The Regulator - NC Historic Sites

VOLUME V ISSUE 4
The Regulator
MAY 9,2014
The newsletter for the Alamance Battleground Friends’ Support Group
Volunteer Safety Officer Course Offered
Of Special Interest to You:
Covered Dish, Guest Speakers, Wreath
Laying

May 16 2014—6 p.m.
243rd Anniversary of Battle Encampment

May 17, 2014
10 a.m—5 p.m.

May 18, 2014
1 p.m.—5 p.m.
Fiber to Fabric Textile Program

June 14, 2014 10 a.m.—4 p.m.
Living History Saturdays

July 12, 2014 10 a.m.—4 p.m.

August 9, 2014 10 a.m.—4 p.m.
Inside this issue:
Anniversary Celebration
Announcement
2
Boy Scout Troop 39 at the
Battleground
3
Holly Springs Home School 3
Visit
Nature Trail Opens Again
3
From the Site Manager
4
From the President
4
Alamance Battleground
Friends Information
4
Under the direction of
Bill Thompson, from
Alamance Battleground and Alex
Cameron, site manager of House in a
Horseshoe, a Volunteer Safety Officer
Course was conducted at Alamance
Batt leground
on
March 21 –22, 2014.
The class composed
of Caleb Simmons,
Jesse Bricker, Bill
Thompson,
Alex
Cameron, Diane Smith, Lisa Cox, , and
Brian Hall (all pictured above) completed a course involving two days of
class work and field experience. During
the course the group successfully completed all their class work and fired the
1700’s artillery piece five times. This
achievement qualifies these students to
participate in cannon firing demonstrations held at Alamance Battleground for
visiting groups.
Diane Smith, who works at Bennett
Place, noted that she especially enjoyed
the teamwork needed to successfully
and safely conduct a firing of the cannon. Jessie Bricker, a new staff member
from House in the Horseshoe, enjoyed
receiving additional training to help him
become a better interpreter at that site.
Caleb Simmons and Brian Hall are volunteers at Alamance Battleground.
Caleb wanted to take the class to im-
prove his skills in assisting the local site.
Brian, who also does Civil War Cannon
demonstrations in Charleston, South
Carolina, has a love for cannons and enjoyed becoming certified in a Revolutionary era cannon course. Lisa Cox, a
staff member of Alamance Battleground, took the course as a refresher.
All participants agreed their favorite part
was working to produce the Big Bang.
They enjoyed learning to work together
as a team, following step by step directions and achieving a successful firing
of the cannon. The course included each
step from making the firing rounds to
the actual drill orders to do the firing.
We commend each of these for completing the course. A special “Job Well
Done” goes to Bill and Alex for pulling
the class together and providing the instruction.
(Photo by Erin Cameron)
Page 2
THE REGULATOR
VOLUME V ISSUE 4
Page 3
Boy Scout Troop 39 at the Battleground
On the weekend of March 21—23, 2014,
members of Scout Troop 39 from Macedonia Lutheran
Church in Burlington camped at the Alamance Battleground. According to Scout Master, Loryn Payne, the
purpose of the weekend was twofold. First, the scouts
wanted to learn and experience first hand the history
behind Alamance Battleground. Secondly, this weekend provided opportunity for scout members to work
on orienteering badges.
The first objective was accomplished by viewing the film about the battle and taking a tour of the
battleground including a guided tour of the Allen
House given by Site Manager Bryan Dalton. Since the
weekend also coincided with the Volunteer Safety Officer Course, the scouts had plenty of opportunities to
see the procedures involved in the firing of the colonial cannon.
The second objective was completed with the
help of Life Scout Stephen Payne, son of Loryn
Payne. Stephen and his father set up an orienteering
course on the part of the battleground across the road
from the visitor center. The scouts enjoyed gaining
new skills in the course designed just for them.
Pictured above are part of the scouts at the encampment (from left to right), Nathaniel Williams,
Lan Horbbogen, Scout Master Loryn Payne, Ryan
Barnes, Ethan Russell, and Fran Shepherd, Assistant
Scout Master.
Great Job, Scouts! Thanks for visiting Alamance Battleground.
Nature Trail Opens Again
Holly Springs Home School Visit
The Nature Trail at Alamance Battleground is
once again open. The trail had been closed since the
last ice storm tore through and downed over a dozen
large trees across the trail. Fortunately little damage
was done to the bridges or signage along the way.
Thanks to the efforts of a cleanup crew from
across the state, trees were removed from the trail and
