Sagtikos District of Suffolk County Council BSA & Troop 179 present TUR ING POINT: VALLEY FORGE & THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WI TER C@MPOREE 2021 “Change is the only constant in life.“ “Andnowforsomethingcompletelydifferent…” - Benjamin Franklin - Monty Python Join your fellow Scouts @Sagtikos Winter Camporee with a weeks- worth of Scouting, honoring America’s struggle for independence and celebrating Long Island’s unique contributions to Revolutionary War history! Who: Scouts, Webelos & Cub Scouts of Sagtikos District What: Revolutionary War-themed program for unit-directed in-person & virtual activities providing flexibility for units and our Scouts and Scouting families to adapt to their needs and COVID19-related restrictions. Program features history of Long Island in the Revolutionary War, Culper Spy Ring, historical resources with contests & demonstrations that Scouts can work on individually. Units have flexibility! When: Kicks off with a Zoom event on Friday, January 29 @ 7:30pm with program running through Scout Sunday on February 7. Where: In-person (Unit-discretion and Unit-directed) & Online –Flexible! Price: $10 per Scout / Units register here. All Scouts must be registered. Includes custom event patch. Contact Paul Charbonneau, Scoutmaster – Troop 179 with any questions: [email protected] 646/341-0783 DISTRICT 2021 WINTER C@MPOREE TURNING POINT: VALLEY FORGE @ SAGTIKOS Long Island & the American Revolution Who Scouts of Sagtikos District What THEME IS LI’S HISTORY IN REVOLUTIONARY WAR Series of program events including: a. “Live” Zoom calls covering kickoff, History of the Revolution on LI, Skills demonstrations, etc b. Program activities featuring historical skills and challenges provided to the Troops ahead of the kickoff. Troops will decide based on their own circumstances whether to hold in-person Troop or Patrol events to do the activities or have their Scouts work on them remotely. c. Hiking and outdoor activity resources for units or Scouts and their families Where 1- Online 2- “Live” activities for Units (at their discretion) 3- challenges for Scouts to work on individually When Virtual Kickoff Friday, January 29 with Zoom Programming concluding Fri, Feb 5. Troops may complete activities during the entire month of February and apply these activities towards points for the Sagtikos Scout Spirit Award. Why Engage Scouts in skills & programming in absence of in-person Camporee Satisfy the need for programming and ideas for Troops/Units Explore history of LI and the Revolutionary war; using methods of Scouting Foster Scout Spirit: Scout Spirit Award will be in play again! Cost: $10 per Scout Sample Program Friday: Live Zoom Call convening the event with historical presentation Schedule Saturday: Troop programming using event packet (hike, in-person patrol activity, engineering, etc found in Program Modules) Alternately Scouts can work in patrols or individually or with families Sunday: Troop programming using event packet (hike, in-person patrol activity, engineering, etc found in Program Modules) Alternately Scouts can work in patrols or individually or with families Monday 7:30pm: Troop discretion, Online programming Tuesday 7:30: Troop discretion, Online programming Wednesday: Troop discretion, Online programming Thursday: Troop discretion, Online programming Friday: Troop discretion, Online programming Saturday, Feb 4: Scout Sabbath In-person activities at unit discretion Sunday, Feb 5: Scout-Sunday In-person activities at unit discretion Boston Tea Party (primitive fire making) “No one circumstance could possibly have taken place more effectively to unite the colonies than this maneuver of the tea.” – John Hancock, letter to his London agent, December 21, 1773 The Townsend Act and the Tea Act imposed taxes on all tea imported from Britain, while granting a tea monopoly to the British East India Company. In defiance, a patriot group known as the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Indians, boarded British merchant vessels in Boston Harbor and cast the cargo of tea into the water. While we all can’t share a meal or a communal pot of coffee in these trying days of COVID19 we can partake of our own beverages and meals we prepare by ourselves but in the company of our fellow Scouts and Scouters. With that in mind, Scouts can work individually in building a small cook fire by traditional flint and steel with char cloth. Scouts can either make their own char during this activity or troops can provide it ahead of time. Scouts may prepare a beverage or a light lunch in a camp cup which closely parallels the only type of cooking utensils that our soldiers had in the field during the Revolutionary War. Primitive Fire Making Type: Field Activity (can be done in unit or as individuals for Webelos with parental supervision) Skills: Fire building, starting using flint & steel and extinction. Fire safety. Cooking Survival Geology/Rock ID Description: Scouts & Scouter alike can prepare their own warming beverage (tea, cocoa, coffee) or a personal lunch for themselves (soup, ramen, freeze-dried meal, etc -be sure to mind C19 restrictions on sharing food) Applicable to: Scouts BSA, Webelos, Venturers Could be performed as demonstration for Cub Scouts History: For soldiers in the Continental Army there were no ferrocerium rods or butane lighters. Soldiers relied predominantly on fire making by flint & steel using charcloth Equipment Required: WATER! (for safety and extinguishing…and cooking/beverages) Striking steels: Flints or rocks of sufficient hardness (they are out there and Scouts can search for them or on a troop or family hike Char-cloth materials (natural cotton strips cut to squares or flannel patches Suitable metal container for making char cloth Fire building materials Disposal barrels Open fire suitable camp cups/cooking vessel Alternatives Rock search – merit badge tie-ins Add-on activity to hike/ Survival hike Speed contest (boil water/burn string) Cub Scout Demonstrations Individual Scouts with parental supervision One If by Land (Signaling and Field Code) “If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,— One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country-folk to be up and to arm.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The famous phrase was coined by the American poet, Henry W. Longfellow in his poem, Paul Revere’s Ride. It was a reference to the secret signal orchestrated by Revere during his historic ride from Boston to Concord on the verge of American Revolutionary War. The signal was meant to alert patriots about the route the British troops chose to advance to Concord. In fact, it was really a backup plan. We are all familiar (and weary as a Valley Forge soldier) with the social distancing aspect of COVID19. As Scouts we carry on always though! We eagerly anticipate the time when we can all get back to the kind of Scouting we all love. But in the meantime, what better way to practice “social distancing” than by emulating the citizen heroes of the Revolution Culper Ring who used Signs, Signals and Codes (merit badge worth taking! Contact us if you are interested) to convey information that was critical for General Washington and helped America win the War for Independence. Signaling Type: Field Activity (can be done in unit or as individuals working in teams) Skills: Code familiarity Historical significance Description: Scouting activity in the field using signal flags and morse code or codes of their own design during the day and/or flashlights and lanterns at night). Units can also set up standing signals like Revere’s tower lights or laundry line codes such as as those employed by Anna Strong in the Culper Ring. Be creative! Applicable to: Scouts BSA, Webelos, Cubs Could be tailored to any level History: Codes were integral to the success of the Americans during the revolution and they took a number of different forms, including ciphers (Culper – Codes: more to come!) and static codes using landmarks (One if by land…) as well as simple items the members had on hand such as Anna Strong’s laundry line code using her petticoats and white handkerchiefs to facilitate “dead drops” during the Revolution. Equipment Required: Signal items can include flashlights, homemade flags, uniform neckerchiefs, natural objects…A Scout is Thrifty! Alternatives Night signaling using mirrors, deaddrop codes on unit hikes, British Patrol vs America Patrol contests to see if codes can be deciphered Camp Cooking in the Continental Army “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch. Liberty is a well- armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin (ascribed) Ben Franklin’s comment notwithstanding, your menu needn’t consist of lambchops. As Napoleon pointed out, an army marches on its stomach and that was as true in the 18th century American Revolution as it was when Napoleon led his armies in the 19th century. Scouts can find a trove of information on what food staples were available to the Continental Army and what rations were parsed out to each man and unit. Scouts can gain more insight into cooking and food in the Revolution through one of the Zoom presentations we’ll be offering during the weeknights from January 29 to February 5. Historical Cooking Type: Field Activity (can be done in unit or as individuals for Webelos with parental supervision) Can also be done independently by Scouts. Skills: Cook fire building, field cooking, menu preparation, nutrition, historical research. Description: Scouts can prepare a menu and plan a historically accurate meal based on what ingredients would be available to the soldiers in the field. While food cannot be shared among the Scouts, Scouts can explore cooking a soldier meal or 18th century Colonial cooking in general with their respective families.