My, Oh, My

I've been totally saving this picture to share on here!

It's the most wonderful time of the year (kinda, sorta, almost, good enough)

Its been a long year. So long that my banner from last Halloween is still up! I'm going to go hide now! I've been feeling inspired to write on The Hessian Prince because of my favorite season coming up. So far, I've been accepted into Daytona State and I am finally "finishing" (according to DSC, even though it is finished) my A.A degree. I hope that soon I will start on my bachelors and become an elementary school teacher. In the meantime, I am going to start volunteering for field experience in a kindergarten classroom. Because it was so difficult to find a "college kid" job while going to school, I have finished my online course and followed all of the steps to become a substitute teacher! While it doesn't pay so great, the experience will be priceless. This will also be a key turning point for me into getting known in the local schools. 

So no surprise, it has still been hot and eternal summer like in Florida. I couldn't wait and decided to already decorate my place like the Halloween freak I am-- my Mom already commented "Your condo looks like a Halloween store." I love it, haha! No regrets, especially the early candy bowl.

Now that I have a *few* post ideas in mind, I'll let you know what I may write about in the next few days/weeks: 

-- Books to read as Halloween nears!

-- My friend Eliza's impression and her Revolutionary War make-up knowledge

-- Some of the coolest German castles

-- ? ? ?

Reenactors, if you want to talk about something interesting on my blog, you know where to find me ;)

Hope Lodge

The Jagers were at Hope Lodge this weekend. I am so happy to see more people attending events and my unit is getting bigger. I miss reenacting. I miss the smells and sights and people. 

I'd talk about Hope Lodge if I wasn't so tired from work. But do check out their website! 

They'll tell you all about it.

Registration starts for spring semester tomorrow and I don't even have all of my residency stuff together because my life has been up in the air for the pass 3 months. I just wish that I will be happy soon.

Black Forest, Germany

It's 1784 and I'm drunk

Found from a reenacting friend! This picture is Jagers from 1784. Beautiful.

 Google translate worked pretty well! 

History

1631 first Hessian fighter units in the Thirty Years' War

1688 formation of a Jägertruppe (one company hunters on foot and on horseback ) , but it was finally the resolution

1758 Neustiftung

Dissolved in 1763 to huntsman (15 man)

1774-1784 set up again , then released

1786 reorganization as a Rifle Corps

1799 Rifle Battalion

1806 leave of absence

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Organization

1758 only 2 (about 200 men ) , then 6 companies (about 600 men )

1759 Hunters get 2 own artillery

Rifle Corps in 1786 with 1 Company

1787 4 companies

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Chefs

commanders

1758 Major W. Treusch Buttlar

1759 Lieutenant Colonel of Lindau (Last Colonel , 1761 fallen)

1761-1781 Major of Wintzigerode (Last Colonel )

Staff officers in 1760

Commander : Colonel von Lindau

Major knowledge of Bach

Staff officers in 1762

Commander : Major of Wintzigerode

Major of Linsing

Company commander in May 1762

Hunters on foot

1.Kompanie : Major of Linsing

2nd company : Captain Schenck

3.Kompanie : Captain of Wurmb

4.Kompanie : Captain of Bentheim

Hunters on horseback

1.Kompanie : Major of Wintzigerode

2nd company : Captain of steel

Company commander in the Revolutionary War

1.Kompanie : Ecadron or Cavalry, in use from April 1777

2nd company : Captain John Ewald

3.Kompanie : Major Ernst Karl of Prueschenck (Last Lieutenant Colonel ) , in use from April 1777

4.Kompanie : Captain August von Wrede, from August 1776 Colonel Karl Emil von Donop , from April 1777 Captain A. von Wrede, from May 1779 Captain of Rough, vacant from August , 1781, Captain John Henry 1783

5.Kompanie : Captain Frederick Henrich Lorey , from November 1780 Staff Captain Karl Moritz von Donop ( last captain ), from December 1777 in use

6.Kompanie : Major Philip of Wurmb , in use from December 1777

Hessians in Literature: Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving published the Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820. I was able to read it for free on my phone. This is one of the books that you can grab online with a ton of other pieces of old, classical literature. This is one of Irving's short stories. It's charming, descriptive, and short. Duh... after work tiredness, can't blame me.

