BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS Members of the Lincoln County reenactment group, George White's Company of the 11th Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Line, march in formation after firing their muskets as part of the Revolutionary War demonstrations at Leonard's Mills in Bradley on Saturday. From left are Len Despres of Cornville, Mike Dekker of Dresden, Tom Girard of Washington, Paul Dudley of Easton, Don Brown of Howland and Paul Smith of Old Town. Buy Photo

BRADLEY, Maine — The men marched in a loose formation a few yards from their encampment. In unison, they turned toward Blackman Stream.

“Make ready,” the drillmaster’s voice boomed across the morning breeze, as the men loaded their muskets.

“Take aim,” the man said. “Elevate. Fire.”

The crack of muskets firing exploded Saturday through the Revolutionary War camp at Leonard’s Mills at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum off Route 178. The smell of gunpowder mingled with wood smoke and a white cloud briefly obscured the faces of the soldiers.

“Shoulder your flintlocks,” the voice ordered. “Good quality boys.”

Nearby, Noah Larry, 8, and his brother Keenan Larry, 12, both of Abbot, grinned with delight and pumped their fists in the air.

“Aw, I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning,” the younger son of David and Clarissa Larry declared.

The Larry family drove to Bradley to learn how Mainers lived when the state was still a part of Massachusetts, which was a British colony. The Larry boys also had the opportunity to learn how to load and fire a musket from Revolutionary War reenacters.

Samuel Goodwin’s Company and George White’s Company of the 11th Massachusetts Regiment comprise a group of living historians who live in central Maine and strive to accurately re-create the lives and adventures of the men who secured the Kennebec frontier during the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars, according to information of their Web site.

The companies represent garrisons, or marching companies — men who were not professional soldiers in the traditional sense, but who were ordinary laborers, craftsmen, merchants, mechanics and others, the Web site said, who were drafted, recruited or hired to serve in the military during times of danger or need.

“We’re all pretty much history buffs,” Len Despres of Cornville said of himself and his fellow 18th century soldiers.

The retired teacher said that bringing children to reenactments and encampments, such as the one over the weekend at Leonard’s Mills, is an excellent way for them to learn history and remember it.

“They get so much more from seeing this than from reading about it out of a book,” he said. “We actually spend time with them, drill them, show them how to fire the gun. It’s hands-on experiential learning.”

Only half jokingly, Despres said that as reenactors they strive to relive the experiences the soldiers had more than two centuries ago.

“We’ve had diarrhea and fleas, the whole nine yards,” he said, “except for small pox and tooth extractions.”

Reenacter Mike Dekker of Dresden, who teaches special education at Spurwink School in Brunswick, said that he enjoys escaping from the 21st century into a simpler time.

“I can sift out a lot of the clutter of daily life and get back to basics, like sitting around the campfire and just talking,” he said.

The Larry boys said they would like to go back in time to colonial days but agreed that they would miss at least one modern day convenience -—video games.

For information about Revolutionary War reenactments, visit www.goodwinwhite.com.