Tidewater Maritime Living History Association Awarded Blue Ribbon

By Bob Ruegsegger · Originally published July 2017 · p. 12

NHLA’s gun crew depicted a landing party from the Civil War era gunboat U.S.S. Aroostook during their award-winning demonstration. Their weapon of choice was a replica of a naval boat howitzer.

Tidewater Maritime Living History Association Awarded Blue Ribbon By Bob Ruegsegger For nearly two decades, Allen Mordica, 60, a retired Coast Guardsman, has led the Tidewater Maritime Living History Association. He was a co-founder (plank owner) of the organization and currently serves as its president. TMLHA’s mission is to share maritime history and general seamanship knowledge with the public through an accurate portrayal of the lives of sailors during the Age of Sail. The TMLHA crew portrays sailors aboard the merchant, naval, and revenue vessels that sailed along the East Coast. They are especially proud to have been designated by the Mariners’ Museum as the “official Monitor crew” and embrace the distinction of being the only U.S. Navy Civil War unit in the Tidewater area. “We are an eclectic mix. We have a number of current and retired Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine personnel. That’s very pertinent to what we do,” said Mordica. “We have a number of teachers and other academic types and a few folks from other walks of life as well.”

The Tidewater Maritime Living History Association was awarded a blue ribbon for the best demonstration by a black powder unit at the Military Through the Ages program at Jamestown Settlement near Williamsburg. earthworks and gun batteries. “We have a close tie to this geographic spot … we actually do. It’s one of the reasons we like to come here,” said Mordica. “Some of the Aroostook’s crew actually walked around and did operations at the spot we’re at now.” A replica of a Dahlgren naval boat howitzer played an integral role in their award winning demonstration. The artillery piece was used in naval amphibious landings during the Civil War. It was distinctive in its design as well as in a number of its features. “It was designed for being transported aboard ship or on a boat,” said Mordica. “It could be fired from the bow of a boat, landed ashore, reassembled on the beach, and moved inland pulled by a group of sailors or marines,” he said. “It is truly a maritime portable artillery piece. We are especially proud of that piece. It’s owned by one of our members.” Back in camp the USS Aroostook’s crew was securely between two Confederate living history units—the Confederate States Naval Service and the 23rd Va. Vol. Inf. Regt. “We don’t feel any more or less comfortable because of the other Civil War units are here. We’re pretty comfortable wherever we go,” Mordica said. “If we’re doing a display on our own, part of a time-line event, or part of a Civil War event, we’re equally comfortable wherever we wash up on the beach.”

Allen Mordica co-founded TMLHA and currently serves as its president. Most recently, Mordica’s crew participated in the annual Military Through the Ages program at Jamestown Settlement where they competed with living historians from 40 living history organizations for awards. “I owe all of our success to the quality of the people who are in our crew,” said Mordica. “Our diverse nature, while keeping the nautical flavor of the people who are involved, is absolutely essential to us having the success we’ve had over the last 17 years. MTA is a judged invitation only event. The judging involves several categories—accuracy of the uniforms, accuracy of encampment free from any modern intrusions, and demonstrations. Demonstrations can be done at camp or on the museum’s demonstration field. TMLHA has been a frequent award winner at the Jamestown Settlement event. This year they captured the blue ribbon for the best unit demonstration in the black powder category. “We didn’t go with the purpose of pushing the envelope to win an award,” said Mordica. “We simply went down to the field and did what we always do. We educated the public,” he said. “We gave a good demonstration of what makes our equipment unique. The judges all seemed to think we did a good job.” The TMLHA unit portrayed a landing party from the USS Aroostook, a Unadilla-class gunboat built for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. These vessels were called “90-day gunboats” because of the time it took to build them. They were screw-powered with a schooner rig, and lightly-armed light craft. In June 1862, a landing party from the USS Aroostook landed at Jamestown Point to destroy some abandoned Confederate