Hi Everyone,
My apology for not writing more sooner, but I have been busier than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. After nearly a week away from work, I'm swamped. But I can't make my friends wait too long without at least knowing a bit more detail of my first time hosting a Ball.
For a couple weeks we have had fair to good weather. Right up until it was time for the Ball. A cold/storm front was coming in on Thursday with 90% chance of rain. So I took Wednesday off work as well and took van load #2 and did firewood duty, filling all barracks firewood boxes with dry wood, then covered the firewood supply pile with a large tarp to keep it dry for the weekend. Thursday, as predicted was cold and raining. It was miserable outside. Friday wasn't any better, but with friends we kept busy decorating and had a fun time. Saturday morning I woke to find the ground white with snow and VERY cold. Yikes! I began wondering what I had done that was so bad for the Lord to do this to me. I pushed on, I wasn't going to let it put a damper on this event. It was, after all, the Bicentennial of the creation of my Regiment. And there is a large fireplace in the room which kept the room warm after it finally heated up.
As I said before, I lived at the fort in my officers quarters since Thursday. Most of the day Friday was spent cleaning the Council House and decorating. I was very fortunate that a few of the out-of-town guests that came in ahead of time came to help with setup. We had about as much fun decorating the place as the Ball was. Just good company I guess.
On Saturday it was very cold. This being a historical site and buildings, there aren't many modern amenities. The building was cold and the very large fireplace did cut the chill but wasn't warming up the place. The dance workshop I put on in the morning was done in modern clothes with winter coats and boots. But we all had fun making fun of ourselves, and it still worked out fine. Most of the Ball attendees were also at the workshop. After the workshop we worked on finishing the decorations and setup a very large propane heater to warm the room, which it did very well at that point with the fireplace roaring to help. I had just enough time to go back to my quarters, get dressed, and head back to finish laying out the hors d'oeuvres and make the punch and put the propane heater away just as the first guests began to arrive.
I have researched the military Ball off and on for the past few years because I've wanted to put one on (just with more time than 2 months). So I was able to plan this one out fairly closely with what an American Army Ball would have been like. This Ball was a Regimental Ball so it was to include both officers and enlisted alike, which is kind of interesting because there was a definite social structure. So while the enlisted are invited and attended, they were still kept apart from the officers and ladies. Of course, at this Ball we all mingled together and had a great time.
Something I found in my research of Balls and military Balls of this era, at least in America, is that there was often a social time before the meal (if there was one) and the young ladies would be encouraged to exhibit their talents of music, singing, poetry, etc. It seems that officers who had daughters of marrying age made sure this time was used well. So, I recruited one of my troops' daughters who are very musically talented to play various instruments for the social hour. All three of them looked very pretty and their music was very nice indeed.
At the end of the social hour, I made a few comments including the reason for the celebration - the Regiment's Bicentennial - and a few other things. Said the blessing and started the buffet line. Dinner was fabulous. We had buffalo roasts, hams, and all kinds of courses. Everyone seemed very well pleased and full of tummy.
Following dinner is when, as host, I did my speechifying. I read the congressional act creating our regiment. The names of every Colonel that commanded the regt. And every battle honor the regiment earned. Then the fun part, the toasts! My Sergeants filled wine glasses from pitchers while the officers table was supplied with champaign. As host, I was entitled to start the toasts with as many as I like. I gave toasts to the Regiment, the United States, the President, General George Washington, the Colonels commanding the Regiment, all the recreated units from across the continent, to the newlyweds of the regiment - a couple that married last autumn, to the officers and men, and then to the women of the regiment - wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters. At this point I opened the floor to toasts from anyone. I will say it took me nearly half a bottle of champaign to get through the toasts, woo hoo!!!
Following the toasts were a few gift presentations. One of the visiting units presented each of my NCO's with a gift. And then the entire Regiment in attendance formed and presented me with a gift of a most beautiful Damascus blade and simulated ivory handle Rifleman's knife. That was very cool and brought a tear to my eye. This was somewhat surreal considering I had a surprise for the Regiment that only I knew about, more in a minute.
After these presentations my 1st Sgt. directed the removal of tables and setup of the hall for dancing. However, while this was happening, I had previously given my Corporal orders to form a Corporals Guard (the senior/present Cpl. from each unit in the regt.) and retrieve "a stick with a case on it" from a building about 40 yards from us. He thought that was strange, but carried out his orders with precision. When they returned, I had the Sergeant Major clear the floor, silence the room, and everyone empty their hands except cameras which were encouraged. I then explained how this regiment was disbanded by the reduction of the Army in 1821. Their colours had been cased for the final time on this very site in June 1821, and had not flown in 187 years. While the original flags were not known to exist anymore, that all present were to witness the uncasing and unfurling of the recreated Stand of Colours. In secret I had commissioned the two flags (National Standard and Regimental) to be made nearly a year ago and they were just recently completed, what better occasion to unveil them! At this point the officers and Corporals uncased and opened the flags in a ceremony. It was a very emotional time for all in attendance, and was met with nearly 10 minutes of applause as the flags were held open. It was a surprise to all including the Corporals who retrieved the flags for me.
For those who may not know, in the United States the Stars & Stripes were not carried into battle until about the time of the American Civil War. Prior to that, each regiment or corps had their own National Standard. This was the U.S. battle flag so to speak. They all had a large Bald Eagle on them, but were slightly different from regiment to regiment, usually on a field of blue. Then each regiment had their own Regimental Colour, a flag of the regiment. The two flags together are their Stand of Colours.
After the flag ceremony, we had the band strike up the music and began a dance that was invigorating to say the least. Since this was an American military Ball, we danced Contra Dance instead of ECD. And guess who was the caller for most of the night, that's right, yours truly. I really had a lot of fun calling the dances, and everyone there seemed to have a grand time as well. The band played waltzes in between the Contra dances, and later in the evening played a number of historical tunes and songs that were a lot of fun. Most people danced as if they had been dancers for a long time. A few struggled, but everyone had fun! And yes, I did get to dance a couple dances. A fine young lady obliged me when I got my chance and it was a fine time indeed. And I do look forward to attending other Balls so I can dance more.
After starting at 5:00 PM, the party didn't start breaking up until after midnight. I think that was a good sign that people were enjoying themselves.
Thank you again to everyone for your inspiration, advice, and support. In a whirlwind effort, it came off much better than I thought it would. It was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it. I'm still unpacking and putting things away. I am not sure that I will host another one for some time, but probably will again someday in the future. I do love a good Ball and hope to attend many more in the future.
Oh, and yes, I will get pictures posted as soon as I can. Being in the early 19th century for nearly a week, my modern life is way behind so give me a bit of time to catch up. The pictures on my camera were mostly from setup and didn't turn out very well (blurry, etc), I told you I wasn't a shutter bug. But I've asked everyone that attended to share their pictures with me so I can compile them together, and I will get the photographers pictures hopefully soon.
Sorry this is so long.
TTFN.
Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? ~ Jane Austen 
