May
7
‘Legend of Kitty Knight’ wows crowd
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PHOTO BY KATHY HEMSTOCK -- "The Legend of Kitty Knight," re-enactment, May 5, 2013, celebrating the bicentennial of the burning of Georgetown. Here, Kitty Knight, played by Amy Moredock, aims a broom at Royal Marines Kevin Hemstock, at left and Josh Baumann, as Rear Adm. Sir George Cockburn, portrayed by Robert Bryan, confers with Capt. Henry Byng, portrayed by Jacob Simpson.
GEORGETOWN, Md. – An estimated 1,000 spectators enjoyed the re-enactment of the War of 1812 raid on Georgetown, one of the events of weekend of activities associated with the bicentennial and annual Dogwood festival.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- Ralph Eshelman, historian, speaks to a group at a VIP dinner lecture, at the Kitty Knight House, May 3, 2013.
The activities were Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3-5, in Galena and Georgetown, starting off Friday with a VIP dinner lecture at the Kitty Knight House that featured historian Ralph Eshelman. That was topped off with a 30-minute fireworks display that lit up the Georgetown harbor area.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- John Carroll, at left, reads a toast to Kitty Knight, portrayed by Amy Moredock, as Rear Adm. Sir George Cockburn, by Robert Bryan, listens in.
Saturday the Dogwood festival in Galena began with a parade. Members of the cast of the “Legend of Kitty Knight” re-enactment marched and performed a snippet of the production for the judges, taking home the trophy for best non-motorized entry. Afterward, the Friends of Kent County, Maryland, War of 1812 gave out information from a table at the entry of Dogwood Plaza, while visitors enjoyed the usual vendors, music and food in Galena’s town park.
Sunday vendors and exhibits were set up at the Kitty Knight House. Included were boat tours, displays and information. Children enjoyed an archaeological “dig,” petting zoo and other activities. The cool, clear morning was hyphenated by the occasional volley of muskets as 10 members of the Eastern Shore Militia drilled. Many in the organization had stayed overnight at a militia camp on the Kitty Knight lawn.
Right at 1 p.m. the re-enactment began with a faux encounter between musket-blasting militia and the ersatz British sailors aboard Sultana, the latter wowing the crowd with booming canons. The 40-minute performance, directed by John Carroll and written and narrated by Peter Heck and Jane Jewell, took place over a broad “stage” of the Kitty Knight property. It started with Royal Marines “attacking” from the ice cream shop, “pillaging” and “burning” a house on Queen Street, and then making their way through the crowd to the final confrontation between Catharine “Kitty Knight” and Rear Adm. Sir George Cockburn, on the steps of the Kitty Knight House. Read more
Apr
22
Rehearsals Underway for The Legend of Kitty Knight Reenactment
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Rehearsals for The Legend of Kitty Knight are well underway. The cast have been meeting since mid March at Galena Antiques Center, with many recent on-site rehearsals at the Kitty Knight House in Georgetown, MD. This is the directorial debut for John Carroll. Carroll says he is “totally amazed at how well the show is taking shape”. The reenactment will feature a cast of 17 talented local actors, with sharp tounged raven-haired female heroine Catharine “Kitty” Knight portrayed by Ms. Amy Moredock of Betterton, MD. There are plans for gun and cannon fire with a special appearance from the Schooner Sultana. Read more
Apr
5
Militia holds first muster
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PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- Sgt. Mark Dubin, at left, gives suggestions on posture during a muster of the Eastern Shore Militia, March 30, on a farm near Church Hill.
CHURCH HILL — Members of the Eastern Shore Militia re-enactors group, drilled, discussed policies and went over event schedules, March 30, at a muster held at Rosemary Hill Farm.
Sixteen militia members were in attendance, under the command of Lt. John Wyman.
The eight-acre farm, owned by Marty Ersts, was the perfect place for the group’s first official muster – there is plenty of open space to drill and an antique cabin to gather for lunch and discussion. Sunny, warm weather contrasted with the area’s lingering winter cold earlier in the week.
Cpl. Cody Griffith fires his first shot with a flintlock.
Topics of discussion included uniforms and equipment and upcoming events at which the militia will be represented. One is the April 6 dedication, in Queenstown, of the first of 15 signs in Queen Anne’s County to mark War of 1812 incidents or activities. It will highlight the British capture of an American vessel in the Chesapeake Bay.
