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by LAURA TABOR
Lifestyles Reporter
Lydia R. Whitford has died at least a dozen times.
“Don’t die on your left side,” Whitford said. “That’s where your bayonet is.”
Whitford is not a cat or a ghost; she is a sophomore history major with a passion for bringing the past to life, even if it means pretending to die in battle.
She does this
through a regiment of people who share her passion and reenact battles
and life from the time of the Revolutionary War.
Her journey into the 18th century began 12 years ago.
 Sophomore history major Lydia R. Whitford displays her hand-made regalia. The period-piece garmet is hand made and historically accurate to the Elizabethan era. Photo by Martin Stamat
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“My
parents used to take us to Colonial Williamsburg often,” Whitford said.
“When we were there, there were reenactors camped out. It was something
families could do, so I ended up waking up in tents on the weekends.”
Whitford has been a soldier in some of the battles, as well as other characters in historical reenactments.
“I was
once a mutineer’s daughter,” Whitford said. “I watched my ‘father’ be
tried for mutiny and got to scream a lot when they shot him.”
Most
battles are open to the public, so before a battle there will often be
time for the reenactors to sit around campfires and tell their stories
while mending clothes and cooking.
Then a period of drill happens, where the units perform the maneuvers they will use in battle.
“It’s
good for the public to see the maneuvers without the havoc of
fighting,” Whitford said. “They can also get closer, and have a better
view.”
Once the
actual battle starts, the reenactors become conscious of which side
should, historically, be losing, and attempt to make the results
authentic.
“We also do tacticals, where both sides go out and try to outmaneuver each other,” Whitford said. “It’s an art form.”
Whitford
continues to work with her unit on school breaks, but has diversified
into Elizabethan periods because of going to her first Renaissance fair
last year.
She
created, in about two weeks, an authentic late-Tudor gown, complete
with corset, bum roll, chemise, and farthingale, a host of Elizabethan
undergarments.
“I didn’t spin the thread or weave the fabric,” Whitford said. “But I made everything else.”
While the gown made a good Halloween costume, she has many more plans for it.
“A friend of mine works in a [Renaissance] fair,” Whitford said. “I get to be her little French cousin from the country.”
Whitford’s interest in the past has led her to aspire to teach history after college.
“There
are unbelievable things that people have accomplished,” Whitford said.
“History is chockfull of heroes, people that inspire you. I don’t want
people to be bored in history class.”
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