Sec. Kluttz watches re-enactors in action
Cultural Resources Sec. Susan Kluttz was just one of the more than 6,000 people to attend last weekend’s re-enactment of the Revolutionary War skirmish at House in the Horseshoe between Carthage and Sanford. The re-enactment—ranked among the top 20 events in the Southeast—has long been known for its flaming cart demonstration and musket fire, but this year the Secretary got to see how the event has positively affected the community and so many poeple in it.
Sec. Kluttz with a group of re-enactors
Among those Sec. Kluttz met at this year’s event were:
- Justin Spatz, now a teenager, whose first interaction with the event was as baby when his re-enactor parents dressed him in period garb. Spatz has stayed involved with the site, and was a re-enactor this year,
- Otis Earl Colvin IV who married his wife Cheryl at the 2011 re-enactment. They brought their newborn son Otis Earl Colvin V to this year’s event,
- Pat Montgomery, who was manager of the James K. Polk Historic Site in Pineville during the 1960s, and who has portrayed the skirmish’s Loyalist commander David Fanning for many years; and
- Lee County commissioner and re-enactor Kirk Smith, who has long been involved with the site.
That’s not to say that the re-enactment itself wasn’t impressive. The number of re-enactors was in line with the number of people involved in the actual fighting (about 50). And for the first time in several years, the re-enactors were able to stage the “surprise attack” that occurred during the actual skirmish where Loyalists stormed the house from the cornfields that still surround it today.
A re-enactor demonstrates the use of a "queen." The tool has been called a microwave for the 1700s. Basically, people would leave the ball side of the chain in the fireplace to keep it hot. When they needed warm water, they would take the ball and drop it into the water to heat it.
The Secretary also saw some of the important ways that history is preserved by the site. She saw a “queen,” the 1700s equivalent of a microwave (see the sidebar for an explanation), and a re-enactor who still knows how to make cording for dresses and corsets in the traditional way using a lucette. Sec. Kluttz also saw the actual bullet holes made in the house as a result of the skirmish. They’ve often been called “the most famous bullet holes in North Carolina.” If you missed the re-enactment this past weekend, have no fear! The site will offer an exhibit of photographs from its past re-enactments this weekend as part our statewide 2nd Saturdays series. You can also click here to see some images from the Sec. Kluttz’s trip and here for more background on the history of skirmish.