Another is the re-enactment of the burning, by the British, of Georgetown on the Sassafras River in Kent County and the role played by Catharine “Kitty” Knight in saving two dwellings. Activities associated with the “Legend of Kitty Knight” festival, May 3-5, include the re-enactment on Sunday, May 5, almost exactly 200 years from the raid. The Eastern Shore Militia will play the part of the outgunned and outmanned members of the Kent County 33rd Regiment, that shot at the enemy from Pearce’s Point before the British landed. Read more
Mar
11
Extravaganza planned to celebrate bicentennial of Kitty Knight
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GEORGETOWN – The terror and heroism of the devastating raid by the British, on Georgetown and Fredericktown during the War of 1812, will be played out in a fun-filled weekend celebrating the bicentennial of the event, combining with the annual Dogwood Festival, the first weekend in May. And there will be activities for one and all.
The Friends of Kent County, Maryland War of 1812 is sponsoring “Legend of Kitty Knight,” Friday, May 3 through Sunday May 5 in and around Georgetown and Galena. The celebration recalls the attack, on May 6, 1813, during which much of Georgetown, in Kent County, and Fredericktown, its smaller sister village across the Sassafras River in Cecil County, were burned in a campaign by the British to squelch local opposition from the citizenry along the Chesapeake Bay.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- The Kitty Knight House in Georgetown stands large above the Sassafras River, 200 years after the British attacked and burned most of the town.
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Feb
11
Recruits start training
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PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- John Wyman, at left, reads from a military manual while Tom Scoufalos, with a flintlock, demonstrates for some of the Eastern Shore Militia recruits that attended drill instruction, Saturday, at the Historical Society of Kent County's Bordley Center in Chestertown.
CHESTERTOWN – More than a dozen people, interested in being a part of the Eastern Shore Militia, attended a meeting, Saturday, to begin instruction and drills.
The unit is being formed to participate in re-enactments, living histories, parades, ceremonies and presentations to coincide with the War of 1812 bicentennial. Read more
Jan
30
GEORGETOWN – Tickets are now available for the first dinner lecture sponsored by the Friends of Kent County Maryland War of 1812 and the Kitty Knight House, leading up to the anniversary of the burning of Georgetown
The dinner is set for March 3, with cocktails at 5 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m. in the main dining room of the Kitty Knight House, located at 14028 Augustine Herman Highway.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- Scott Sheads will talk about the War of 1812 at a lecture March 3 at the Kitty Knight House.
The famous inn and restaurant is actually formed from two houses that were saved by the unquenchable Catharine “Kitty” Knight when the British attacked and burned most of the town on May 6, 1813. Knight faced off against a stern British admiral in convincing him that burning either structure would result in the death of an elderly woman. Read more
Jan
18
Recruits sign up for militia unit
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PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- John Wyman, dressed as a member of the American Militia in the War of 1812, teaches drilling techniques, Jan. 12, at the Miles River Yacht Club. About a dozen people attended a recruitment meeting for the Eastern Shore Militia that is being established to help celebrate the bicentennial of the war. Wyman also participated in a meeting later in the afternoon in Centreville.
By Kevin Hemstock
ST. MICHAELS – They started drilling right away and when it was all said and done, a total of 13 recruits signed up at two meetings earlier this month for the Eastern Shore Militia re-enactment group. The group is being formed to help celebrate the War of 1812 bicentennial.
About a dozen people attended a meeting that started at noon on Jan. 12 at the Miles River Yacht Club. John Wyman, a seasoned re-enactor led the discussion of what will be involved in the organization. Read more
Jan
4
Second meeting planned in Centreville for militia applicants
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PHOTO BY KEVIN HEMSTOCK -- John Wyman, attired in the replica military gear associated with the militia in the War of 1812, takes aim in a pose earlier this year.
CENTREVILLE, MD — Applications are now being accepted for volunteers for an Eastern Shore Militia re-enactment unit, being formed for events associated with the War of 1812 bicentennial. The unit is being formed to participate in re-enactments, living histories, parades, ceremonies and presentations to help demonstrate what military life was like 200 years ago. Read more
Jan
4
Auditions set for Kitty Knight and Mitchell re-enactments
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The Friends of Kent County, Maryland War of 1812 Committee is proud to announce auditions for its upcoming productions of “The Burning of Georgetown and Kitty Knight” and “Mitchell Becomes a Prisoner.” Both productions are being developed by the War of 1812 Committee as integral components of the Maryland Star Spangled 200 Celebration. Read more
Jan
3
CHESTERTOWN — The location and time for the meeting planned for applicants to the Eastern Shore Militia re-enactment group, being formed for events associated with the War of 1812 bicentennial, have been changed. Read more