This latest edition of our Armory Hill Internet magazine includes a new feature, a new pictorial essay, and a chance for all of you out there trekking through cyberspace to join us at Armory Hill in helping to make our hobby a real presence here in Northern California. I'm also going to use this "bully pulpit" for a bit of traditional editorializing on a subject I feel pretty strongly about. But more on that in a bit. Our new feature, Countdown to Williamsburg, is an account of My and my Lady's upcoming trip to Colonial Williamsburg. I'll take you step by step through the planning of our trip, some of the things we hope to find in Williamsburg and the other locations in the "Patriot's Triangle," Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown, as well as the other sites of interest we hope to visit. We'll be in the land betwen the James and the York for four days, not really enough time to do more than get a flavor for what the area has to offer, but we do hope to come back with a new appreciation for the environs of North America's oldest English settlement. There is a lot of military history; both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars had events of major significance take place there. We plan to stop by the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, too. Hey, my interest in American history doesn't stop in 1783. Keep checking back in for each new installemnt. We're not going until early October so I hope to do at least three more articles.

The third new item is A Call to Arms! and it is just that. It is an exhortation to all able-bodied individuals in Northern California, male and female, to join with Armory Hill and form an intrepid community of colonial reenactors. I suppose the idea has been percolating in the back corners of my brain for a little while but it was seeing all those Civil War folks this Memorial Day that made me decide to finally do somethig about it. I propose to start a Citizens Colonial Militia. We would form a loose aggregation of reenactors who enjoy colonial history yet do not wish to become members of a military unit, Contential, Loyalist or British. As militia members were simply citizen soldiers you probably have everything you need already. I've put together a list of items one would consider basic for such a militia impression. I call it Militia Gear and I hope you take a look at it. I'd consider it a favor if you would let me know if there's anything there that doesn't seem like it belongs or if there's anything that I've missed that should be there. I'm not quite sure how all this is going to work yet, so if you have any thoughts along those lines I'd appreciate you sending them to me at militia@armoryhill.com. I know there are a great many minds out there whose organizational talents far exceed my own. I really hope this works. Northern California needs a good group of colonial reenactors.

With the "What's New" portion out of the way it's time for your editor to editorialize a bit. I've mentioned this before, most recently in In Character, Part II. I'll admit it's something I think a lot about, and have recently read a lot about as well. The subject is "correctness."

In the latest issue of On the Trail magazine Chuck Casada has an article titled Uhmm...But can you document that? In the article Mr. Casada does an excellent job of showing how he documents the articles of his kit. He lists many fine sources of information and closes with nine points supplied by artist Gerry Embleton to help the reenactor keep his or her interpretation as accurate as possible. It is an excellent resource and I recommend it highly. The issue I take with with those who place a premium on "correctness" is that it should never be allowed to get in the way of enjoying oneself. For many of us the research we put in to our hobby is part and parcel of why we participate in it. We're just a bunch of closet historians anyway. I've worked in acedemia for most of my adult life and I'm fairly familiar with the drill. My point is I do this because I like it. I'm not going to let the fact that most of my clothing was sewn on a machine that didn't exist in the 18th century make me feel like I don't measure up. That I'm somehow not "correct."

I honestly believe it is more important to go out and have fun doing it than to be trapped in the minutae of "can you document that?" Find a level of "correctness" that suits you and work within it. You may find that as you become more involved in the hobby that level may change. And again, maybe it won't. Find your own place in the hobby and illigitimus non carborundum. And never forget Gerry's ninth point, "Above all things - keep your sense of humor about you and have fun!"

Sage advice.

So, until next time, I bid you fare well on a familiar trail.---JBW