Middlesex Middle School 8th graders participated in a daylong celebration of colonial culture. Members from the 5th Connecticut Regiment were on hand to interact with the Middlesex students, who were dressed in colonial costumes, and to teach them about different aspects of life in Colonial America.
The Middlesex students rotated through eleven stations depicting various aspects of colonial life, ranging from the lives of soldiers and spies of the Revolution, to tavern keepers and a white smith.
A member of the 5th Connecticut Regiment lead a demonstration at each station including a “leg amputation” and a “bleeding” at the colonial medical station.
The members of the 5th Connecticut Regiment also staged a tavern scene for the Middlesex students re-enacting a debate between the Loyalists and the Patriots that explained each side’s viewpoint.
The finale for this hands-on learning experience was a demonstration of colonial drill and weaponry where the 5th Connecticut Regiment soldiers marched in formation, charged with bayonets, and shot of rounds with their muskets.
The original 5th Connecticut Regiment was formed in 1777 during the spring of war’s 3rd year. The soldiers who served in the Regiment came primarily from Fairfield County.
The modern 5th was formed in 1974 in preparation for the bicentennial. The current members are living historians from Connecticut and nearby areas, who have vigorously studied the period of the American Revolution.
All the equipment and clothing has been painstakingly researched and are exact replicas in terms of design, materials, function, and, in many cases, method of production.
Editor's note: This announcement originally was posted on Monday. The time stamp has been changed for layout purposes on the Home page of Darien Patch.