I am personally not a fan of modern Sleepy Hollow spin offs. While Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow was a fun and creative movie, it by all means did not serve much homage to Irving. Sorry, I just can't help it as an English major. I wrote an entire paper basically explaining why the movie sucked.

The Hessian in Irving's work is a nameless trooper, who unfortunately had his head knocked off in an unknown Revolutionary War battle. While I don't want to give away Irving's story (it actually is very different from all of the movies, etc), his work revolves more around his character's personalities. Ichabod Crane certainly is a one of a kind major. I guess I can spoil a bit: Unreliable narrator. *Cough*

Irving's work mostly had me hooked because of his descriptions. I enjoyed his characters. They were pretty dimensional for their time period. What I liked the most was the descriptions of New York. Sleepy Hollow / Tarrytown was a half an hour drive south or so from where I lived. While I have never been there, I am familiar with the New York state landscapes and forests, mountains and rivers. Irving brought me back there, at least for a little while. 

Our headless friend was probably based off of German folklore about "The Wild Huntsman", a phantom who was sometimes missing his head.

Around 1776, the British occupied south of the Bronx river, and Americans situated themselves in Peekskill. Apparently, some Jagers were apart of some of the skirmishes. It was actually reported that a Jager's headless body was found after a battle and was buried in a grave by the Van Tassel family. Though, the body was found in White Plains, New York, which is 9 miles from Sleepy Hollow. Ironically enough, an American general, William Heath wrote about a defense on Halloween: 

"A shot from the American cannon at this place took off the head of a Hessian artillery-man. They also left one of the artillery horses dead on the field. What other loss they sustained was not known"

History is pretty cool.

Sights to See

Today, I feel like posting a piece of art.

This German double barrel flintlock rifle has a carved stock and gold inlaid barrels. It is marked "Gottfr Kreisler and Weigandt in Leipzig"

Tiger Balm & You!

Tiger balm. So cool, licked with menthol. Tiger balm.

My friend Heather! really wanted to know what tiger balm was because I mentioned using it due to work related pains. I didn't know what tiger balm was either, until I tore a back muscle by reaching for something. So lame. Heimerich bought tiger balm for me. Despite the foreign looking packaging, you can find this stuff in any drugstore-- CVS, Rite Aid, etc. Ask the pharmacists if you can't find it! 

This stuff does have a really cool history though. In 1870, there was a herbalist in Burma who developed tiger balm, but asked his 2 sons to complete the product while he was on his death bed.

These sons, the Aw brothers, promoted the finalized product. Tiger balm is named after one of the sons, Aw Boon Haw, whose name was tiger in Chinese. 

Now that you know... people have been using this stuff for ages! Use it for headaches, torn muscles, soreness, back, shoulders... anything you could probably think of, tiger balm will feel pretty good. 

To quote the ingredients on my jar:

menthol, camphor, demontholised mint oil, cajuput oil, clove bud oil, and cassia oil.

How to Chase Off Work Stress

Work can be terrible for some of us. Especially for some of us stuck in the dull retail world. I've developed some rituals to keep me sane after some odd hours of having no customers...

Do something fun on break

 Do something. Cigarette breaks still give you free time to think. Bring a game or read a good book-- do something that makes you look forward to break.

Bring lots of water

People may think to grab a coffee to chase off tiredness, but the afternoon slump can be fought off better if you keep hydrated. Coffee will just dehydrate you in the long run.

Chores

Keep chores spread out and share them if you live with someone. Keep the cleaning upkeep so it doesn't just pile up on you. Do the same with bills-- try paying some a few days ahead of time so the due dates won't sneak up. You don't need to come home after a long day and find that your internet or electric is out.

For Me?

