Minutemen reenactment will feature colonial couture

Apr 11, 2023

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Don’t fire until you see the whites after Labor Day.

The Wareham Minutemen and Militia Companies, Inc. will host “Wearing Wareham,” a Revolutionary War-era fashion show and reenactment, at the High School on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m.

The Minutemen will bring local historical figures, such as the Fearing and Gibbs families, back to life.

“We’ve gone back and researched several of the Revolutionary War soldiers from Wareham,” said  Minutemen reenactor Claire Smith. “We would like to let people see what they wore back then.”

Wareham’s colonial notables will model and explain the outfits they wore for everyday life, formal occasions and battle.

Attendees will learn about the namesakes of locations like Gault Road. “We want to bring the history alive so people know where these names came from,” Smith said. 

John Galt, the namesake of Galt Road, will be played by his seventh great-grandson, Malcolm Phinney.

“I think it’s cool,” said Phinney, who lives on the same land that Galt settled. “I don’t know what he would think, but I think it’s really kind of cool.” 

Galt was thought to be a mariner, but little about his history is known until he settled in Wareham as a farmer in 1770. Galt fought in the American Revolution, seeing action during the Siege of Boston and in western New York.

Claire’s husband Howard will play Josiah Smith (no relation), a personal bodyguard of George Washington who is buried in Agawam Cemetery. 

Along with the fashion presentation, attendees will get a glimpse into the lives of certain types of people who were alive during the war. A drummer will demonstrate how his music called troops to action, a privateer will share trade goods and salty sailor’s tales, an impoverished widowed camp follower will tell of her tragic plight and a washerwoman will demonstrate how she did the troops’ laundry. 

Aiding the Minutemen in this presentation of local history are the Rehoboth 13th Regiment and the Fairhaven Village Militia.

Admission is free. This program is sponsored in part by the Wareham Cultural Council.

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Event Date: 

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 1:00pm

Event Location: 

Wareham High School