First Mad River Light Artillery

The First Mad River Light Artillery was founded in 2003 to participate in the 225th commemoration of the Battle of Peckuwe fought on August 8, 1780, between George Rogers Clark, with 1000 Kentucky militia and Virginia Regulars, and the Shawnee leader Catahecassa, “Black Hoof”, and his approximately 400 Native troops. The battle is the largest battle of the American Revolution fought west of the Allegheny Mountains, and the battlefield is located 5 miles west of the present city of Springfield, Ohio, at the current site of the George Rogers Clark Historic Park. The FMRLA is a multi-era unit, and has participated in events from the Jacobite Rebellion to the War of 1812, with a focus on the American Revolution, and the use of the Light 6 Pounder by Colonel Clark at the battle of Peckuwe. The name of our organization reflects our geographic location, our home park being but 1/4 mile north of the Mad River in Clark County, Ohio; but we assume the identity of an actual unit for each time period in which we participate. The period we typically portray is the American Revolution, through the War of 1812. For the period of the American Revolution, we portray Clark’s Company of Virginia State Artillery, the unit that provided the skilled artillerymen who manned the gun at the Battle of Peckuwe. From 1778 until 1781, the State of Virginia put into the field an artillery regiment of its own. Many of these men served in ordinary fashion under regular company officers. George Rogers Clark however, had an assembly of artillerymen, all originally from different units, who were brought together to assist him with the manning of his ordnance. When the vast majority of the Virginia State Artillery was captured by the British at Charleston, South Carolina, or massacred shortly thereafter, the remaining soldiers were absorbed into the 1st Continental Artillery, except for those men detailed to Clark, who remained on the rolls as members of the Virginia State Regiment of Artillery. It is these hardy souls to whom we pay homage, and to whom we strive to portray in a manner befitting their sacrifices and accomplishments. For the War of 1812, we may portray Captain Alexander Gibson’s Company of Ohio Militia Artillery, filled with trained artillerists from around the young State of Ohio and originally organized in Butler County, Ohio. Captain Gibson’s Company was the only regularly organized artillery unit on the rolls for the State Militia of Ohio to fight in the War of 1812, during which Ohio was the “front line,”especially during the first years of conflict. We are a family-oriented military unit with members from a variety of backgrounds and professions, including veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, university educators, manufacturing, skilled trades, law enforcement, the judiciary, and local government. Our goal is to provide both the experienced reenactor and the novice reenactor the opportunity to participate in the hobby, as well as to learn more about military life in the 18th and early 19th centuries. All while educating the public on the life of the Early American Soldier/ Artillerist, and the history of our nation.