Buy yourself something small and cheap on a daily basis, but don't over do it. Just keep this tip in handy for when you really need the extra motivation. Don't go crazy either. Sometimes I will buy an on sale Revlon lipstick from the Dollar General in the mall for 2.99.

More Bang for your time

Get comfortable ASAP when you get home... a no brainer. But this definitely let's you enjoy your max amount of time at home. For me, it's undressing, putting a heating pad on (tore a back muscle recently) and doing something fun. 

If you live somewhere temperate or warm, especially for the winter, go outside in the sun as much as possible. Go outside on breaks as well. On my off days, I always try to reserve a day to go to the beach with Heimerich for a few hours. 

Scent Chips are Good

See these guys? These are scent chips and they are a lot better than candles. I was more than excited when I splurged and got the Bath and Body works candles and they turned out not to release that much smell. And well, I've been talking about smells a lot because my apartment unfortunately smells like hallway sometimes. The candles didn't cut it. They smelled great if I sticked my nose right to them, but they didn't really help make the living room smell better. My condo is only maybe 500 something to 600 something sq ft. And the living room is pretty small. So I went back to the scent chips store near me and got a box (11.00 something odd dollars) of Pumpkin Spice. This stuff is more powerful and a lot more relaxing. Plus, you just make a one time buy for a burner. There's A LOT of flavors for Christmas, I'm really going to have a hard time picking my scents, haha! Seriously, try scent chips instead of candles. There's a lot more combinations than the example pictures about, and just think that you can mix smells too.

Bloody Hessian Lake

Back from when I resided in New York State, my Dad and I visited Bear Mountain State Park. 

It was so beautiful. The air was so crisp and the colors on the trees were like nothing else that I'd ever seen. Not to mention, this was a biiiiig lake. 

Of course, something so peaceful and beautiful has a somewhat chilling past. 

Hessian Lake was originally named Highland Lake, with the side nickname as Bloody Lake. This huge lake sits on the bottom of Bear Mountain, and on October 6, 1777, 2000 Tories, English and Hessian troops left Stony Point, NY and marched towards Bear Mountain. This overall force was split into 2, and the other half with General Vaughn and Sir Henry Clinton took a very narrow pass. Stuck between the lake and the steep Hudson bank-- here, Hessians were met by a strong American outpost. As they were positioned in the front, the Hessians took one of the largest casualties. 250 men died and their bodies were let go into the lake. Accounts from witnesses recall that the lake turned a bloody red with the Hessian's blood for days after. 

Who knew that such a beautiful lake would have such a terrifying history, but at least the Hessians had a peaceful resting place for ages to come. Prepare for more chilling related posts as Halloween comes closer! I can't lie, Halloween is hands down, my favorite holiday.

Fall, Fall, Fall in Florida

Leaves, cold air, fires, etc. Up north is celebrating fall while Florida still continues it's thing. Fall for Florida is a wonderful thing. We don't have the changing of seasons, but the temps have went from the upper 90s to a comfortable low 82/84 degrees and it looks like it will be staying this way for a while. Most Floridians celebrate with the beach, sunsets and a good beer. 

Now that I have found myself a job (took me 3 months! Heimerich is still looking...) I decided to treat myself and my condo. Today I bought 3 candles from Bath and Body Works. 

Behold Nutmeg & Spice No. 1, Cranberry Woods and Sweet Cinnamon pumpkin. Right now you can get 3 mini candles for 10$. Yeah, Bath and Body works is kind of expensive, but you pay for the name. If anyone is looking to treat themselves with some good aroma therapy, these are worth the splurge. I decided to save the pumpkin one for Halloween-- this one smells the sweetest and most tempting of all 3. I decided to burn Cranberry Woods first! As a girl who was born and raised in New Jersey, I grew up very close to Double Trouble park. One of my favorite times of the year was to visit the cranberry harvest. Though the cranberry harvest didn't smell, all of the vivid colors made you imagine a smell. This candle is probably a spot on representation and brings me back to a crisp, fall day in the woods in New Jersey. Boy, do I miss it. If you want to treat yourself, go for this! 

