On the Frontier of East Alabama

Last week was Frontier Days at Fort Toulouse in Wetumpka.  It is one of the longest lasting events I had the privilege to attend.  This year was my first time as a full participant representing Troupes de la Marine and Fort Tombecbe.  Since most of my experience as a living historian is of me talking to groups by myself or with one other person being a part of a much larger operation offers a new learning experience for me.

The first four days we had school kids from across the state of Alabama.  Most were in third or fourth grade with a few middle and high school classes as well.  Here in Alabama students are taught state history in fourth grade which is way to early for them to remember much of anything when they get older.  In looking over the new Common Core Curriculum being adopted their needs to be tweaking to ensure people learn and remember history of their home state.  Back home in Pennsylvania I do not remember getting much of a state history lesson until undergraduate school.

Anyhow, the students were very receptive to learning about the fort and French Marines.  The unit was typically out marching, shooting or doing some type of demonstration for the roughly 3,000 visitors.  People seemed to enjoy it, but the importance of the fort was not necessarily discussed so by the second day I started to figure a way to go out and interpret the significance of a French fort in eighteenth century Alabama.

Recently I bought a modified French Haversack which was being carried from time to time to help me work out a little more while on the march.  I unrolled the bag, placed an extra set of clothes, cards, pieces of eight, bowl, cup, spoon, blanket and food.  Now completely mobile I could go set up anywhere on the park grounds, interpret French Marine life, discuss why the soldiers were here in Alabama then move on to the next stop or back to the fort for the next group event.

I engaged as many students as possible asking them about the three French forts in Alabama and the four major Native American tribes.  Most of the fourth graders were able to answer the Native American tribe question, but the French forts question caused problems for kids and adults.  Both Fort Conde down in Mobile and Fort Tombecbe in Epes had to be coaxed out of me in order them to know the other forts.  It did provide me with a good interpretive opportunity to teach Alabama history.  Discussing the forts gives me the opportunity to talk about why the French were even in Alabama to begin with something not necessarily discussed all the time.  If people learn the importance of French settlement to the development of Alabama a greater appreciation for the only three sites in the state which interpret that part of it's history.  Only time will tell as word spreads about Fort Toulouse and Tombecbe.