Brandon F. & The Native Oak

11/29/2024

Another great example of what reenactment can, and should, be. Community engagement for a good cause, providing entertainment, education, and awareness not only of history and its importance but of the modern world which it is all connected to. Well done as ever to the Coldstream Guards 1815!

10/12/2024

When I visited Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House in Gloucester, MA recently I knew that I would be treated to plenty of spectacular views and a beautiful home, but it being an early 20th C. American home I honestly didn't expect to find much of the sort of history that typically interests me.

As it turns out, though, Henry Davis Sleeper was a fan of Admiral Nelson- and had an entire guest room themed around him! It included some fascinating pieces, including one of his letters!

Another interesting, although far darker, object that Sleeper had managed to collect was an 1804 bill of sale for "Mink", a young slave.

I also had no idea, before my trip, that Sleeper- an interior decorator- was involved with the American Field Service during WW1, for which service he was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

These objects and quite a few others definitely made what was already a lovely time that much more interesting!

09/26/2024

One of my favourite kinds of accounts are the ones that are not necessarily well written, but which flow as a stream of consciousness. Finishing up my research for my Antietam video, I found this wonderful description of the prelude to the battle in "The Record of the Second Massachusetts Infantry" which, once the video is posted, will be put up in the digital library at nativeoak.org

09/21/2024

“I never felt, before, the excitement which makes a man want to rush into the fight, but I did that day. Every battle makes me wish more and more that the war was over. It seems almost as if nothing could justify a battle like that on the 17th, and the horrors inseparable from it.”

- Robert Gould Shaw on the Battle of Antietam

09/19/2024

Turns out people really like Ferris Bueller's Day at Antietam!

09/17/2024

A bit of a departure from what I normally focus on, but the next two videos will feature some American Civil War content! Will the first be out in time for the anniversary in question? No, no it will not. But it won't be much longer- and then a second video on a related topic will follow before the month's end!

Can you guess the topic(s)?

09/13/2024

09/08/2024

08/26/2024

A fascinating look not only into a town's history, but how local history itself is conducted, and of its importance!

The small town of Franklin, Connecticut has a problem: It's Town Greens are Missing. Where were they, what happened to them, and why were they important?SCRI...

08/15/2024

Next stop, 250!

08/09/2024

I was on TV! A small local studio (so I'll not be in the movies any time soon!) invited me to be a guest on one of their programmes to discuss my new book, "Something Like Philosophy" (ahem ahem: https://www.nativeoak.org/bookshop )

So if you'd like to hear me ramble for a half hour or so about what I think makes the book interesting and important, go and check it out! I had a lot of fun there and was honoured to have been so welcomed. What's more, is that there's even a solid chance I'll be making a second appearance on another, similar programme in the near-ish future! I'll be sure to send you all a link to that, too!

Brandon Fischella talks about military history and the human side.

07/18/2024

It is finished!

Thanks to the amazing work of the book's contributors, my loved ones' patience in listening to my endless rambling about it, and the faith of those who pre-ordered, "Something Like Philosophy" is FINALLY finished and available for sale!

After hundreds of hours editing and proof-reading, doubtless there are still some issues that escaped me. Still, I hope that a rogue typo or two won't diminish the book too terribly much. For my first time ever playing editor I think I did a pretty good job!

If you've pre-ordered a copy of the book, I'll be sending yours out as soon as I'm able! It just may take some time to go through and place over 300 separate orders! I'll be sending you all an email soon with more details. Still I'm confident in my ability to get through all the orders within a week.

Consider this announcement a 'soft launch'! I'll be making a video showing off my physical copies and talking about it all soon enough!

Something Like Philosophy is a study of warfare’s sorrowful hellscape. Each of its essays explores themes of privation, trauma, horror, and suffering throughout military history in the hopes that we might draw connections between lived experiences otherwise thought to be separate. Through these co...

07/15/2024

Ladies and Gents: they are so back.

