The guns were out Saturday afternoon as a troupe of 19th-century British military re-enactors fired numerous booming rounds from their muskets down at the Ottawa Locks.
The 100th Regiment Historical Society’s soldiers were only firing blanks, of course, but that didn’t make it any less startling for the swaths of spectators when the first loud blast cut through the air on a warm and sunny day that saw large crowds of locals and tourists out during the weekend’s Bytown Days.
“It’s invigorating,” said Braeden Praill, 19, the regiment’s acting corporal. “It’s louder than you would think, but not as much kick. You don’t really expect it. It’s fun to shoot.”
Praill said a lifelong interest in history and theatre coupled with some experience in artillery training prompted him to join the re-enactment troupe last year. But it’s not all guns and glory.
Members of 100th Regiment of Foot fire away.
“Training is the biggest part. For the first year, that’s pretty much all we did,” said Max Cronkite, 19. “We want to look good and to be historically accurate.”
Practice takes up several hours per week with the group and at home, with the mock soldiers working on their foot drills, poring over manuscripts, practising gun safety, polishing their shoes and maintaining their muskets, among other duties, the members explained.
Cronkite said the battle re-enactments are where things get really fun.
“Just being in that moment where you have a whole line of guys firing at the same time, there’s a cannon to the side of us — it’s a lot different than practice,” he said.
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Four members took part in Saturday’s shooting exposition — all dressed to impress in the poppy-red tunics, white crossed sashes, white pants and black “stovepipe” hats of the era’s British army — led by their sergeant, William Sinka, who founded the 100th Regiment Historical Society in 2013.
Their performance was part of the annual Bytown Days events, held July 30 to Aug. 3 this year by the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa, but the 100th Regiment performs at the locks almost bi-weekly throughout the summer. They’ll also return for Colonel By Day on Monday.
Sinka said he’s been regularly surprised by the level of interest people have in what they do.
“Sometimes we walk along the canal, we can’t even walk 20 or 30 feet without stopping for a picture,” he said. “A lot of people seem to have really good questions about it.”
The group currently has nine members, and they’re always looking for more. Sinka said he’s also hoping to fill out the lineup of drummers. Two new recruits were warming up their drumming hands Saturday hoping to be ready for some of the group’s upcoming exhibitions.
“I just aged out of cadets, so I’ve been looking into something military-related, and I’m not sure if I want to go into the reserves yet, and I found the regiment and thought it was pretty cool,” said Jennifer Lucas, 19.
“I love music, I love history — this is a perfect fit,” said Jason Beaulac, 36.
Praill said the musket drills and battle re-enactments have given him a sense of what it was like to be a British soldier in the era surrounding the War of 1812.
“It took a lot to stand in that line, if you ask me,” he said. “They were braver than most.”
