Chase Farm hosts re- enactment of Revolutionary War battle

LINCOLN — Brandyn Charlton takes a long draw from a clay tobacco pipe as he inspects a long wooden table stacked with leather belts, soap, flour, tea and other sundry items. Nearby, a group of uniformed Continental Army soldiers line up for a musket drill as a handful of women camp followers wash, cook and mend clothes.

Charlton is portraying a sutler, a civilian merchant who followed the troops during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars peddling provisions to the soldiers. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling to remote military outposts.

Charlton drove up Friday from Pennsylvania to take part in the Chase Farm Park’s Revolutionary War reenactment weekend in Lincoln, which took place Saturday and Sunday.

One of the largest reenactment events in New England this year, the two-day event features nearly 500 reenactors from throughout the country bringing the history of the nation’s beginnings to life. The event is hosted by the Friends of Hearthside and the Town of Lincoln.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and this is one of the most beautiful settings that I’ve seen,” says Charlton, an artist and historical interpreter who also presents living history programs at schools. “With the fall foliage and green grassy fields this really is the perfect backdrop.”

The reenactment event, The Battle of Chase Farm, portrayed a combination of actual battles that took place during the Revolution, which lasted from 1775 to 1783. The narrated, full-scale battle takes place at at 1:30 p.m. Organizers of the Battle of Chase Farm are Tew’s Company, 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, and His Majesty’s Indian Department.

The large encampment of both soldiers and civilians offers living history presentations, including drills, artillery demonstrations, medical scenarios, laundry, cooking, clothing repairs and more. Colonial-era games and kid-centered activities will also be featured.

“The open meadows, rolling hills, and history surrounding this former dairy farm offers an idyllic setting for the dramatic re-creation of this most

Photo by Ernest A. Brown Hundreds of spectators gathered Saturday at Chase Farm Park in Lincoln to experience a re-enacted battle between the Continental Army soldiers and the British Army. A large encampment of both soldiers and civilians offered living history presentations to the public, including drills, artillery demonstrations, medical scenarios, laundry, cooking, clothing repairs and more prior to the

Photos by Ernest A. Brown Above, below: Continental Army and British soldiers marched onto the field at Chase Farm. The British contingent quickly fell into formation and fired from atop a hill, supported by cannon fire. Continental Army members and their supporters used tree cover to quickly move up the hill, firing muskets as they did. Later the British fixed bayonets for a counterattack. Left, a crowd of onlookers watches the battle unfold.