How to Join

Membership:

Anyone interested in joining La Compagnie de Langis shall complete the following steps in this order:

1. Read through our website. The ‘How to Join’ page you are on now will explain how to join as well as answer a lot of Frequently Asked Questions. 'About Us' will tell you more about who we are and what we do. The Schedule of Events on the right side of our 'Home' page has our schedule for the upcoming season, and the 'Photos' page has photos from our past events. The documents that are under 'Resources for Members' will provide you with additional information you’ll need.

2. If you haven’t already met us at an event, please e-mail us at CompagnieDeLangis[at]gmail.com. If you’ve already met us, please e-mail us anyhow. Either way, we’d love to have you introduce yourself! We are always happy to answer questions and talk with anyone interested in our unit, the French and Indian War, reenacting, or history.

When you e-mail us, consider the following questions: Where are you from? How did you hear about Langis? What interests you about reenacting? Have you reenacted before? If so, when and where? What was your portrayal or portrayals?

This is certainly not intended to be any sort of challenge or test, so please don’t think of it that way. Instead, our hope is that these questions will give you some ideas of what to say when you e-mail us as well as help us get to know you a little better. If you already have a kit, including a photo or photos of you in kit would be a great idea. We always enjoy seeing photos.

3. Come out and join us at an event. E-mailing only goes so far, and we’d love to meet you in person or see you again if we’ve already met. If you want to just come as a member of the public, that’s fine. If you’d like to dress in kit and participate, then that’s fine, too. Remember, borrowing is encouraged when you are getting started! If you don’t have a kit and need to borrow, just let us know and we can help coordinate. If you are interested in fielding with us, then once you’re in kit, we can begin teaching you the French Manual of Arms, musket safety, commands you’ll need to know on the battlefield, and so on.

4. As you may have already read, our unit is part of the Ethan Allen Long Rifles, Inc. (EALR).  After you have officially participated in one event with us, you will need to talk with the officers of Langis about submitting an EALR Membership Application and annual dues so that you are covered by insurance before attending any additional events. Most historical sites we visit require reenactors to be covered by insurance, and the EALR provides insurance coverage to our unit as well as several other living history groups. Each of our individual members, couples, or families pays annual dues to the EALR for this coverage. Therefore, in order to be a member of La Compagnie de Langis, you also need to be a member of the EALR. You can find the application by clicking on the hyperlink  above or visiting our 'Resources for Members' page.

5. Once you have determined that Langis is a good fit for you and the officers of Langis have agreed, then you will be granted membership. This could take one event, or it could take several events. It varies because everyone is different, and so it’s impossible to set a specific time frame. Instead, each potential membership has to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Just like every person is different, every unit is different as well. Not every unit is right for every reenactor, and so it’s important to find the best unit for you. If all parties agree our unit is a good fit, then we’d love to have you join us! If not, then we are more than happy to help you find the right unit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Below are answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail us at CompagnieDeLangis@gmail.com.

This sounds like fun! I’m interested in joining, but I don’t have the clothing and equipment I’d need. Can I still join?

Yes! Many of us have extra clothing and equipment we’ve acquired over the years, and we encourage new members to borrow as they begin getting into the hobby.

Under the 'Resources for Members' tab on the left, we provide guidelines for portraying milice, women, and natives. These guidelines illustrate what we are striving for but we don’t expect every member to meet them all right away, especially not at the first few events! We realize none of us are perfect, and regardless of how long we have been in the unit, each of us is always making an effort to improve.

We are also more than happy to take questions about what a member should acquire. We’d much rather answer questions than have that member buy or spend hours making something that isn’t correct and will just have to be replaced later. We can also give you an idea of what items you’ll want to acquire soon and which items can wait, which will help with prioritizing what to buy or make first.

Historical reenacting can be an expensive hobby. That’s the bad news. The good news is that our portrayal is less expensive than some because our clothing tends to be lower class and therefore not as fancy or costly. Additionally, our campaign style means we have basic equipment that’s more economic because it’s simple and there is less of it. Even so, it is best to go slowly, do plenty of research, and ask us lots of questions before making purchases. As with most things, being careful and doing it right the first time often ends up saving money in the long run.

I enjoy crafts and do-it-yourself projects. Can I make my own clothing and equipment?

Yes! The clothing and equipment a reenactor has is called their kit, and while it’s usually not feasible to make your entire kit, a lot of our members choose to make many parts of their kits themselves.

Making something yourself often saves money, and it’s fun! Additionally, it’s a great way to learn new skills, end up with exactly what you want, and have a sense of accomplishment and appreciation every time you use it. The homemade look provides a certain level of authenticity as well, and it allows you to have an item that is more unique than a lot of what’s available for purchase and yet is still historically correct. It also gives us something to do during the offseason when we want to pursue our hobby of reenacting but there aren’t any events going on.

We have resources available for sharing with any members interested in taking on various do-it-yourself projects. There are reenactors who portray merchants called sutlers, and they sell materials and patterns both at events and online. If there is something you are looking to make, we can let any members know which sutlers we recommend. Just ask!

Making what I need sounds too difficult/time-consuming/tedious for me. I know I could make a few things and buy the rest, but I’d rather just buy everything. Can I do this?

