Copyright © 2019 John F. Oyler
August 1, 2019
Whiskey Rebellion, 2019
Two hundred and twenty-five years ago the brand new United States government faced its first major domestic crisis when a large group of farmers in western Pennsylvania rose up in opposition to an onerous excise tax on the production of whiskey, threatening armed rebellion. We have been aware of this momentous event for many years, but continue to be eager to learn more about it.
Fortunately there are a number of local organizations dedicated to enhancing our understanding of this significant bit of our heritage, primarily in the form of memorial festivals. Thanks to fortuitous scheduling this year we were able to spend two weekends in July enjoying these festivals.
The first weekend was in “little” Washington, which has staked its claim on being the focal point of the Rebellion on its favorite son, David Bradford. Their festival is always rewarding; this year was no exception. It features a series of realistic re-enactments of Whiskey Rebellion events by the “Historical Street Theater” on South Main Street in downtown Washington. This year we were particularly impressed by a confrontation between John Neville and John Holcroft which clearly defined the issues that led to the rebellion.
The Washington Festival includes live music concurrently in three different venues, with genres including archaic, Celtic, bluegrass, and contemporary folk. My favorite this time was the Beau Street players, four local musicians who perform early American and Baroque music.
Food is always a major part of such festivals. I settled on a cup of lemonade and a corn dog for my lunch and was surprised when my dog turned out to be a “foot long”. I eagerly attacked the end of the dog and immediately encountered a problem with the spike down its middle. Nibbling around the side worked for a while, till the remainder was so small it fell off. Sounds like a good engineering problem. At any rate, I enjoyed the portion I didn’t lose.
I rode the shuttle bus to Washington Park to the re-enactors encampment where I watched Wayne’s Legion go through its “School of the Soldier” drill. They, of course, are old friends from Woodville Plantation who provide credible re-enactments of eighteenth century soldiery at events all over the country. Rob Windhorst, Dave Frankowski, and Dan Ragaller are fixtures with this group.
My final stop was at the Pioneer Room of the George Washington Hotel where I was delighted to find Andrew Knez Jr. with a table of his masterful artwork. One of Andrew’s masterpieces is “Remembering”, a portrait of Iroquois war chief, Logan, examining one of the few artifacts remaining from the massacre of his family at Yellow Creek.
In preparation for the painting Andrew commissioned the crafting of a prototype for the artifact, a knife and sheath, which he proudly showed me. The sheath is exquisitely made, with a pattern that depicts the sad tale of Logan and his family. The knife itself is made from an eighteenth century file and the handle includes a tiny piece of wood from the famous elm tree under which Logan gave his famous “Logan’s Lament”.
Andrew is indeed a treasure; the contribution that he continues to make to our understanding of life two centuries ago is immense and is exemplified by the scholarship upon which his paintings are based. We are extremely fortunate to have an artist of his caliber in this area.
The following weekend my focus shifted to Woodville Plantation. I have enjoyed their re-enactments of the events at Bower Hill in the past; this year they were supplemented by “Market Faire”, a recreation of an eighteenth century community market. This turned out to be even more impressive than I had anticipated.
No eighteenth-century fair would be complete without a medicine show; this one featured Dr. Balthasar, impeccably portrayed by re-enactor Mike Follin. The combination of his high-speed auctioneer patter and his interaction with the audience would convince even the most reluctant customer to shell out a few bucks for his elixir, guaranteed to cure whatever ails you.
For this specific event the Neville Plantation was able to import the villain whose influence brought about the Whiskey Rebellion, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton himself. Portrayed by re-enactor Pete Fernbaugh, Hamilton convincingly presented the federal government’s rationale for the Excise Tax of 1791. He and a re-enactor portraying a rebellious farmer (John Holcroft?) performed a cute musical skit as part of the presentation.
Also entertaining was Jack and Maddie’s Turnip Wagon, a curio show featuring children’s peepshows, marionettes, hobby horses, and period songs. In addition fiddler Zac Gordon provided a selection of eighteenth century tunes, accompanied by a tap-dancing puppet, as well as providing mandolin accompaniment to a young lady playing a primitive flute.
A variety of wares were available from an impressive group of sutlers. Master horner Willy Frankford displayed the products of his remarkable scrimshaw work on powder horns and other historical artifacts. The Liberty Pole Spirits distillery offered seven different whiskeys including two that are authentic throwbacks to the Monongahela rye whiskeys of 1794. I presume they paid Mr. Hamilton’s tax.
I purchased a large pewter spoon from “Muggs and Juggs” and learned that it had been cast from an original mold that identified the original manufacturer. Other sutlers were selling period clothing, antique reproductions, and blankets. Three different re-enactors enhanced the eighteenth century motif by emulating native Americans.
I was pleased to see an encampment of members of the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line re-enactment unit. One of my neighbors and close friends, Mike Mongelli, was active in that organization a few years ago. He served as model for Andrew Knez Jr.’s painting “The Sentry” which depicts a bedraggled member of the 8th at Valley Forge, warming his hands over a fire.
Although I had seen the re-enactment of the Bower Hill battles before, it was a treat to see it again. Even though you know it is all make-believe, re-enactments do an excellent job of providing contemporary viewers with a rough idea of what actually occurred.
My lunch at Woodville was at the Atria tent, where their cuisine equalled that of their restaurants. I chose a “Chopin’ Blocks Best” a BBQ beef brisket on a weck, which turned out to be an excellent decision. Of course, I was too embarrassed to inquire what a “weck” was; since then I have learned it refers to a kimmelweck roll, an invention of a German baker in western New York. In Pennsylvania Dutch, kimmel means caraway and weck is the word for roll. So much for my linguistic skills!
My schedule did not permit me to take in the Whiskey Rebellion re-enactment at the Oliver Miller Homestead this year. The combined effect of the re-enactments at each site is synergistic; together they provide a vivid picture of these climactic events. Watching re-enactors depict Marshal Lenox and John Neville attempt to serve a writ on William Miller will always be more effective than using one’s imagination to portray it.
It was a treat to see the re-creation of an eighteenth century market; our congratulations to Dan Ragaller and all the Neville House Associates folks for making it happen. I certainly hope this is the first event of an annual series.
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