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Royal Sussex Society Turns 20!

4/24/2022

To recognize the Society's milestone 20th anniversary, we held a special party in the parish hall of St. Clement's Episcopal Church on St. George's Day. We were fortunate that this year, St. George's Day fell on a Saturday, so April 23 was, in fact, the real date for the occasion. A number of our members attended and we had food, drinks, and camaraderie with our fellows, many of whom we have not seen all together in quite some time. Some of our thematic decor included white and red balloons, England flags, and our inflatable dragon.

The captain briefly explained the significance behind the Christian holiday and why St. George is the patron saint of England and many other countries. Her Majesty the Queen was likewise toasted, recognizing her historic Platinum Jubilee year. During the course of our afternoon lunch, Pte. Jesse G. was recognized for his meritorious service, dedication, and commitment to the regiment over the years with a certificate and the thanks of his fellow 35th'ers.

Among the highlights in the church hall was a display of the Regimental Silver and a cake which we had custom printed with our new 20th anniversary logo.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made our regimental lunch a success!

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East Jersey Old Town Occupation

4/3/2022

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The East Jersey Old Town site in Pistcataway, NJ, held its occupation event which saw British and Loyalist troops in the village of preserved historic buildings, engaging with the public and doing activities one might see in a garrison environment. There were crafters, a blacksmith, cooking demos, drill and marching, musketry demos, fife playing, and a cannon. The Crown forces on hand were the 35th Regiment, the 22nd Regiment, the Brigade of Guards (fellow grenadiers!), Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, some 4th NJ Volunteers, and the artillery unit. Our favorite opposition, the 2nd New Jersey, came "in mufti"--that is to say, in civvies, since to appear in uniform would invite instant arrest by His Majesty's forces.

The weather was on the cold side, but wool has its advantages in the brisk weather.

Captain Tom Vilardi was the officer, our own captain being replaced by his identical twin in the ranks. Recently-promoted Corporal Tom Carton had his debut of commanding a combined section in drill. Our civilians were Sharon, Madison, Rebecca, and Tom Senior. With Jesse also in ranks, we had 3 soldiers, which was about the size of the other British units. The loyalist militia were the largest force with about 5 or 6.

The captain's writing chest had a number of loyalty oaths which we filled out for visitors--just to make sure they attested that they were on the lawful side. Our camp also featured our new fly shelf for the first time. This was essentially a suspended plank which was painted light blue like our poles. It was another surface to keep things off the ground such as bearskins when not in use, keeping them cleaner.

The museum on the site has a mannequin dressed as a 35th Regiment soldier in its display case. The 35th was in the Raritan area and they had recovered a 35th button, also on display, so EJOT has a very solid, direct connection to our regiment.

We brought our own cold rations, including hard boiled eggs, cheese, sausage, bread, etc. but the site had also invited a smoked meats truck and an ice cream truck. Yours truly made sure to sample the pulled pork and cole slaw, to make sure everything was up to standards. (It was!)

Our first sizable Revolutionary War event since Fort Tryon in November, we had not been to the site before. This was a lot of fun and the consensus was that we would definitely like to do more activities there in the future. For most of our members, it was easy to get to, coming from the north down NJ Rt 287 and more or less there. We got to see old friends, make new friends, and had a great time.

We salute the staff of EJOT for having us, our fellow Rev War units, and all our members who attended!

Photo by Jeff Bross

Photo by Sharon Van Vliet

Photo by Jeff Bross

Photo by Rebecca Cataldi

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Royal Sussex Society Turns 20!

East Jersey Old Town Occupation

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