Of course! Many of the sutlers who sell materials and patterns also sell ready-made items, and there are lots of sutlers who only sell ready-made items as well. Once again, just talk to us and we can recommend which sutlers to visit. Buying directly from the sutlers at events provides the advantage of seeing an item in person first, but of course shopping online has its own advantages.

I’d love to join, but I don’t speak French. Is this okay?

Yes! While we portray French Canadians, our unit is made up of English-speaking reenactors. We use French commands on the battlefield as much as possible, but otherwise we are speaking English. If you want to be on the battlefield, then you will need to learn the French commands. The commands are fun and easy to learn, and we are glad to teach them. It would be handy to know a few additional French phrases as well, but again, this is something we are happy to teach. Please don’t feel like you need to be fluent in French! Our knowledge of French is one of many skills we are continuing to learn and improve.

I don’t know anything about the French and Indian War. Can I still join?

Yes! New members can join the unit already knowing a lot about the time period, not knowing anything at all about it, or anywhere in between. We provide many opportunities for learning, but we certainly don’t require it.  

The only exception to this is on the battlefield. Carrying a musket and firing it during the battle is known as fielding. Any members who wish to field with us will need to know the commands we use as well as how to properly load and fire a musket, but this is just for basic safety reasons. We have visual and written resources to help with teaching this, and while it’s fairly quick and easy to learn, we make sure a new member is comfortable with it all before they fire a musket for the first time. It’s something we enjoy teaching and learning, and while it’s important for new members to learn, it’s always a good idea for those with more experience to go over it again, too!

While every member is welcome to learn as much or as little as they like, learning about the time period makes it more enjoyable. It also allows for a better understanding of who we are portraying, how they did what they did, and why they did it, and it provides us with more information for interacting with the public and answering their questions.

I’m not sure how I feel about talking to the public. Do I have to talk to them?

Of course not. While many of our members enjoy talking to the public, not everyone is comfortable with it and so you certainly don’t have to. We want everyone to have fun, and therefore we don’t want anyone doing something they don’t want to do or are not comfortable with.

Do you portray in third person or first person?

We are almost always in third person, meaning that we are aware of modern day and aware we are reenactors at a reenactment for the weekend. As a result, we generally aren’t acting like it is the 18th century or like these events are actually happening to us. Doing this would be known as first person, and while it can certainly be an option, please talk with the leaders of our unit before trying it just to make sure we are all on the same page. First person can be confusing to the public and to other reenactors if they don’t realize you are in first person!

Fielding sounds like fun, but I thought it was men who fought in battles and I’m a woman. Can I field?

Yes! While it’s true it was mostly men who did the fighting, this is the 21st century and reenacting is a hobby. Fielding is a part of that hobby, and it simply wouldn’t be right for someone to not be able to participate in an aspect of the hobby just because of their gender. We have female members who choose not to field, and we also have female members who choose to portray a man and field with us.

We certainly encourage any women who are interested in fielding to give it a try. I would recommend reading the ‘Recommended Clothing and Accoutrements for Milice in La Compagnie de Langis’ document to get an idea of what clothing and accoutrements you’d need. If you’d like to put on a man’s kit before the battle and then change back into a woman’s kit afterward, that’s fine. If you want to wear a man’s kit all weekend, then that’s fine, too. As with any kit you may be assembling, borrowing is recommended in order to get started. Take your time, do plenty of research, and talk to us if you have any questions and before you make purchases.

I see that you sleep under oilskin lean-tos. I like camping, but I’m not so sure about sleeping in such an open space. Would I be able to use one of those white 18th century canvas tents instead?

Yes, we do have members who use canvas tents, and while those members spend their time in our campsite, their tents are usually set up with the rest of the French tents. Exactly where the tents are depends on the site we are at.

With that said, we certainly recommend an oilskin lean-to to anyone who is willing to try it. They are lighter and cheaper than a tent, and they are quick and easy to set up. It’s also more convenient to have everything you need right at the campsite where we are spending our time rather than going back and forth to the tent throughout the day.

Do you use real muskets?

This question has multiple answers, and it all depends on how the word ‘real’ is defined. Are our muskets actually 250 years old? If that’s what ‘real’ means, then no, our muskets are not real. There are real originals that still exist, but we use reproductions. Reproductions are based on originals and so they look and function the same, but they have been made in modern day. Most reenactors use reproductions because originals are too valuable to run around with on a battlefield!

Will our muskets fire? If this is what’s meant by ‘real’, then yes, our muskets are real and will fire. At reenactments, of course, we only load with black powder. If we wanted to load with a musket ball and/or shot as well as black powder, then we could as long as we were in an area where we could safely and legally fire.

There are also replicas, which are made to look like originals but cannot be fired. Replicas are less expensive than reproductions, and so they are great for when they won’t need to be fired, such as a prop in a play, for extras to carry in a movie or on a TV show, to hang on the wall as a decoration, or for demonstrations where firing would not be allowed. We don't use replicas at reenactments because even though we only load them with black powder, we still need to be able to fire. The battle wouldn’t be nearly as fun and exciting to watch if there was no black powder going off!

So are our muskets real? The answer could be no because they are reproductions and not originals, or the answer could be yes because they are reproductions and not replicas.