A fine line with Campfollowers

Even Captain Ewald himself couldn't resist commenting on the Jagers. 

"...2 Anspach Regiments each of 600 men, and a Jager company of 116. The recruits for both companies consisted of a few adventurers and experienced Jagers, and they were generally fine looking men... The Anspach Jager Company, consisting of skilled forestry Jagers who were the handsomest young men one could imagine, also arrived here." 

Sometimes, history does point to Jager units sitting on an opposite end of a spectrum. Larger Hessian units were made of a hodge-podge of men, many of lower society. It is so difficult to find research that mentions women of the Jagers specifically. What's a girl to do? 

My search will be on going... as usual. 

There's always room for improving impressions historically speaking. 

I do believe that I miss everything about my Jager family.

Captured!

To modern day, there is a strip of land that once had makeshifts and huts overlooking the town. This place would be known as "The Hessian Camp". According to a journal written from a Johann Bense in a Brunswick unit, the Germans were tempted several times with chances of freedom. One option was to give 80 silver talers as a ransom. If he didn't have the money? Well, if a civilian decided to pay the money for him, that lucky or unlucky Hessian could expect to work for that person for 3 years. 

(A replica hut that probably looked like what they stayed in)

The second option was to join the American Army and get 8 talers as a thanks. After the end of the war, they were to be given 100 acres of land. 

Because the Hessians did not join the American Army, they were treated badly. There was not enough room and many men had to lay in the open, in any sort of weather. 

How much is really known about the camp in Reading? Not much. Modern photos reveal what is left today. 

Happy 4th

I spent my 4th of July in Cape Canaveral. It has been a wonderful break away from things, as well as some bad news for me. I got my associates degree in Maryland, and apparently Florida's transfer guidelines are more than what I have. 

I only completed 62 credits with two Ds, meanwhile Florida universities do not accept Ds and require 67 credits. I was not prepared to return to community college, especially after the age of 22. Today is a really picky and hard to deal with day for me. I am still glad to be moving to Florida, but this news is going to have me feeling down for a while.

Goodbye Stranger

On Sunday, Heimerich and I returned his gear to our unit commander. It was a good day spent in my home state. Before returning his gear, I took a picture because I'd love to have a portraiture necklace made as a souvenir for the happy 8 years of Revolutionary War reenacting I was in. There is a small running joke that the green ribbon in Heimerich's coat had become a "unit heirloom". It was something I gave to him 3 or 4 years ago, when he joined the hobby and it had made an appearance at every event. Heimerich took the ribbon off of his coat, but I'm not sure what he is going to make of it. 

On Wednesday, I'll be in Florida to start my apartment search.

Some Rev. War Oddity

I think because the WW2 reenacting scene is filled with younger people, there is generally more enthusiasm. A great deal of people who are young in the WW2 hobby sometimes put more effort into researching their impression, adding some extra "oomph", and actually "acting" while in the battlefield. This does include over dramatic deaths. 

Now that I recall, in all of my 8 years of reenacting, I haven't seen any one actually act. Its called reen-acting for a reason... right? At any of the battles. I've seen commanders leading their unit with balloons tied to their back, but I've never seen anyone yet to get really fun. I think if the young crowd came into Revolutionary War reenacting, there would be fake arms flying in the air, blood packs hidden under the sleeves of clothing, and some great screams. 

So you can imagine, that when I saw Heimerich screaming and hobbling over from at a great distance, I was 99% convinced that he had actually twisted his ankle or broke something out on the field. Sweat tickled my forehead. "Is that guy joking?" I looked to the spectator next to me and we both seemed to be dazed. It wasn't until a few moments, Heimerich got closer and I sighed. If it was a WW2 reenactment, I probably wouldn't have paid any mind to this at all! I was wondering why Heimerich and our Feldjager friend instantly got up though. (When you die, you're suppose to stay down. 

Reality, you know? At least until the battle is over and the dead rises.) Apparently a calvary rider had told them to get out of the way. No room for fun, right?