Nearly 50 Clark County homeschool students attended a special session at the Davidson Interpretive Center last week, experiencing the daily demands of life as one of George Rogers Clark’s soldiers in the Battle of Peckuwe. The class was the first of a three-part series for local homeschoolers held by the Clark County Park District, created as an outlet for the children to actually experience the events instead of reading about them in a textbook.
The students were divided into three groups and taught the basics of everyday life as a soldier in the Battle of Peckuwe, which was fought on the Davidson Interpretive Center’s grounds in the late 1700s. They were taught to march in formation, fire the cannon, and maintain their clothing as soldiers back then would have done.
The program was created by Bill Smith, and brought to life by members of the George Rogers Clark Heritage Association, the Clark County Park District, and the First Mad River Light Artillery, who demonstrated the use of their cannon by firing off a round.
Smith said he felt it to be important to immerse children in history by allowing them to experience it firsthand.
“It’s important to keep history alive…to let the kids live it by touching it, smelling it, experiencing it with all their senses,” Smith said.
The children, ages 6 through 12, were divided into groups named for the different adornments they’d chosen for their hats. Goldenrod, daisies, and feathers were selected to mark the three different ranks as they learned everything from why a 1,000-pound cannon was called “light artillery” to what they would have used for toilet paper while on the battlefield.
Volunteers from the First Mad River Light Artillery explained that their half-ton cannon was deemed “light” artillery because it was mobile, and able to be moved by horses and used in different battles instead of remaining fixed in one location.
Donna Lewis of the Clark County Park District passed around a few leaves of the soft Lamb’s Ear plant, explaining that it would have been an ideal choice of toilet paper for when nature called on the battlefield, eliciting a few giggles from the children.
Last week’s session was the first of three living history experiences for homeschoolers offered by the Park District. This month, they will experience a Battle of Peckuwe reenactment, and they will be given a tour of the Hertzler House in November.
For information on any of the Clark County Park District’s upcoming programs, visit www.clarkcountyparks.org
