BENNETTSVILLE — Cannon fire boomed and war drums beat when the Marlboro County Museum’s Revolutionary War Living History Museum set up on the grounds of the Murchison School on Saturday.
Beginning promptly at 10:30 a.m., registered participants became recruits—hearing all about colonial life in the backwoods country of South Carolina. During this living history museum, recruits got to learn how to load and fire 18th century rifles and cannons.
Attendees were also treated to period reenactors, blacksmithing, fur trading, and all the marvels 18th century medicine had to offer. This rare treat provided a wonderful opportunity to take history straight from textbook pages and breathe it into real life artifacts from the period.
Filling in for the British Saturday as a redcoat, Robert McLeod said history is a passion of his and he got his start in reenacting ten years ago, when a fellow actor encouraged him to give it a try. A Newberry resident, McLeod said he grew up seeing his family’s land grant from the King of England for their ancestral South Carolina lands passed around at family gatherings.
“The best part of history is not the battles, it’s the people,” McLeod said.
Saturday’s attendees were also given an opportunity to take advantage of learning blacksmithing skills from Maysville resident Larry “Wasabi” Metcalf.
A blacksmith for 25 years, Metcalf says he got his start participating in living history while living in St. Agustine, Fla.
For anyone interested in learning more about blacksmithing or interested in a project, Metcalf can be found through his Facebook page Wasabi of Company Wasabi Blades.