Rally the Troops!
Kudos to Brandywine Battlefield for their outstanding reenactment event on August 2, 2025! Rob and I traveled to the battlefield for research for the forthcoming Elen Chronicles, of Love and Blood. See the Pinterest link.
The research for this book has me head over heels entrenched in 18th-century history, medicine, domestic life, and politics in 18th-century Scotland and America. The more I research, the more I realize (as is often the case with research), the less I know. I could certainly devote a lifetime to learning about the 18th century. Each bit of knowledge adds to the richness of the book.
Reenactment events are excellent resources as the living history volunteers are well-read and willing to share information. It’s wonderful to see artifacts – real and newly minted to hear the tales of the time. The events at Brandywine for the Rally the Troops event give me a different perspective on the events of the battle.
My timeline in The Elen Chronicles has changed drastically for the American portion of the book. It’s a very good thing and adds to the plot, but also creates a few other wrinkles. I know the beginning of the book. I know the end of the book. The changes will add to the middle to end timeline.
I picked up an excellent book – Revolutionary Medicine, 1700-1800 by C. Keith Wilbur, M.D.
Future road trips:
- Ridley Creek State Park and its working colonial plantation,
- The American Revolution Institute, Washington D.C.
- The Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, PA
- And locating the thesis: “Women that Meddle in Physick and Surgery:” Female Medical Practitioners in Early Modern Scotland, 1560-1700.
