CRESTLINE — Mark Cory may be retired, but that doesn’t keep him from teaching history.
Cory taught at Colonel Crawford for 35 years. He’s particularly passionate about Revolutionary War history – so much so that he still returns to Colonel Crawford each year in costume to teach students about 18th-Century life.
He also brings the past to life as a historical re-enactor.
Cory spent this weekend camped out at Lowe-Volk Park, embodying Colonel Crawford himself during Living History Days.
“People in Crawford County need to hear the story,” he said. “This is part of our connection to the American War of Independence. It’s our connection to that war that gave birth to our country.”
Living History Days is organized by Colonel Crawford’s Company, a group of re-enactors from Richland and Crawford County. The free, annual event is held during the first weekend in June to coincide with the capture of Col. William Crawford.
William Crawford was born in Virginia and became friends with George Washington while the two worked together as land surveyors. Crawford and Washington later fought together during the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War.
Crawford retired from the Army in 1781, but was called back soon after by Gen. William Irvine. Irvine hoped to put an end to the fighting between Ohio settlers and Native American tribes allied with the British, so he asked Col. Crawford to lead a campaign against the Native Americans living along the Sandusky River.
After several days of fighting, the colonel was captured by Native Americans on June 7, 1782 in the woods of Crawford County. Crawford’s captors tortured him before burning him at the stake, a gruesome retaliation for the Gnadenhutten Massacre in Tuscarawas County.
The massacre occurred just a few months prior to Crawford’s death, when a group of white settlers killed nearly 100 pacifist Lenape Indians. Although Crawford himself was not involved in the massacre, several of the men in his company were.
During a re-enactment of the capture and killing of Col. Crawford, Cory pleaded with a fellow re-enactor portraying Chief Wingenund, alluding to their friendship.
The pleas weren’t merely for dramatic affect. According to Cory, the two men knew each other well.
“Wingenund had actually eaten meals with the Crawford family on many different occasions. He was a personal friend,” he said. “But he was a Lenape war chief. He was between a rock and a hard place. He had to defend and protect his people, which meant his friendship with the White man did not matter.
“What the White man did to members of his tribe did.”
Not all re-enactors at Living History Days were warriors.
Julie Rossington of Bucyrus portrayed a camp follower. Since women could not own property during the 18th century, widows and wives of colonial soldiers often followed behind the company, earning a meager living by cooking, doing laundry and nursing wounded soldiers.
While many re-enactors were local, some came from neighboring states to participate.
Valerie Skinner, a Michigan resident, pitched her tent close to the entrance of the camp and spent the day painting delicate watercolor replicas of 18th Century folk art.
Skinner said folk art was found throughout colonial society, from paintings and cushions to adornments on birth certificates and marriage licenses. The images depicted the beauty of nature and scenes from everyday life.
Skinner has been re-enacting for over 25 years and creating period folk art for the last 10. Re-enactors often spend copious hours researching the life and society of the period they depict.
Skinner said she’s been inspired by the strength and resilience of early Americans.
“Most of them came here from pretty horrible situations, hoping to have a better world, a better life,” she said. “Life was rough here. They had to work for everything, had to do everything and yet were inspired to do amazing, whimsical art.”
Whether it’s watching settlers cook over an open fire or watching the smoke waft through the trees during a battle-scene re-enactment, Cory believes there’s something truly unique about events like Living History.
“From a teacher’s perspective, it’s the easiest way to teach history,” Cory said. “You want people to experience history, which means you see it, you hear it, in some cases you smell it.
“History should be the most interesting subject taught in a classroom everyday,” he added. “This is one way of enticing the students to history and enjoying it.”
