When this living historian walks into a classroom, eyes unglaze and slouchers straighten up. Wouldn’t you, if faced with General James Oglethorpe himself?
“By the time students see me they’ve already learned a bit about Georgia history, but being in character makes it relevant, not just dry facts in a book.”
More than just “a crackpot in costume,” the William & Mary graduate has been hooked on history since his first whiff of gunpowder as a Civil War re-enactor and got his professional start at Colonial Williamsburg.
“I own more historical clothing than anything else – maybe one good suit, two pairs of blue jeans.” Though he dabbles in other eras, he remains fascinated with the period of time when America was in its infancy.
“That the people could govern themselves as a democracy – it was, and still is, a revolutionary idea.”
Best thing about wearing a skirt? For General Oglethorpe, it was an act of diplomacy when he met with the Darien Highlanders. But I now understand why the Scots abandoned their kilts after meeting the Georgia mosquitoes.