Coldstream Guards 1815, Reenactment and Living History group of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards at the time of the Napoleonic Wars

06/25/2024

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Beamish Museum where reenactors of the Old 68th Society and His Majesty's 33rd Regiment of Foot put on a wonderful drill and weapons display for the public. They all did a wonderful job and were very smart on parade! I am thinking about making a short video where I offer some commentary on the footage I took of their demonstration, if people think they'd enjoy it. Either way, it definitely makes me look forward all the more to getting back in the Napoleonic field!

06/24/2024

This is exactly the kind of thing that we need to see more of in the reenactment community! Thankfully, I feel like "events" like these are becoming increasingly common in recent years. More and more I find, especially when speaking with younger reenactors, the "battle" events are the least interesting bit when compared with special displays, talks, and charity events like this.

05/13/2024

"Myth Mondays"... As we ramp up to the 250th series beginning next Spring, we'll occasionally throw in relevant myths that have been dispelled through modern research, but are often still perpetuated today, even amongst some academics and social media content creators focused on the commemoration and celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American War for Independence.

Today's focus will be on the East India Company (EIC) and it's lesser known, but widely watched copycat, the East India Trading Company (EITC) of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame.

The infamous East India Company was established by royal charter granted under Queen Elizabeth I in the year 1600 C.E. It was their "cheap" tea carried by American-owned ships into the various American Colonial ports in late 1773 that helped throw sparks onto the tinder that was the growing cause for the American rebellion to come...

Learn more about the infamous company that is still in operation today: https://www.theeastindiacompany.com/pages/history

The lesser known East India Trading Company is a fictitious creation of the Pirates of the Caribbean film production. Famous employees of the EITC include none other than Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow, who may or may not be considered better or worse than actual employees in the original East India Company that sailed in the 18th-century.

Learn more about this fictitious Pirate-adjacent company here: https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/East_India_Trading_Company

This company was created for the film production in 2002 as there were trademark issues and disagreements between the production company for Pirates of the Caribbean and the EIC as to the use of their original balemark and use of symbols that the original company owns.

What is a balemark? The EIC explains:

"The Company began to use a ‘balemark,’ which identified its products as they arrived in busy ports or were sold on the trading floor.

Initially a simple mark, this evolved by the 1700s into a heart shaped figure [denoting ‘good luck’] surmounted by a figure four (symbolising Agnus Dei – ‘Lamb of God’] and containing the initials of the company.

This symbol became known as “the chop” a word derived from the Hindi छाप ćhāp – which means stamp.

The chop was not only an easily identifiable mark of The East India Company ownership, used for example on tea crates, it also became a symbol of the quality of those wares.

The Merchant’s Mark is still used today on all our products, now as then, the distinctive mark of The Company and of quality."

In the picture are two balemarks, one is the original balemark and the other is a fictitious creation for the film production from 2002, can you identify which balemark is the original and which is the fake?

05/10/2024

Another beautiful Great War memorial- this one in the little town of Alnwick in Northumberland.

It is beautifully done, with a lot of really nice details on the men's rifles I was happy to see, although I wouldn't describe the overall approach as terribly unique. Although worthy of note is one man from I believe the Royal Navy Division, which isn't something you see portrayed every day! I also really like how the entire memorial stands to hold up a large lantern which I believe still functions today. Not only functional, but obviously with a powerful symbolism as well. A nice combination, and again not something you see very often! So while the 'style' of monument may not be all that original, I think the piece itself as a whole is quite so.

04/30/2024

Okay, last Newcastle memorial post, I promise. For now. Until I find another I really like.

But this one isn't WW1- it's actually the "South African War," what we more popularly know as the Second Boer War. Really it checks all the usual melodramatic boxes that I adore in memorials, draping Colours and plenty of wreaths, with plenty of beautiful lines like "Steadfast in Life - Valiant in Death," with a few more unique and interesting features besides. It's not every day you see a fasces in a British memorial! The lion head is a nice touch, too.

It is only appropriate, as well, for before the First World War, the 2nd Boer really was a major shock to the British Empire as a whole which had become so used to the "little wars" of imperialism. It was extremely costly, long, and bloody- far more than had ever been expected. I really do need to make more content about it...