Re-enactors bring historical military methods to Jamestown

JAMES CITY COUNTY

Being the captain's wife in a group of 16th-century mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire had its perks.

Travel: Tent-living in the Alps.

Adventure: Scavenging through the pockets of fallen foes.

Riches: Jewelry pillaged from Roman churches.

Sure, the women who traveled with the Devil's Nightmare Regiment had a reputation as prostitutes, re-enactor Paula Peterka said. And there may have been some truth to that. But they also cooked, cleaned, tended to the wounded, and as laundresses, helped keep the lice down.

"They kept the camp running and made the life bearable for men," Peterka said.

This weekend, she's part of a group of Maryland-based

re-enactors who are bringing the regiment's story to life.

They're appearing at Jamestown Settlement's annual

"Military Through the Ages" event, where hundreds of re-enactors are depicting soldiers from the medieval and Viking periods to modern times.

More than 35 units from Virginia, Maryland, New

Jersey and North Carolina are demonstrating how weapons and military tactics evolved through the centuries.

They range from the francescas, or throwing axes, of Charlemagne's Army to a howitzer used by the Virginia Army National Guard.

Participants also are showcasing field communication, medical treatment, and mapping and surveying.

The American Revolution is represented in part by re-created American and British field hospitals.

And the American Civil War demonstrations include a Confederate artillery unit called "Knibb's Battery" and Union Army cartographers.

Peterka has participated in re-enactments of The Devil's Nightmare Regiment and its camp followers since 1987.

As mercenaries, members of the regiment fought not for any particular country but for gold, Michael James, another re-enactor with the unit, said.

The regiment developed a fearsome reputation for its fighting prowess, he said.

"We're very effective against knights," James said. "We end their reign."

They also helped train farmers to fight, as war turned from a rich man's game to a poor man's burden and weaponry evolved from pitchforks to firearms, he said.

And documentary evidence remains about the contributions of the women who traveled with the regiment, which is unusual, Peterka said.

"A lot of historians just never wrote down what some of the women did," Peterka said.

People who attended the festival Saturday said they appreciated the range of the exhibitions.

"I like seeing more of the esoteric stuff, like the Zulu War or the Vikings," said Ben Medina, who is working on a master's degree in comparative history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

Yanjie Chen said she brought her son.

She likes the re-enactors from older eras, she said.

"My son loves all the machine guns."

Jen McCaffery, (757) 222-5119, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com