it is open for visitors. The cleanup effort included
Daniel Alexi, from Town Creek Indian Mound State
Historic site, Alex Cameron and Jesse Bricker from
House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site, Bryan
Dalton and Bill from Alamance Battleground and
Battleground volunteers Ladd Sawyer and Ted
Henson.
The massive effort involved two chainsaw
teams working nearly six hours to reopen the trail. A
big thank you to each and every one of these crew
members for their hard work in making this possible.
Come down and enjoy the trail.
On
Frida y,
March 28, four home
school families from
Holly Springs, North
Carolina visited the
Alamance
Battleground State Historic
Site. The group included students from ages 5 to 11.
Amy Wilson served as the leader of the group.
Amy explained that the group was doing a two year
study of American History and wanted to incorporate
the history of North Carolina into the study. As a part
of the study of the War of Regulation, the group is visiting Hillsboro, North Carolina, Alamance Battleground State Historic Site, and Tryon Palace in New
Bern. They hope to include more of our state historic
sites in their studies next year. Thanks for including
us in your study.
Page 4
Alamance Battleground Friends, Inc.
Alamance Battleground Friends, Inc.
5803 South N.C. 62
Burlington, North Carolina 27215
Phone: 336-227- 4785
Fax: 336 - 227 - 4787
E-mail: [email protected]
The first organizational meeting of what would become
the Alamance Battleground Friends, Inc. was held on February 8,
2006. From this original meeting the group has grown to become
a non-profit organization with a Board of Directors and a very
active Support Group.
The mission of Alamance Battleground Friends, Inc.
states:
The Alamance Battleground Friends, Inc. is a North Carolina
Nonprofit Corporation formed under the North Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act. The mission is to support, enhance, and
promote education, interpretation and preservation at the Alamance Battleground State Historic Site. Alamance Battleground
Friends, Inc. carries out this mission by:
 Providing support and guidance to site personnel
 Securing financial donations and grants to support site programs, and
 Seeking volunteers to actively participate in site programs.
Alamance Battleground Historic Site is now on Face book. Be sure to
check us out.
The Regulator is the official newsletter of the Alamance Battleground Friends at the Alamance
Battleground State Historic Site. Dr. Ted Scott Henson serves as Editor.
From the Site Manager:
We were saddened
to hear of the untimely
passing of Katherine
Margaret Allen, 62, of
Virginia Beach, Virginia.
She was the daughter of
Charles Fletcher Allen
(deceased) and Katherine
Weis Bradstreet Allen. The Alamance Battleground
Friends and the Alamance Battleground staff extend their
condolences to her family and Allen relatives. In honor of
Katherine, members of the Allen family have made contributions to the Allen House Fund, which has been established by the Friends, to help with Allen House repair projects. We appreciate this support by Allen family descendants and its purpose of keeping the memory of Katherine alive.
I hope you make plans to attend our upcoming
spring and summer events shown in this newsletter.
The entire family will enjoy the family-oriented, educational programs that have been and are being
planned. We hope to see great visitor responses.
Bryan Dalton, Site Manager
From the President:
Another month has
gone by and good things have
happened. Mainly, the clearing
of the trail has been accomplished with the help of people
from other sites mentioned in the
newsletter. The backhoe is due
to arrive soon to carry off the
piles of limbs on the open grounds. Things are now clear until the
next storm!
Ted Henson and I have cleared the ground and planted
bushes and flowers to the right of the entry. All has been surrounded by cypress mulch. We will continue to expand on this as
time goes by.
Please come out for the anniversary. The historical society
will have a ceremony on May 16, which is the date of the battle
from six to nine. The site will continue its 243 rd anniversary celebration on May 17th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on May 18 th from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. All other events are listed in the
newsletter. Try your best to attend these and all others. Remember,
we need all the participation we can get from all of you.
Ladd Sawyer, President