Information

"Big Three" Joint Event:

On October 18 – 19 2008, forces of the Crown, along with the forces of General Washington and his Allies will return to Gloucester to commemorate the Battle of the Hook, and the American Revolution. The event is being sponsored by the County of Gloucester, which has committed significant funds and personnel to sponsoring this event.

The event is planned as a "Big Three" reenactment, to include The Continental Line, The British Brigade and the Brigade of the American Revolution. Commanders of all three umbrella organizations have sanctioned the event as the major event for fall 2008.

Planning for this event began in 2003 in preparation of the 225th reenactment at Yorktown (in 2006). Recognizing the difficulty of holding a battle reenactment on National Park Service property, Gloucester was chosen as a potential site for the 225th event. When Yorktown became a joint BAR-NPS event, plans for Gloucester were placed on hold so as not to conflict with the Yorktown 225th celebration. In January 2007 planning was restarted in Gloucester for the event to be held in 2008.

Three Battle Reenactments:

In addition to reenacting the Battle of the Hook, we will also reenact the Battle of Greensprings, another major battle of the 1781 Virginia Campaign. In addition we expect to schedule a third, less formally scripted battle. In short, we expect there to be plenty of battle "action" over the weekend.

Open to All Units:

While this event will be used to commemorate battles of the Virginia Campaign we recognize that it will be almost impossible to portray these battle with detailed accuracy. We hope to have as many mounted troops as possible since the Battle of the Hook in Gloucester was one of the few major cavalry engagements of the War. But we will utilize all troops in the action, and your unit need not have been here in 1781 to participate. We will strive to make this event educational, as well as fun for visitors and participants alike.

Other Activities:

In addition to the battles, we plan to organize a variety of other activities throughout the weekend. Some of these activities will include:

Sutlers
School Programs
Dragoon, Artillery & Musket Demonstrations
Music, Dance and Jollification
Soldiers and Ladies Party at Warner Hall
And more!