"Fort Niagara's LARGE F&I French Army On You Tube" Topic

Gentlemen,
May I direct your attention please to:

YouTube link

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There you will see part of the French Army at Fort Niagara's 250th commemoration of the 1759 Siege this past weekend. I am so very proud of my fellows. From small beginnings over twenty years ago we have a large, competent, companionable and cohesive force.
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Note:
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1. Part of the Army including our artillery was out in the works outside the covered way: two lunettes and one ravelin. Others were on guard duty within the fort.
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2. You will see me at 14-17 seconds immediately after our musicians. My near-white coat now has sun-bleached blue cuffs and a blue collar; Rgt. Royal Roussillon. The officer dressed similarly but with red cuffs and collar to my
left is from Rgt. de la Reine.
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3. There is a way to stop the motion picture and if one is clever there is a button to click to expand all to completely cover your monitor.
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4. On this occasion I was second in command of Army units; roughly 50 soldiers. I say it this way because we were divided into divisions; Army, Marine, Milice
(militia), Artillery, Native Americans and Boats.
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5. I had a wonderful time.
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Votre serviteur,
Bill

I was there as a spectator and would like to commend you and your fellow re-enactors for a really great day out. Like most Western New Yorkers, I rarely get out to the local forts but this was not to be missed. Weather Saturday was great and this was a great event. Thanks!

As a participant I was very impressed with how organized the site was and how well they handled the huge numbers of reenactors and public. Well worth the 17 hour drive east for me and our unit. Great job.

My only beef was with the British regulars who didn't see the need to ever take a hit. In one Saturday scenario my little unit took six casualties behind the earthworks, which is four more than I saw the entire British regular army take while standing in the open against us. Kudos to the provincials who didn't mind getting a little dirty. When it was our turn to take our lumps at la Belle Famille on Sunday we played the part.

Still, no regrets about going.

Geez, some of those guys are so stout and so gray they look like me! How can that be? I wasn't there, I mean I was in Lockport, 19 miles from there, but I never made it so the Fort. But gosh, it looks like a whole herd of me……

I agree it was a great reenactment. After attending the 250th celebrations for Fort Necessity, Monongahela, Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga it was really nice to see the British win one finally. I will be posting my photos in a couple of weeks. Thanks to all the reenactors.
-Bryan

My goodness, rddfxx is right! Those are some giant Frenchies! What are they feeding these guys?

All in all though, it looks like a great time – sorry I missed it.

Great video and sounds like a good time, thanks for posting – I see that the French even made sure to have a padre winding up the march past!

I fully grant that the French army last weekend fielded a lot of "heavy infantry." But I think out median age was lower than the Crown Forces. Though you can always dye your hair for a quick fix….. ;-)

Helpful and respectful tips to our visualists here. Note:
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1. The NOT Grey/Gray /Gray-White coats worn by French regulars.
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2. Real disabilities and think of them as injuries from the siege.
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3. All kinds of garments/gear combinations due to personal taste but think of same caused by a lack of supplies and worn out stuff. One fellow is bare-foot.
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4. Good marching pace.
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5. Great music.
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6. A great group of dedicated people who want to entertain and educate the public gallery while having a good time.
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7. Lots of 'em too.
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8. Younger thinner guys are perhaps pursuing the normal things pursued in their twenties; females, jobs, careers, etc.
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9. When I look at miniatures on a tabletop, I don't see imperfections of whatever or scale differences. Stepping back allows one to be happy with the big picture.
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10. Look at yourselves in the mirror.
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Very respectfully submitted,
Bill

Bill,

Thanks for the link. I watched the other Niagara posts as well.

Jim