History sideblog; curated by @iamthemaestro
Historical interpreter, reenactor, musician. History & music composition student. Possibly died back in 1778. Huzza!
Queer. History and music composition student. Historical reenactor, interpreter, and musician of many trades. Tortured composer, aspiring dandy, redcoat fifer; my soul is stuck in 1778. Also found at @iamthemaestro, my main, and runner of @redcoatsuggestions.
My main interests being (taglist):
Anything and everything 18th century/Georgian era
The American War of Independence
Historical reenactment
British military history
Age of Sail
Folk music & field music
Classical music & music history in general
Historical fashion/military uniforms
The Flight of the Heron
Transcription, mostly of old whaling journals
My content:
Sometimes I ramble about history in a way that’s actually coherent and researched. You can find those posts here.
I play a lot of folk music.
I am not normal about reenactment.
I draw soldiers sometimes.
I also run a largely inconsistent informational series on 18th century folk/field music, known as Music of the Revolutionary Century. The audience is very niche (me), but I do dedicate research to the tunes’ histories however I can and usually talk some music theory, if you too have highly obscure interests.
Hope you decide to linger with me for some time in the past :)
Some miscellaneous information:
For reenactment purposes, I am a fifer for a the US-based 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot—if you want to know more please reach out! I would love to have more reenactment mutuals. I post about it frequently; I have a lot of regimental pride.
For this reason among others I tend to lean more toward the British history of the American Revolution. Not a British apologist but I frequently joke that I am a bit of a redcoat bastard. Please do not take me for a monarchist. I do not control the special interests.
As I've gained a following and posted more original content I've been kind of cleaning up this blog. At one point it was for anything vaguely history related but now it's pretty much just informational stuff. The vast majority of fandom and silly history stuff goes to my main.
Bigots can and will be blocked.
As always I am not a historian; I generally try not to post about anything I haven’t put research into or couldn’t provide sources for, for but I am not a professional, so take anything I say with a grain of salt and feel free to enlighten me if I might have gotten something wrong.
And lastly—please reach out if you want to talk! I am constantly looking for more people to talk history with, I'm just very bad at reaching out myself lol. I am by no means an expert but I love answering questions when I can just because it gives me an excuse to talk, and I would also love just nerding out with equally passionate individuals.
“I am writing to share that the Museum has recently made a difficult long-term decision regarding the vessel’s future.
After extensive professional evaluation and careful consideration by the Board and staff leadership, the Museum has determined that keeping HMS Surprise in our fleet is not financially viable. The cost required to bring the ship up to the standard our visitors, crew, and community deserve is no longer feasible nor responsible.
Earlier this year, the Museum brought in a professional marine surveyor to carefully inspect our historic fleet and the resources required to properly steward them. The cost to sufficiently restore HMS Surprise is estimated to exceed $25,000,000. The Museum simply does not have the resources for this, and it would significantly limit our ability to care for the rest of the collection and advance our educational mission.
Therefore, the decision has been made to permanently close HMS Surprise to the public on August 1, 2027. We will be announcing this to our museum community and the public in the coming month.
Please know that this decision was not made lightly. For more than 20 years, the Museum has devoted considerable resources to maintain HMS Surprise as a vital part of the Museum’s historic vessel collection. She has played an extraordinary role in bringing maritime history to life, inspiring countless visitors, students, and supporters over the years. Before she is closed to the public, the Museum will be appropriately honoring and celebrating her over the next year.
I do want to be clear that this decision is final, and the Museum will not be launching a fundraising campaign to reverse it. The Museum staff is exploring options for her next chapter, including but not limited to potential entertainment industry opportunities, among other solutions. We will share updates when available.
We deeply appreciate the recent support you have shown HMS Surprise. However, I understand that this information may change how you wish to direct your donation. The funds can be redirected to another vessel, our education programs, or to the Museum’s general operating fund. I also understand that you may choose to have your donation refunded and am happy to assist with that as well. My office number is below if you need to reach me via phone.
Thank you again for your support and interest in our work.
"Now I've shot so many Nazis, Daddy will have to buy me a sable coat." (From his Wikipedia article).
Neil Munro "Bunny" Roger
June 9, 1911-April 27, 1997.
Bunny Roger killed a bunch of Nazis and then invented Capri pants.
He was expelled from Oxford for his indiscrete gayness (discrete gayness being perfectly fine at Oxford and part of the curriculum until...today probably, at least like 1992?). Then, having been sent down to London, he started his own fashion business, and his first client was Vivien Leigh.
Bunny served in WWII, killing fascists in North Africa and Italy, and often wearing a mauve scarf in the field. Roger claimed that he had gone into a battle brandishing a rolled-up copy of VOGUE and commanding: "When in doubt, powder heavily!"
Roger was known in high society for his themed soirées; Diamond, Amethyst, and Flame Balls were held to celebrate his 60th, 70th, and 80th birthdays. He wore a curious plum colored catsuit with a feathered headdress at his 70th birthday ball in 1981. At his 80th, he made his entrance in a catsuit of scarlet sequins with a cape of orange organza, greeting his guests from behind a wall of fire. His parties were covered by the newspapers, including a New Year's Eve Fetish Ball where the proper upper class mixed with young guests in rubber S/M gear.
From an obituary: "Beneath his mauve mannerisms, Bunny was stalwart, frank, dependable and undeceived; to onlookers a passing peacock, to intimates, a life enhancer and exemplary friend."
