Soldats del Regiment de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats

Soldats del Regiment de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats

Com a associació de recreació històrica de temàtica militar, una de les activitats principals de Miquelets del Regne de València és la recreació de batalles i fets d’armes de la Guerra de Successió, mantenint sempre el rigor històric tant pel que fa a la indumentària com a la instrucció militar de l’època. 

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El setge de 1713-1714 (nou llibre!)

Obra de Francesc Xavier Hernandez Cardona i Guillem H. Pongiluppi

A punt de sortir el llibre sobre el setge de Barcelona del 1714. Amb un total de 120 pàgines il·lustrades a tot color, recreacions de la ciutat, de les defenses, de les batalles, dels combatents. Tot plegat tres anys de feina, de feinada amb una acurada aplicació del matte painting. No cal ni dir que els autors estem molt contents perque aquest treball sortirà abans del 25 de novembre, i esperem que també ajudarà a fi que la gent estigui orgullosa d’un passat de llibertats i coratge que hem de recuperar… Us tindrem informats de les diferents activitats.

Els autors volem agraïr explicitament el suport de l’Eusebi, dels Miquelets de Catalunya, de la Coronela, d’en Riart i dels molts amics que han col·laborat perquè aquest treball hagi vist finalment la llum. I de manera molt especials als amics de Cossetània i Angle sense els quals aquest projecte no s’hagués pogut desenvolupar.

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Carme Pérez Aparicio: “Catalunya i el País Valencià, la resistència d’un poble. 1707-1714”

Conferència commemorativa de l’11 de setembre, “Catalunya i el País Valencià, la resistència d’un poble. 1707-1714” Una sessió a càrrec de Carme Pérez Aparicio, catedràtica d’Història Moderna de la Universitat de València. L’acte, moderat pel Dr.Ramon Alcoberro, què es realitzà a la sala d’actes de l’Ateneu Barcelonès.

La Guerra de Successió representa la lluita per la pervivència del sistema constitucional de la Corona d’Aragó. El 1707, després de la desfeta d’Almansa i de l’abolició dels Furs, comença la resistència valenciana contra l’exèrcit i el govern borbònics, un moviment que estarà recolzat per l’austriacisme català i que, en justa correspondència, ofereix també el seu ajut i participació en la defensa de Catalunya fins al 1714.

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Women clothing in the 18th century (Rev. War)

Like with men’s clothing of the Revolutionary War era there were “standard” items worn almost universally. This basic set of clothes would include: a shift, petticoat, stockings, shoes, stays, a modesty piece and a gown or short gown. Again the quality of construction, materials, colors and patterns would set one class of person apart from another. Additional articles could be caps, hats, pockets, aprons and capes.

For complete information on 18th century women’s clothing, including patterns and descriptions, check the Basic Non-Military Clothing Guide for Women, printed by the Brigade of the American Revolution and Beth Gilgun’s Tidings from the 18th Century.

Revolutionary Woman

Choosing Clothing Styles to Match Your Persona
For types and styles, Clothing and Textiles in New Jersey: 1776-1782, is excellent reference. It is a collection of excerpts from New Jersey and New York newspapers containing references to clothing and fabrics in New Jersey; advertisments for run away slaves and indentured servants, descriptions of lost or stolen property, and advertisements of merchants. It gives a good idea of what styles, fabrics and colors of clothing were available and/or popular during the war. It includes descriptions for both men and woman, as well as many classes.

Another source is contemporary prints and paintings. Artists such as William Hogarth (1697-1764) and Denis Diderot‘s L’Ecyclopedie (1763) have numerous drawings of all sorts of individuals from the period. Diderot’s work is especially helpful because he produced hundreds of plates dedicated to specific trades and industries and while Hogarth is somewhat early for our period, his subjects are a window into everyday English life.

Fabrics and Patterns
For our uses, only 100% natural fiber fabrics such as linen, wool, cotton, silk and are certain blends of these are acceptable. Of these, the fabrics of choice were linen and wool because they were the most available fabrics and cheaper in the 18th century. Correct fabrics drape properly, conform to shape more readily, crease, wrinkle, and wear more appropriately and are safer to wear around camp fires.

The following is reproduced from the Basic Non-Military Clothing Guide for Women for reference:

• Linen: a fabric made from the flax plant, noted for it’s strength, coolness and luster. Please do not confuse linen-look materials for true linen. These are often polyester blends. Read the bolts for fiber content.
• Cotton: a fabric made from plant seed fiber. Because the cotton gin had not been invented at the time of the American Revolution, cotton was more expensive than linen and most of it was imported.
• Wool: the fiber from the fleece of sheep. This was the most common fabric, whether called woolen, worsted or stuff. Wool was so finely woven that is would retain a firm edge when cut and left “raw”.
• Silk: A filament produced by the larvae of a silkworm as it spins it’s cocoon. While some silk was produced domestically, most silk was imported.
• Color: All colors achieved in the 18th century were created with natural dyes. These were obtained from berries, roots, bark, flowers, shells, and insects. Some fabrics “took” dyes better than others.
• Stripes and checks: While solid colors were probably the most common, stripes and checks were worn.
• Stripes: whether even or uneven, remained fairly small until just before the end of our period.
• Checks: for semantic clarification, means any fabric of any fiber in plain weave with one, two or three colored warp and one, two or three colored weft stripes intersecting at right angles to form squares.
• Prints: Printed linens and cottons were available and popular in the eighteenth century. Finding printed fabrics today that are right for our clothing is difficult. Some companies, such as Waverly and Schumacher, have produced fabrics, which are called “documented prints” in 100% natural fiber.

On all 100% fiber fabrics, prewashing in essential. Even if you intend to dry-clean your clothing, rain and sweat can shrink a fabric just as easily, ruining your garment. Also make sure all your seams are finished to prevent unraveling.

