June Scout

I am in the planning phase of a scout in NY's Adirondacks this June. A few of us will be taking either a section of the Northville-Placid trail or another (I can't think of the name right off) a few miles away. Perhaps a 15-20 mile round trip over 2 nights/3 days.

These scouts help us understand how folks in the period utilized their equipment and skills to survive and travel through wilderness areas. Specifically for us would be travel to/from a Rebel (Patriot) settlement in the Mohawk, Schoharie or Delaware Valleys of NY. We raided Rebel settlements, burned crops, took livestock and other provisions and helped Loyalist families escape the Rebel Commitiies of Safety that terrorized them.

We hope that unit members will come together at least 2x a year to perform a period scout. Scouts may be tactical in nature (military-themed) or civilian in nature (hunting/trapping camp, etc).
The original Volunteers travelled the backcountry quite often and had to be familiar with period outdoor skills (mostly adapted from the local Iroquois).
Skills that we work on during these events include:
-Shelter building
-Flint and steel fire building
-Marksmanship
-Wilderness navigation
-Hunting (in season)
-Period cooking

Who I am

My name is Mario and I live in NY's Schoharie County. In the 18th century, this was NY's frontier. During the Revolution, it was raided by Loyalist and Iroquois during the period known as the "Burning of the Valleys."

I portray a white Loyalist fighting alongside Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. "Brant's Volunteers" were known in this area as fierce fighters. They raided settlements like Cobuskill (Cobleskill), German Flatts, Springfield, etc as well as taking part in the amush of Rebel militia at Oriskany on August 6th, 1777. They were one of the most active units of Loyalists, yet they received no pay.

In the following pages, I hope to share research and my adventures in re-enacting and conducting period scouts throughout NY's wildlands in 18th century garb.

This is our website:

http://www.oquagavolunteers.com/