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Revolutionary War re-enactors share their experiences with the CT 5th Regiment.Tom Angels and Eleanor Labine are time travelers.Not in the ways characters are on, say, Outlander or Dr.Instead, they spend their free time portraying, respectively, an 18th century soldier and a camp follower, as women were known, in the 5th Connecticut Regiment.In its heyday — 1777-1783 — the 5th Connecticut Regiment averaged anywhere from 80-120 members, depending on the planting season and desertions, Angels says.The regiment, which was loosely based in the Ridgefield, Waterbury and Danbury area of the state, fought in several key Revolutionary War battles, including the Battle of Monmouth (1778) and the Battle of Yorktown (1781).It was after Yorktown, the last major infantry assault of the war, that the regiment’s Sgt.William Brown was awarded the Badge of Merit for leadership.The Purple Heart, as it’s now known, was one of only three Medals of Honor awarded in the entire Revolutionary War, according to Angels.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Today the re-enactment regiment, which has about 60 members, focuses on helping people better understand the Revolutionary War period through re-enactments and programs at schools and libraries across the region.Upcoming Events June 6-7 250th of Lee's Resolution for Independence, The Grange, Yorktown Heights, NY June 13 Connecticut Sea Music Festival, Essex June 28 Greenwich 250, Greenwich July 25 Old Newgate Prison, East Granby Aug 1-2 Rebels and Redcoats, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA For more details go to 5cr.org Angels, 65, of Southington, joined the regiment about 40 years ago after seeing a re-enactment at the Old State House in Hartford.“I always loved history,” he says, noting he and his brothers often talk about history, in particular military history, when they’re together.Advertisement Article continues below this ad “It was the camaraderie and friendliness of the 5th in 1986 that sucked me in,” he says.“They were like, ‘Do you want to fire the musket?Give this one a try.’ liked the laidback approach.” Want more Norwalk Hour?Angels says the time period also lured him in.“It’s important to know the founding of our nation and to try to get it correct,” he says.“[These re-enactment and public events] are a great opportunity for people to not just see Hamilton or [the movie] 1776.You get your history more accurately if you meet a re-enactor.If I don’t have an answer, I’ll send you to someone who does know and in the flesh.You smell the food and smoke.You see the canvas tents and think how did they put five men in this one tent?” “It really teaches Americans about the sacrifices these people made, especially since they were being beaten by the best army in the world,” he continues, referencing the power and size of the British Army compared to the mostly rag-tag, often ill-trained Continentals.“They had no right to win that war but between their courage and their sticking with it and the French who came into the war.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad While re-enactors can take on roles of actual persona in the war — Benedict Arnold for instance — that is not the norm for the 5th Connecticut.“We don’t do first person.That’s like acting,” says Angels, who recently stepped down as commandant of the regiment.“We have people who are doctors and lawyers and who cut down trees.We learn from each other and present ourselves as this is what a soldier would look like, this is how he would present himself.We learn from each other and teach each other.” “it allows people [at these living history events] to see what these men and women had to go through,” he adds.Angels plays a soldier when he’s on the field but is particularly interested in 18th century cooking over a firepit.“That’s my thing.It’s a whole other world cooking that way,” he says, noting that a member who cooks a la 18th century at home once a month teaches them all.“Recreating your kitchen oven outside, you can cook everything you cook in your oven today,” he says, noting that temperature and heat control are trickiest to figure out.“People love seeing the cooking.It’s as big a draw as the cannon we have or the soldiers drilling.” Accurate clothing, of course, matters for every member.Angels’ period civilian gear includes a linen shirt, vest, breeches to his knees, a tricorn hat, and long stockings with garters.Men often wore gaiters over their shoes if they were working in the field to keep the rocks out of their shoes.His regimental clothing is blue, which is what General Washington asked soldiers to wear — if they could afford it.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Angels buys most of his clothing from people aging out of their re-enactment hobby.Recognizing that purchasing authentic clothing can get pricey, the 5th has loaner clothing donated by former re-enactors.“You sign it out for the year and give it back when you’re done,” he says, noting Revolutionary War vendors are another option although they are not as ubiquitous as Civil War re-enactor options.(The regiment, unlike many others, according to Angels, also has a full complement of tents, wooden equipment and cooking utensils for members to borrow.) Labine loves researching and crafting her own clothes.An avid sewer, knitter and weaver, the retired soap opera writer who lives in Somers got into re-enacting about 25 years ago.“I saw Last of the Mohicans,” she says, “and vaguely remembered my grandmother telling stories of how [our family] had lived through all that but I couldn’t remember any of the stories except fragments.So, I started to research the American Revolution to see which general she had been talking about.” Then Labine met a re-enactor who told her that if she liked to research, she’d love re-enacting.“And he was right,” she says.At her first event she recalls George Washington asking her to hold his horse.“I was hooked,” she says.“At first, it was more about family history.Then it became about historic preservation.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad To that end, Labine is meticulous about her clothing recreations.Sometimes she looks at period portraits for inspiration and details.“I try to be very specific,” she says.When wearing her predominantly black dress, for instance, Labine says she’s channeling her inner daughter of a Congregationalist minister look.When she is on Long Island at an event, she might wear something with a bit of French influence.“I try to have a full range,” she says, noting she even has Acadian refugee clothing to wear when she needs to look pathetic escaping an army.At this point Labine has 10-15 outfits.“I’ve always been a crafty person,” she says, telling a story about crocheting her first project out of a shoelace.“When I tried on my first $2,000 (period) ballgown, there was no way on earth I was going to spend that much on a gown,” she says.“So I got the fabric for $60 and made my first ballgown.” Sometimes she creates her own patterns; other times she riffs off patterns she finds online.At demonstrations, Labine can often be found knitting with period needles or using her tape loom, a portable loom held between the knees.She talks to people about how women would dress children in the days before zippers and Velcro.“A lot is done by tying on clothes,” she says.“It’s about gauging the public’s interest.You’ll talk to knitters differently than dads with their sons.Basically, engaging with the public is improvisation all day long.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad