STURBRIDGE, Mass. (WWLP) – Old Sturbridge Village will be hosting a full day of programming during Muster Day on Saturday.
Muster Day, according to a news release from Old Sturbridge Village, is a day of military celebration, muskets, martial music, and more.
In the 19th century, farmers and craftsmen were required to serve in local militia units, which was the forerunner of the National Guard. The militia companies of several towns would come together for a regimental muster, which is a grand display that brought the townspeople out to cheer on the companies as they marched by in their uniforms.
During the event, visitors can:
- Talk to members of two uniformed volunteer militia companies.
- Listen to early 19th-century martial music.
- Watch musket and cannon firing demonstrations
- See a “Sham Fight” as rival militia companies square off against each other in the field.
- Young visitors will get the chance to learn early 19th-century drills and march with the militia officer’s instruction and a wooden toy musket.
- See the “striped pig” and learn how it was used to skirt the early 19th-century liquor laws.
- Learn why many New Englanders were pushing for reforms to the militia system and the role that intemperance played in those reforms.
This event is included with a standard daytime admission or membership to the village and runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 providing local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Follow 22News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
