Drat! Redcoats came and won
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
General George Washington said it best at the Battle of Fairholm Farm, the first big event in the Quiet Corner’s 250th Celebration of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence (2026).
The battle pitted re-enactors of the British ilk and the American patriots in a “what if” scenario: What if the American patriots and the Redcoats came across one another on some farmland in northeastern Connecticut?
What was the takeaway? General Washington: “Well, it is, of course, to push the British back into the sea.”
The patriots tried mightily but the British won the battle on the high hill at the Fairholm Farm. (perhaps if it had not rained the next day and cancelled the battle, the patriots might have won round two).
Washington and his horse Nelson (John Koopman of Colchester and his horse Bear) led the patriots. General Washington said he had always had a passion for re-enacting. “Sometimes I’m a private; sometimes I’m called upon to be a general,” he said. “It’s an enjoyable hobby that lets people know what happened.”
The immersive patriotic experience was the huge undertaking of the town of Thompson, spearheaded by Aaron McGarry and First Selectman Amy St Onge and others. It cost about $6,500.
Taking part for the “British” were: the 9th Regiment of Foot, the 10th Regiment of Foot and the 16th Queen’s Light Dragoons. For the Patriots: The 1st NH Regiment, the 5th CT Regiment and Crane’s Continental Artillery.
The “battle” included demonstrations of all aspects of “battle life” by musicians, women, soldiers, all in period dress and living in period tents.
General Washington said “You can look at a book or a screen but (with this) you have all the sights, the smells, the sounds” as a history teacher.
And speaking of sounds, Jeffrey Cooke, a member of Crane’s Continental Artillery, said he enjoys artillery because “they didn’t die.” Of course there was that time that they re-enacted a battle where some enemy artillery snuck behind them and fired. “I died in that one,” he said, laughing.
When it was time to engage the enemy, General Washington, perched on his horse, addressed the troops: “Our hearts behind them were stirred. By duty, by loyalty and by honor.” They go into battle with the “spirit of those who came before us. With discipline. With respect and pride. We honor all those who bore its weight.”
And off they went, the Americans and the French soldiers, up the hill to try to push the British back to the sea.
No one died in the beginning because, with just 250 re-enactors, if they did, the battle would have been over in three minutes. The “dying” didn’t come until later in the battle.
The roiling gray clouds were a backdrop for the smoke. General Washington stood at the brow of the hill. Patriots and Red Coats see-sawed across the dirt road that divided them. Ebb and flow. Tan, red, green, blue coats swirled together, then parted. Blue-gray smoke and fire leaped out of the gun barrels and cannons. Soldiers yelling. Loud retorts from cannons and guns … and then the soft rustle of high grass in the quieter times as troops moved.
Immersive? Yes absolutely.
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caption, page 1:
Battle of Fairholm Farm
The Redcoats and their German allies advance on the American patriots. The air was full of smoke --- and history made real. More photos on page 6. Expanded photo array Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
caption, page 6:
General Washington leading his troops.