Here at Historic St. Mary's City, the 17th-century capital of Maryland, we have a very active volunteer militia group.  They attend events throughout the year and represent the museum at all of the programs which they attend.  They are here at the museum over several select weekends in the spring and autumn, primarily.  Our biggest event involving  the militia is the Grand Militia Muster, which includes other 17th-century militia groups who are invited to attend.  This event this year will be held the weekend of October 21.  Please contact me if you want further information.

In regards to the "living history" and "re-enactor" discussion, I would agree with those who have noted the vast spectrum regarding ability and accuracy in these types of groups (regardless of what they call themselves).  I would hope that when these groups are at museums, their priorities are a reflection of the museum's priorities and that the end purpose is to educate the public in as accurate a manner as our current research findings allow.  Visitors do not tend to distinguish between invited groups and trained museum staff.  And, in an ideal world, the program should be so professional, that visitors (or museums) don't have to make a distinction.  Agreed, there are a lot of groups which do outstanding jobs, but poor living history programs make an unforgettable mark.

I would welcome a discussion concerning how to handle invited living history groups at a museum --- both successes and failures.

Susan




Susan B. Zickel
Interpretive Programs Coordinator
Historic St. Mary's City
P.O. Box 39
St. Mary's City, Maryland  20686
ph.:  301.862.0978

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