Documentable styles and patterns are just as important so be sure about anything before you buy. Approved patterns are available from the Brigade of the American Revolution. This is not to say that the BAR is the only source for patterns, just the most reliable. J.P. Ryan Patterns are also very good and available from many of the merchants, and Beth Gilgun includes many patterns in her book Tidings from the 18th Century.

Before you purchase finished clothing or materials to make your own, check with the Commander first, getting a sample swatch before committing yourself.

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Recreació històrica del Pacte dels Vigatans de 1705

Òmnium Osona us convida a participar en un esdeveniment excepcional: la recreació històrica del Pacte dels Vigatans de 1705… un esdeveniment cabdal de la nostra història!

A més, es lliuraran els VIII Premis Literaris Pacte de Sant Sebastià.

Una festa per a tota la família!!! Dinar popular, ball de gegants, teatre a l’ermita, i concerts de música popular!!! Inscripcions només fins el 10 de maig al telèfon 93.889.31.19 o escrivint a info@marxadelsvigatans.cat

Us esperem a tots el diumenge 13 de maig a partir de les 11h del matí a l’ermita de Sant Sebastià vora Vic, no us ho podeu perdre!

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The women role in the 18th century British army

Camp followers

Within all regiments of 1690  – 1715 you will find elements of civilian life, which without whom the army would cease to function properly.

Since the English Civil Wars there has always been a strictly imposed limit on all British regiments as to how many women they were permitted to take with them, but records show that in practice the army rules went out of the window once the regiments left British waters. Officers wrote that the comfort that (preferably British) women provided to their men was great – it was known to reduce desertion for instance. The women also made money on the side by providing sewing, mending and washing, nursing the wounded and cooking. Ex-London seamstresses were very sought after by the army officers who wanted a constant supply of replacement clothes. British army wives or “Camp followers” also developed a formidable reputation during the Spanish Wars for their fast looting abilities after battles, by quickly and efficiently searching the slain soldiers on the fields [sometimes swiftly dispatching the barely alive ones too]. One woman, ‘Mother Ross’,  became famous through her exploits, and Daniel Defoe wrote a book about her:
D. Defoe: The Life and Adventures of Mrs Christian Davies, commonly called Mother Ross (1740)

She-Soldiers

Occasionally, a woman was able to disguise herself as a man and join the army, usually as a musketeer or drummer. This was obviously rare, although a recent European archaeological excavation at a battle site found three women in men’s uniforms in a mass grave of about  500 men. 15 more women were found in the grave, but there was no clue as to what they were wearing when they died. This has naturally started a debate in the academic world. One of these women, Christian ‘Kit’ Cavanagh (or Davies), better known as “Mother Ross” was one of several women who served as dragoons in the British Army. She enlisted in the 1690’s and fought as a soldier first disguised as a man and later openly as a woman. She fought with honours at Blenheim: Born in Dublin, daughter of a prosperous brewer, she married a servant, Richard Welsh. In 1692 he was forcibly conscripted into the army and in 1693 she disguised herself as a man and enlisted to find him. She served against the French with Marlborough in Holland and soon transferred to the cavalry, joining her husband’s regiment the Scots Greys and remaining with them during the renewed fighting of 1702 and 1703. She was reunited with her husband but remained in the army. She was wounded at Ramillies and her sex was then discovered, but she was allowed to stay with the Dragoons as an officers’ cook. Richard Welsh was killed at the battle of Malplaquet, and soon after she married a grenadier with the Royal Greys, Hugh Jones, who was also killed, in 1710. In 1712 she returned to England, became an innkeeper and married a dissolute soldier named Davies. Eventually she was admitted to Chelsea Hospital where she died. She was buried with military honours.

Gentry and the wealthy classes

By contrast officers wives were a very rare sight in the British army. You were more likely to see them while husbands were drilling their men at British musters, and extremely rarely on campaign. Few did travel across the channel to join their men for the winter quarters, when officers usually rented adequate housing, but this was not common. Some local privileged women would travel by invitation to meet the British officers, and this would be more likely who the soldiers saw in camp. Many officers received letters from their wives on a regular basis, and often this was the only way they got news from home. Marlborough wrote regularly to his wife Sarah, as did Orkney and other officers. Marlborough felt that the army was no place for a Lady and disapproved women visiting, even his own wife, although this did not seem to apply to the lower class women frequently found there.

Leaguer Ladies and Widows

There were several types of women found within the army – Although they may have left Britain with a handful of women, by the time they were on active campaign several types could be found. The most common would be Leaguer Ladies or prostitutes, usually from the region they happened to be camped in. There was an unwritten rule that they had to very discreet with the soldiers [both privates and officers used their services], as they risked a public whipping if caught. Many hoped for the outside chance of marriage to get them out of the poverty trap. Less common would be the widow of a soldier. They tended to get remarried very quickly and often, usually to a succession of men due to death in battle. The obvious tally of army brats would follow. Officers sometimes recorded an anonymous birth during a march in their diaries, with the women stopping, giving birth, wrapping up the baby and carrying on. Sutlery cooks employed women to help them with the preparation and serving of the food, so many became sutleresses and managed to earn enough to survive for the duration of the campaign. All women had one aim – to survive the campaign, get enough money to live on and make it back to Britain. Foreign wives followed their husbands back, as a soldier would have to buy his way out of the army if he wished to stay. All women had to pay for their passage on the ships back home, so it was vital to save as much money [by whatever means] as possible.

Originally published HERE

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Patrons de casaques del segle XVIII – Justacorp patterns of the 18th century

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Patrons i models vestits de dona del segle XVIII – Women cloth patterns of the 18th century

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