by Andrew Zlotnick
The boys of Boy Scout Troop 222 traveled 350 miles round trip last weekend to attend the Twin Rivers Council’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Camporee in Plattsburgh, NY. Twelve Scouts and their leaders set out and traveled up to the North Country in hopes of seeing the Battle re-enactment from the War of 1812 and boy they did. [private]The Troop’s 12 Scouts met up with over 800 other scouts from all parts of the state on Friday night. The Camporee started Friday night with the setting up of the Troop’s tents and eating dinner followed by fireworks over Lake Champlain. Saturday morning the boys made pancakes and sausage for breakfast, attended the flag raising ceremony, then walked the mile and a half to Plattsburgh’s
downtown where most of the activities were held.
The list of daily activities was so long that the boys had a hard time choosing what they wanted to do. In the end the Troop decided to spend the whole day in the downtown Plattsburgh area interacting with the War re-enactors. The Scouts went to the Kent-Delord Historical house where the British held an encampment back in 1814 and found both the Americans and British Armies camped out all in period attire living the lifestyle of 1812. The boys dressed up in period attire and tested their ability to perform the same tasks that people from the 1800s would have had to do just to get by back then. The Scouts made candles, packed powder and shot for their muskets, churned cream into butter and made herbal scented bags for their tents. They visited a period first aid station; they decorated bonnets and wrote with goose quill pens. As the boys moved through the encampment they saw how difficult life was during the War of
1812.
As the day progressed the weather turned to rain, not unlike the weather during the battle of Plattsburgh September 11 1814. It was mentioned, not to take anything away from September 11, 2001, that our country had another September 11, and if not for farmers, school boys, barbers and infirmed soldiers our destiny as a nation could have been vastly different under British rule.
The Boy Scouts watched the Bicentennial Parade which started off with a rolling street battle between the British Regular army and the lightly defended village of Plattsburgh. The boys were able to see firsthand the fog of war as the muskets fired and the streets were filled with smoke that held close to the ground somewhat obscuring both army’s view of each other.
Some of the boys from the Troop were interviewed for the local news dressed in period attire and shown on WPTZ, CH5 Plattsburgh. The boys were then interviewed by a local radio station about what they had seen that day.
Saturday evening the Scouts made grilled chicken and ate potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner. They made Dutch oven brownies for dessert, and later in the evening the Troop held a “Boy Scout Cracker Barrel” (hors d’oeuvre hour). The Troop invited other troops to come, sit by our fire and enjoy other scouts friendship while sharing small food items. About 30 scouts showed up, and some brought food and others brought the gift of fire.
On Sunday the Troop struck camp and headed out. A few Scouts wanted to discover more about the Battle of Plattsburgh and other historical facts around Plattsburgh. Justin Hall and Joshua Zlotnick wanted to see the Lake battle re-enactment along with trying to earn the Historic Trails patch in the process. Both Scouts earned the commemorative Battle of Plattsburgh Historic Trails Patch.
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