35th Regiment of Foot - Historical Reenactment

09/13/2026

"You had to have been there to see with your own eyes that you might believe it, mes amis." It is 1839 and the encampment of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment is joined again by Laurent, one of Napoleon's ex-dragoons now in permanent exile from his homeland of France. He visits from time to time. There is no animosity, only camaraderie. Alas, Laurent is a stranger in his own country now, and recants tales of his adventures in the company of yesterday's enemies. When visiting with the soldiers and their wives, he still wears his bonnet de police and cavalryman's boots with pride. While in Napoleon's service, Laurent rode to victory at Austerlitz, at Jena, the hard-fought Eylau against Russia and Prussia, only tasting defeat for the first time at Leipzig in 1813, called "The Battle of the Nations." With the abdication of the emperor in 1814, Laurent left the army to return to civil life. King Louis XVIII took the throne, but not for long. The despised and arrogant king fled again as the emperor returned to Paris from Elba in March of 1815. There was no doubt that war would begin again immediately as the coalition reformed, determined to destroy the Corsican usurper once and for all. Laurent, like many other veterans, hastened to the eagles of Bonaparte to defend his France and his emperor. In the Hundred Days Campaign that followed, his regiment of dragoons was victorious at Ligny in defeating Prussia's Blucher. On the 18th of June, under the command of Marshal Grouchy, he and his French brethren fought the Prussians while Napoleon engaged Britain's Lord Wellington at Waterloo. Unable to reinforce the emperor, delayed by the Prussians, news came of Napoleon's defeat. The repercussions which followed were disastrous for Laurent. Like many others of his kind, he was deemed a traitor by the twice-restored Bourbon monarchy, with his life threatened. And so, he was forced to abandon his life in France and seek refuge with only what he could carry, making his way across the English Channel to eke out a living among former foes. There he has remained these 24 years, a welcome guest of the redcoats who enjoy his wit, jabs, jokes, and stories of the flash-and-dash of the once-brilliant years now gone.

Pictures courtesy of Ari Lopez Wei and Jeff Bross.

09/04/2026

Everyone once in a while our comments get spammed with bots claiming to sell shirts, stealing our logo, etc. They also tag some of our followers. We try to delete these as we find them but please do not click on whatever garbage link they post. We do not know where their link goes or what it may do. Stay safe online, everyone.

09/03/2026

Throwback Thursday! When the Time Machine has a hiccup but you're still all wearing red and defending the Empire.

09/02/2026

If you say so...!

09/01/2026

Stepping up in time a little from the 18th century, we have our 1830s event coming up at Long Pond Ironworks in Hewitt NJ, September 12 & 13!

It is now 1839. The regiment has since given up its orange facings for blue and is now styled the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot. There is a new monarch for a new age: a 20-year-old Queen Victoria, likely to soon wed her cousin, Prince Albert from Saxe-Coburg Gotha. The empire is anxious, as are the people. Society is changing and industrializing rapidly. Serious reform of government has begun, long overdue, and not with any great ease. At home, economic hardship and epidemics threaten societal stability while emerging technologies and philosophies promise bright innovations and opportunities if they can be responsibly harnessed. Abroad, the empire has just dealt with an uprising in Quebec, has a dangerous and ultimately doomed intervention in Afghanistan underway, and another intervention is brewing for China to control the o***m trade.

The young Queen reigns but does not rule, yet her name is given to the age of her lifetime. Come visit and learn more!

09/01/2026

"What's that brass thing on your shoulder?" is a question we get at every Revolutionary War event. So, what is it? The tubular device on our cartridge pouch straps is unique to the grenadier companies. These were the match cases which would hold a piece of slow match in the event that the old style hand grenades were to be used. It has a wooden handle for the match and the brass case is perforated to allow air flow so the match wouldn't go out. The grenades had fuses that had to be lit manually before being thrown. By the 1770s, infantry use of grenades was essentially a thing of the past, but they had some use in sieges and on ships, in particular. By the 1770s, the grenadiers' match case, like their hangars (swords) were largely decorative more than practical: a mark of their prestige and elite status. But they were on their way out. (Soldiers do not like to carry more than they have to.) By 1784, after the Revolution, the sword and match case were officially abolished, likely reflecting a reality that was already becoming common in practice, if not in regulation.

08/29/2026

Good news from the Princeton Battlefield Society !

Exciting progress at Princeton Battlefield! 🇺🇸

Plans are moving forward to restore the historic landscape and help visitors experience the battlefield more as it appeared in 1777.

Preserving the landscape. Protecting the history. 🇺🇸

08/29/2026

Next event for us will be our early Victorian encampment with The Friends of Long Pond Ironworks on September 12 & 13! Come out and support this wonderful piece of North Jersey colonial and early industrial history by visiting with some of Queen Victoria's finest!

1334 Greenwood Lake Turnpike, Hewitt, NJ 07421

08/27/2026

Here is a long form video of Saturday's 250th Battle of Brooklyn reenactment taken by our friend Chris Lauterbach. Enjoy!

The 250th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of Brooklyn was h...

08/27/2026

Wow, one of our videos got a ton of engagement! Over 5,000 likes and 25,000 views! Please be sure to give our page a like if you have not already! We will post some more content soon. Thank you for your support! 🇬🇧👑🇬🇧

Someone sent us this picture, not sure the original source but if you know we will credit you.