Lexington & Concord Battle Reenactment – Newberry, Florida

Lexington & Concord Battle Run of Show:

Location Address:

• 25310 W Newberry Rd, Newberry, FL 32669
• Camping with small period tents is permissible beginning early Friday Evening. Camps must be removed at the end of the Day.

Dress:

• Colonial attire – Revolutionary War Only. Militia – breaches, waistcoats, long coats, rifleman’s frocks, tricorns, leather footwear. British – Redcoats, Distaff, appropriate attire. Cartridge pouches, possible bags, empty powder horns, and other period accouterments are acceptable.

8:00 am: Important, plan on being there prior to this time.

• All Call at 25310 W Newberry Rd (Hometown Realty Office)
• Walk-through of events for the day
• Walk to the area we will be using

10:00 am:

• British Soldiers begin patrolling the festival to “harass folks about their taxes.” including asking the vendors to show their tax stamps

10:30 am:

• British soldier Alex Reed and 2 others storm the Capricious Restaurant and arrest the City Manager
• Jordan Marlowe, carry him outside and to the end of the block.
• Music over a loudspeaker begins playing a 30-minute Lex & Concord playlist in the battle area. Stop before playing the last song

10:45 am:

All Actors muster at their starting point stations for gear and Weapons safety check

• British on NW 1^st Avenue and N Seaboard Drive
• Colonials at Hometown Realty office

10:55 am:

• Anyone not participating in the battle scene can begin strolling through the Battle area while the music is playing overhead. Just be milling around to gather spectator interest, signaling the event is about to begin.

11:00 am:

• MC welcomes the crowd
• Introducing Dignitaries (30 seconds)
• Welcomes the guests and proceeds with a 5-minute talk on “How did we get to this temperature, and provide context of what had been happening prior to this ‘Shot Heard Round the World’?”

11:06 am:

• Loudspeakers begin playing the last 2-minute song on the playlist, which is a Fife and Drum tune
• This signals Paul Revere to bring the horse down in front of the crowd
• Horse and rider to make two passes in front of the crown, shouting.

• Horse clears the area, and the Colonials appear in the Battle area.
• Shouting and mustering occur
• British Fife and Drum begin playing and begin marching toward the Battle area
• When the two sides meet at their marks, they can begin a verbal exchange
• Between Alex and James (both will have Lavalier mics on)
• The cue for the shot (played on the overhead loudspeakers) is Alex saying: “Return to your homes at ONCE.”
• Fire off the shots in slow succession. (All loading through paper cartridges, no powder horns, no ram rods).
• Yelling and carrying on continue between the two sides
• Both sides can be yelling at each other in a skirmish-style tone
• 4 of the designated colonials will fall to the ground after being shot
• Conclude the Lexington portion of the battle and return to your starting stations

11:15 am:

• Stagehands will rest the area with the North Bridge in place
• Once the Bridge is in place, both sides need to prepare to march toward each other again.

11:25 am:

• Both sides march toward a standoff at the Bridge
• James and Alex are yelling at each other again.
• We will designate one Colonial to shoot at the British in frustration for the burning of the town
• The second round of shots begins, and 2 British soldiers will be killed in this scene

11:35 am:

• Alex will need to signal the British to “Retreat back to Boston.”
• James will need to lead his group to pursue the British
• Both sides are asked to seek the Cover camouflage provided as the Retreat happens
• We need to go slow here, a deliberate sort of walking and marching

11:40 am:

• Re-Enactment concludes, and all participants rejoined at the Center for a tribute volley of arms
• James will come back out and recognize the participants for a curtain call
• The Horse and Rider (Lars will be introduced), and their horse retirement mission will be introduced
• Bob Samson will introduce the East Florida Rangers. The 60^th Regiment Afoot, and his book. “27 Grievances Explained.”
• Participants will be asked to stick around for photos with the crowd
• Crowd invited to the Colonial Village area in Barry Park for more hands-on 1-to-1 discussions

1:00 pm:

• There will be a Liberty Tree dedication ceremony at City Hall featuring the Gainesville Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, where the tree will be planted as a memorial.

Disbursement is at will

Questions:

• Call/Email/Text: Jim Whatley – m.whatley@gmail.com -(813) 951-4974