Who We Are

We formed Kennedy’s Detachment to bring to life a large part of military life which is quite often under-represented in reenacting and living history. Unlike large campaigns, which many soldiers never even participated in, detachments were used constantly employed to accomplish daily tasks. Under General Amherst’s direction, Quintin Kennedy led many detachments to accomplish special missions including gathering intelligence, harassing the enemy, and delivering important information. During a discussion about his book, Redcoats, Stephen Brumwell makes several references to Quintin Kennedy, including characterizing Kennedy as “a minor league Robert Rogers.” His detachments were often made up of a “mixed-bag” of volunteers including men from the regulars, lights, rangers, highlanders, provincials, and natives. In ’56 he was leading patrols from places like Fort Edward and began to develop a reputation:

In August 1756, this young veteran of Braddock’s defeat led 40 regulars and Mohawks from Fort Edward, bound for Canada on a ‘scalping party’. After six weeks in the wilderness, Kennedy’s patrol returned with two prisoners and valuable intelligence. … When the party finally arrived back at Fort Edward they were barely alive. Loudon had never seen ‘People so thoroughly wore out’.

Portraying Kennedy’s Detachment allows us, with historical accuracy, to participate in a wide variety of events and activities. We typically dress as redcoats for larger reenactments with all the appropriate accoutrements , tentage, etc. but we also portray various detachments at events such as the Battle On Snowshoes, Rogers Island, winter shoots, and other smaller events. In detachment persona, we often trade in our uniforms for woods clothes (even dressing in native attire as Kennedy often did) and leave our tents behind in favor of our blankets and a tarp or two.