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UPDATE: Due to heavy snow predicted for Saturday night into Sunday, all Sunday sessions are cancelled. See below for an updated schedule for Saturday.
Register here! : The Hive: A Symposium for Living History Interpreters Tickets, Concord
Saturday February 8, 2025
The Hive is a two-day history symposium geared towards (but not restricted to) our community of living history volunteers to learn about various aspects of the American Revolution,18th century life and material culture. The Hive is co-sponsored by The Friends of Minute Man National Park, Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, Revolution 250, and the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
Schedule
Saturday, February 8
8:30 – 9:30 am (Check-in):
9:30 am Welcoming Remarks and Revolution 250 updates
10:00 am Battle Road Fashion Runway - Ruth Hodges and Friends Looking for some inspiration to update your Battle Road impression? The Minute Man Living History Authenticity Standards offers a wider variety of impressions than first meets the eye. Differences are sometimes subtle, and the devil is in the details! See some excellent examples of women and children of 1775 Middlesex County Massachusetts in this very first Battle Road Fashion Runway!
11:00 pm. 1775: The year the War Began, Bob AllisonThe War for American Independence began in 1775. Why? Why did armed conflict not begin sooner? Could war have been avoided? Neither side wanted a war, but each would accept one in order to establish its aims. What were the aims of each side, what obstacles were in the way of achieving them, and how was the situation different at the end of the year?
12:10 am. Lecture: Sober, Industrious Women: Portraying the Roles of Soldiers' Wives – Don HagistWives of soldiers had to work to earn their keep, but many of their jobs were associated with parts of the military infrastructure that isn't portrayed at reenactments. This talk will present ways to effectively present the roles of nurses, sutlers, seamstresses, gardeners and others within the limitations of modern reenactment encampment settings.
1:20 pm. Infantry in Battle in the Eighteenth Century, Alexander BurnsThis presentation will explore the world of combat for eighteenth-century infantrymen in North America and Europe, in order to contextualize the fighting on April 19th, 1775. Across the Atlantic World, infantrymen often fought in flexible and adaptable ways, firing without orders, firing at longer ranges than their officers preferred, and by taking cover on the battlefield. In this process, these enlisted men played an important role by asserting tactical reforms from below.
2:30 pm. Farming and Land Use along the Battle Road in 1775, Brian DonahueThis talk will describe the development of colonial farming in Concord and Lincoln. It will focus on the pattern of settlement and land use along the Battle Road by 1775. It is drawn from Brian's book The Great Meadow, which can be consulted for greater detail on any neighborhood, particularly from the Meriam House to the Hartwell Tavern.
3:40 pm. April 19th Overview and Panel Discussion about British and Colonial Tactics, Alexander Cain, Jim Hollister, Sean Considine and Jarrad FuossThe Battle of Lexington and Concord is often associated with the image of British soldiers marching in tight formations and in the open, incapable of defending themselves against the unorthodox tactics of the minute men. How much of this is real vs historical fiction? How did the fighting along the bloody Battle Road compare to more regular military practices?
Sunday, February 9 CANCELLED
Parking and Accessibility Information:
A small parking lot with accessible parking is available at the Massachusetts National Guard Armory at 91 Everett Street, Concord MA. There is also ample free on-street parking on adjacent streets and additional parking available at the Alcott Elementary School, 93 Laurel Street, Concord, MA. A wheelchair lift is available to enter the building.
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