different professional actors playing Ben, my father. The entire play was set in candlelight, and traced the relationship of the two men from the time William was young until he died in England, never having reconciled with his American father. The performances with the outstanding actor J.C. Hoyt drew overflow crowds on successive nights, and got rave reviews. JC and I became friends as well.

You have witnessed some of the “electricity” that happens there when regular Joe’s like us try to make history come alive. That House is such a treasure and has left us a wonderful legacy to pass on to future generations. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy it so. It’s weird and not easily explainable, but when I’m in my Franklin regalia, I become William Franklin. I can “feel” his presence, especially when I’m there in the House, especially when I’m performing. I believe the Governor, Ben’s bastard son, to have been a semi-tragic figure whose real story is not known by enough Americans.”

GC: What were some of the other events at the Proprietary House in the past that you were involved with?

KE: “The Proprietary House Association used to have wonderful events that not only brought recognition to the House, but actually made it come “alive.” As Governor Franklin, I greeted Former NJ Governor Christie Whitman when she came to the House, and, believe it or not, she was the first NJ Governor to do so! When she and her entourage arrived, I greeted her at the door, by bowing and kissing her hand, and exclaimed, “My dear Mrs. Whitman! Welcome to my home. It figures it would take a woman to make history by visiting here!”

Under Mrs. Cap’s watchful, creative eye, we also had events like “Servants’ Night Out” which allowed the Servants the run of the House, as the Governor was supposedly away in Burlington or Rancocas. It was an event open to the public for a fee, offering a discount if you arrived attired in period dress, and featured period food, music and grog. Fun was an automatic by-product. Ditto food and music events that saw the House decorated for Christmas and me entertaining guests from the public. All this was done to raise public awareness of the House, and, of course, to help raise funds to restore it.”

GC: In working at the house for a long time, have you ever had any paranormal encounters of your own?

KE: “There have been a few times when I’ve sensed other-worldly “presences” while in the House. One time there was a very discernible cold presence that brushed by me while I was standing at the bottom of the staircase on the main floor. The “cold” lingered around me for a few seconds, then dissipated. While there have been many summer reenactments where I prayed for a cold presence to surround me, this wasn’t air-conditioning, because it happened in the Autumn. I also usually get some vibrations when I enter the Wine cellar and the servants’ room opposite it.”

GC: You also find time writing about beer. What do you think constitutes a good beer, and what is your favorite brew?

KE: “I have posted reviews on the Beer Advocate, but most of my writing is now available on my blog. As a freelance writer, I have written for a number of major “brewspapers” however. Celebrator Beer News on the Left coast and Ale Street News on the East coast are two. But I got my start with  the Beer and Tavern Chronicle. As to what constitutes a good beer, it comes down to styles. There are many styles of ales and lagers, and they all have nuances. If a beer is true to style, it’s a “good” beer, unless, of course, you don’t fancy that style. Beer is not a snobbish beverage by any means, and no expert should purport to tell you what you should and shouldn’t like. Personally, I’d drink water before I’d drink a Bud, a Miller or a Corona, but if others like them, I’m not about to look down my nose at them.

My favorite brew is kind of like my underwear: Depends.

Depends, that is, on many things…what season of the year is it? Every season brings a wonderful array of beers that match it. In a week or so, for example, the true Oktoberfest beers start making their appearances, and they are most enjoyable to me. In the Winter, Belgian Dubbels, Trippels and Quadrupels call my name, as do Stouts, Scotch Ales, double-bocks and spiced beers. In the Spring, nothing makes me happier than a good Maibock, and in summer, IPA’s, witbiers, farmhouse ales and hefeweizens get my attention.

What food is being served with it? Different beers complement different foods—and vice versa. There’s even a good beer for chocolate cake.

What activity am I doing or have I just concluded? After mowing my lawn, A Wild Blue or a Sam Adams Blackberry Wit hits the spot. After stopping at a pub during a hot motorcycle ride, an IPA is absolutely refreshing, and if the time is right (and the bar has clean beer lines) a Trappist Ale like a Chimay is worth its weight in gold.”

GC: In your spare time, you enjoy riding motorcycles. What kind do you own, and how did you become interested in this activity?

