Red Coats are Coming: War Reenactment Starts Saturday

Dozens of "soldiers" are on their way to Saukville.

They’ll be giving the public a first-hand look at how things were during the Revolutionary War this weekend at the Pioneer Village of Ozaukee County, located on the northwestern edge of Saukville.

Organizers said the actors work hard to make sure everything is historically accurate. Even the number of people it takes to put on the reenactment is a sight to behold.

"We normally have 125 people that are participants in this and they come in authentic looking uniforms," said Max Kolb, the Revolutionary War Event Chairman for the Ozaukee County Historical Society. "We have the Red Coats and the Blue Coats. Members of the Revolutionary War come in from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Now, these fellows will bring their own pup tents, so there are a lot of pup tents that they sleep in at night.”

The reenactments take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with battles at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and students 11 and older, $3 for students ages 5 to 11 and children ages 5 and under are free.

There are a variety of reenactments, demonstrations and tours visitors can take on the grounds throughout the day to see what life was like for people in the late 1700s. A blacksmith will be on hand doing demonstrations, along with someone to show how a printing press was used. Everything including the costumes the actors wear tries to hold true to the 18th century.

"There’s no elastic, zippers — everything has to be as it was in those days; so their uniforms have to be exact," Kolb said.

People can explore the 19 buildings on the property, which were built in the 1840s. There’s a one-room school house and a big red barn where refreshments will be served.

Two battles will take place each day with the Blue Coats winning one battle and the Red Coats winning the other. Guests can sit up in the amphitheater on the east end of the village to watch the battles down below. During the reenactment, you may also catch a glimpse of a reenactment first-aid nurse attending to a wounded soldier on the field.

Kolb, who has been the chairman of the event for the past eight years, said he has enjoyed learning something new about the war each year as he puts the event together.

"I never knew that George Washington’s group had a light blue uniform. That was his honor guard, so those will be there," Kolb said.

Even the property itself has a lot of history to it; Saukville got its name because the Menomonee and the Sauk Indian tribes would meet at an intersected path in the area. In the 1830s, the government surveyed two military roads for settlers who later established the village.

The Revolutionary War reenactment is the largest fundraising event of the year for Pioneer Village, according to Kolb. The money raised will go towards preserving and maintaining the buildings on the property.