| AFTER-ACTION REPORTS |
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| OGLETHORPE�S VISIT TO DARIEN
Fort King George State Historic Site held its annual Oglethorpe�s Visit to Darien program on Friday, February 8. This year, it had a bit of a twist. Instead of recreating Oglethorpe�s February 22, 1736 visit to the Highlanders, the park had him come to old Fort King George to see if the site will work for settling the Highlanders. Scott Hodges portrayed Oglethorpe and arrived at the fort in his English uniform. He was greeted by several English soldiers and a couple of Highlanders. Britt Brinson & Larry Lynch portrayed the Highlanders. The program was presented to area school teachers. GEORGIA DAY PARADE Georgia was founded as an English Colony on February 12, 1733. On February 12, 2008, Georgia celebrated its 275th birthday. The event was commemorated in Savannah, the colony�s first settlement with a parade. Clann Nan Con joined several thousand school children, as well as General James Edward Oglethorpe, portrayed by Scott Hodges, the 42nd Regiment of Foot from Fort Frederica and the Wormsloe militia. The parade route, about a mile in length, led from Forsyth Park to City Hall. At the invitation of Hodges, Britt Brinson, Neil Fitzgibbons, Ed Lunderman & Mark Tippens represented the Highlanders of Darien. During Oglethorpe�s introduction to the invited guests, the 42nd Regiment and militia were recognized by the speaker. When Oglethorpe ascended the stairs, he said, �There is another group of men that I need to recognize, men without whom Georgia would not exist�the Highlanders of Darien.� Fellow clann members Larry Lynch and Clifton Gorden helped fill out the ranks of the 42nd Regiment. Nan Gorden followed along with the troops taking pictures. Following the parade, Brinson, Tippens, Lunderman & Fitzgibbons accompanied Hodges to Oglethorpe�s landing site for another picture. Once this was done, the clann adjourned to Molly MacPherson�s Scottish Pub for food and fellowship. FREDERICA FESTIVAL Clann Nan Con made its 10th appearance at the Frederica Festival. 10 members participated in the event. The Frederica Festival is the largest annual event at Fort Frederica National Monument. Due to a scheduling snafu, the clann spent Friday and Saturday nights at Fort King George State Historic Site. Michael Ramsey, Jeremy Crouse & Nick Honzik were the first to arrive at FKG. They were followed shortly thereafter by Neil Fitzgibbons and Britt Brinson. After stocking the officer�s quarters with firewood & getting moved in, all went over to Mudcat Charlie�s for some grub. After supper, they returned to FKG for some fellowship, before turning in around midnight. Cody Hackney was dropped off by his parents before we bedded down. It was a beautiful evening. The moon cast shadows around the fort as the temperature dipped into the mid-forties. We rose early, got dressed & headed over to Fort Frederica. We quickly set up a couple of tents & readied our presentation. We were joined by Clifton Gorden, J.P. Hackney, Caleb Geren & Larry Lynch. The clann went into the visitor�s center to watch History Uncovered, the park�s video in which we portrayed the Highland Independent Company of Darien. By 9:30, we were greeting visitors. Each member pitched in to talk to the public. About mid-morning, we began to work on our musket drill. After lunch, we made a couple of trips down to the magazine to conduct firing demonstrations. The park hosted almost 1000 visitors throughout the day. Many of them visited our camp. The programs started to shut down about 4 pm. Following the park�s thank-you-door-prize drawings, we broke camp and headed back to FKG. Pork tenderloin and mashed potatoes were grilled in the fire place. While we waited for our meal to cook, we held a fealty ceremony for several members. Caleb Geren, Clifton Gorden, Cody Hackney and Nick Honzik all swore fealty to the clann. Each man was presented with a pewter Celtic cross created by Ed Lunderman. The cross is a replica of one recovered from the Culloden battlefield in Scotland. Following the ceremony, our usual Saturday night fellowship ensued. Some of us turned in around midnight. The rest followed in the wee hours. Sunday morning arrived early. We were on the road home by about 10:30. |