KE: “I’ve been riding motorcycles on and off for over forty years. Before my sons were born, I’d think nothing of jumping on my bike and heading from NJ to Montauk Pt., NY for a beer, then turning around and coming home. Raising kids, however, puts some limitations on that kind of spontaneity. Now that they’re older, I have more time to myself. I currently ride a Honda VTX 1300R, but I’ve had many bikes in my life. I started riding a Yamaha when I was 18. I’ve always loved the sense of freedom a bike provides. Riding through the countryside and using all my senses (except taste, unless a bug flies into my mouth) to enjoy the experience is both exhilarating and calming. I’ve had Suzukis, Hondas and Kawasakis, too. In fact, I used to sell motorcycles, and I taught Don Imus how to ride back in 1974—or at least I tried to. Though they are beautiful bikes, I’ve never been captivated by the Harley mystique. I did rent a big one in Hawaii once, and it was fun. If somebody gave me one, I sure wouldn’t turn it down. But I’d rather have a Gold Wing. There’s a saying: “Four wheels move the body; two wheels move the soul.” There’s just something about motorcycling that both lights me up and puts me at peace.”

GC: As a former teacher, why do you think it is so important to keep the past alive? Do you think the interest level in the subject is higher or lower that when you were in school?

KE: While I am admittedly a history buff, I was an English teacher for 37 years, not a history teacher. But in the teaching of World, British and American literature, I always incorporated a historical angle to help keep the writing in context. The great writing of the past did not occur in a vacuum, and history and literature go hand in hand. I could tell my students about Sumerian cuneiform and bore them to death, but when I tell them the Sumerians invented BOTH writing AND beer, and they probably invented the former to keep track of the latter—they become interested. And when you inform them that Shakespeare probably helped to write the King James version of the Bible, an eyebrow or two goes up—but only for those who know what The Bible is, and that number is dwindling.

That said, I do not believe that history—especially American history—is being taught sufficiently these days, and worse, the attempts to rewrite history to serve politically correct goals is an abomination. Entire generations of kids have grown up with the notion that only blacks were slaves and only America had them. That’s patently absurd, as slavery is as old as warfare. When you conquered an enemy, you enslaved them—and their women and children. Being descended from slaves myself (my ancestors were American Indian slaves of Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Maria), I can attest that not all slaves were black.

It is incredibly important to preserve our sense of history, especially in our young people. They must know it and share it with their children, and they with theirs.  For once it is forgotten, our remarkable story will have ended.”

I would like to thank Kurt for taking the time to conduct this interview. No matter what the topic, his words always seem to find a way to hit home. Please make sure to check out the Proprietary House, by clicking the tab at the top of the page. History is such an important part in both our lives, and it is of the utmost importance that we keep it alive. I will end this interview with two quotes: the first by William Shakespeare, “What is past is prologue.” and the other, by author George Santayana, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

All Are Invited to Attend Sunday’s Proprietary House Re-enactment

Tomorrow, Sunday, June 13 at 1pm, the Proprietary House in Perth Amboy will be reenacting the 1776 arrest of Royal Governor William Franklin by Colonel Nathaniel Heard under orders from the Provincial Congress of New Jersey.

On the outset of revolution, Franklin was the last remaining governor of any colony who remained loyal to King George III.The congress felt it was time that he be replaced. Since January of that year, he had been placed under house arrest with strict orders to not conduct any private business. But after it was found out that he was secretly trying to sign a peace treaty between East Jersey and England, to get Jersey out of the war, the congress ordered his full arrest.

Governor William Franklin

The congress first ordered Heard to arrest him earlier in the week, but to do so respectfully. Franklin in turn, slammed the door in his face and said he would not be taken by someone he did not respect and was not equal in rank. Heard then reported back to the congress what happened, and they ordered him to use any means necessary.

One of the only known sketches of Nathaniel Heard.

Heard returned to the house on June 19 with sixty soldiers, and dragged the governor out of the house and arrested him. Many townspeople of Perth Amboy were still loyal to him, and he was much respected, even with people in the army who arrested him.

I will be taking part in the re-enactment as a soldier in Heard’s brigade. This is a picture of me after I tried the uniform on. The beard I have has since been turned into mutton chops, as I am trying to be in character as much as possible. I am only hoping the heat won’t be too bad, because I don’t care what anyone says about wool, it is still hot!

My equipment includes the following, and an 1850 Pennsylvania Long Rifle, that is not pictured. The age of the rifle is inaccurate, but it will serve just as well as a flintlock tomorrow.

Jeff Huber, who has given his opinion several times in articles on this site is also taking part as a townsperson.

Kurt Epps, who has played Franklin for several years will be continuing his role.  Here is a video of Kurt from last September as he portrays the governor.

The re-enactment begins at 1pm and is fun for people of all ages. If you have never been to the house, the address is as follows:

The Proprietary House

149 Kearney Avenue

Perth Amboy, NJ 08861

The event is free, however, any donations will be accepted for the upkeep and restoration of the house. Parking is also limited, so please arrive a few minutes early as generally a lot of people show up. Some years we have even had to do two shows to accommodate the large crowds.Please check out this site’s page for the house for more information.

We hope to see you there!

“Pro reg ex patria!” (“For King and Country!”)