For anyone unfamiliar with the Exchange Hotel museum in Gordonsville, VA, It's a Victorian era hotel that also served as one of the Confederacy's major hospitals during the Civil War. It later became a school for emancipated blacks after the war and then resumed operations as a hotel. Today it operates as a Civil War medical museum, but does a very good job of interpreting its other history, as well as playing host to paranormal investigators and ghost hunters. While hosting other events throughout the year, a special fundraising was held to raise funds for a new paint job that the large building has been so desperately needing for many years. To that end, Lynn and I both lended a hand by interpreting its antebellum period as hotel guests in the first person. If you can, please donate towards this worthy and very expensive goal, as it will go a long way towards the preservation of this very unique and historic building.
theexchangehotelmuseum.org

This past weekend I attended the 245th anniversary of  the Battle of Brandywine, which was probably the largest battle of the American Revolution. My thanks go out to the First Dragoons for allowing me to accompany them to this event. I attended in the role of a young Major James Monroe who participated as a fresh aid d'camp to General Alexander. This was also Monroe's first real engagement after having returned from Virginia following his lengthy recovery from wounds sustained at Trenton. 

Here I am pictured with Generals Washington and Lafayette while pointing out some better ground upon which Lafayette may be wounded in the leg. 

I can finally unveil that I had ventured up to NYC at the request of Fraunces Tavern Museum for filming of their annual Washington's Farewell. On Dec 4th, 1783 after the final British soldiers evacuated the city, the American Revolution was finally over. Washington, being eager to relinquish control of the army and to head home to Mount Vernon, bid his officers farewell in a heartfelt speech before departing himself, towards congress in Annapolis.  These moments were forever preserved within the memoir of one of the more famous attendees, LtCol. Ben Talmadge.  Filming in the room where it actually happened, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhatta, was quite surreal. I portrayed Talmadge as well as doing the voice over in which I read his perspective of the event from his memoir.  The content is now up on YouTube as well as a couple more links I've provided for you to check out.

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Last September I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a casting director while at Scotchtown's fall event, looking for accomplices to help out on a restaurant makeover show.  Seeking to feature local history, I was once again portraying Patrick Henry on a big 3 network primetime show. After the obligatory background investigation and NDA I was told I'd be working with Gordon Ramsey on the 3rd season of Fox's 24 Hours To Hell And Back.  If you have ever seen the show, you know the premise is for him to sneak into failing restaurants incognito thereby unveiling himself before helping to turn the business around in only 24 hours.  I would be one of his accomplices, along with many others in the Virginia Living history community to help him blend in as one of us, a group of revolutionary re-enactors headed to a fictional reenactment in Williamsburg.  We ate at the establishment for lunch and again the next evening for supper to see the miraculous changes his team facilitated. You can see how this played out by catching episode 305 of #24hoursfox

Last fall I spent a wonderful weekday doing something that I've never done before, attending a naturalization ceremony at Scotchtown.  Attending as Henry himself, along with 2nd wife Dorothea portrayed by the talented Dr. Lynn Price, I gained a new respect and admiration for immigrants seeking citizenship.  While reflecting on the fact that Patrick Henry's own father John was himself an immigrant from Scotland, I was thankful for the opportunity to be among folks with such pride for what they had accomplished.  I'm looking forward to attending more of these, should I have the opportunity.

I had the lovely experience of being invited by Tuckahoe Plantation, the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson, to portray him at this year's fathers day celebration. By interacting and talking to guests while waiting for their house tours, I was able to share how fatherhood impacted Jefferson as a son who lost his own father at an early age, as a cousin to children who not only lost a father but gained a surrogate through his own, as well as his own experiences being a father.