Seaford Manor Students Relive Revolutionary War Encampment

Stepping back in time, 48 students dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms, slept in tents, marched, shot muskets and took a night walk carrying lanterns as they reenacted an 18th-century military encampment at their school.

The activity was the culminating event of the Living History Club, which meets throughout the year to read books about the Revolutionary War period and learn how to pitch tents, march and drill using the VonSteuben's manual for Revolutionary soldiers.  

With overnight gear in hand, the students were greeted by Sergeants Eleanor Turino and Francine Wood, Seaford Manor School library teachers and club advisors. The students were split into six companies, each with a specific task, ranging from armorers, who carried the musket boxes, to sappers and miners, who laid out the camp and pitched tents. The students also wrote in journals and learned how to tinsmith.  

Seaford resident Michael Goudket, master of music and adjunct general for the Huntington Militia, read a dispatch from General Washington to prepare the recruits for battle against the “redcoats.”

The recruits were also joined by Principal Debra Emmerich, Assistant Principal Patricia Gelling, and library aide Janet Capestany, as well as several parents.