Welcome to the electronic home of the King's Own Patriots, Inc., an American Revolutionary War reenacting and living history group. Come in and let us tell you about ourselves, view the photo gallery, and let us know what you think. If you think that you might like to join us, or have any questions, contact us via the information at the bottom of the page.
The King's Own Patriots, Inc. (KOP) was formed in 1997 as a North Carolina Non-Profit Educational Organization. As a group we wanted to provide an historical impression that was needed in Revolutionary War reenacting. The KOP strives to be different than most reenacting units. At its inception the organization chose two different units to portray with the expectation of adding more impressions in the future. Those impressions are: The North Carolina Volunteers, Colonel Samuel Bryan's Regiment (Loyalist) and The Hillsborough District Militia, Brigadier General John Butler's Brigade (Whig).
The men and women we portray are yeoman farmers of lower or middling economic levels. Historically, these people were often referred to as "mean" or "common" or, worse, "crackers." We try to honestly represent these people by wearing plain clothing of unfashionable cut and sturdy materials. Although hunting shirts or frocks may be worn we discourage the popular "rifleman" or "longhunter" impression in the unit, and we do not promote the wearing of Scottish attire. Neither of the units we currently portray were raised in areas of strong Scottish settlement or frontier areas.
The KOP also believes in portraying campaign impressions. This not only applies to our "on the field" activities, but also to individual impressions and camp activities as well. Our camps are not cluttered with the assorted baggage and furniture (dining fly, chairs, tables, boxes, etc.), historically accurate or otherwise, that is common to other units.
We believe in presenting historically accurate and honest impressions of the units we portray and we are constantly researching and improving our impressions as new information is discovered.
The KOP belongs to a number of historical organizations. Through our Loyalist impression, the North Carolina Volunteers, we are full members of the The Brigade of the American Revolution (BAR). The North Carolina Volunteers is also a charter unit of the BAR's Southern Department formed in 1999. Through the North Carolina Volunteers the KOP are also members of the Southern Crown Forces. Finally, the KOP recently joined with several other reenactment units to form the Southern Crown Forces Association, a cooperative to acquire affordable insurance coverage through the Living History Association.
If you are interested in having us come to one of your events or you'd just like to get more information about our group, contact Chris Hughes at the following addresses or telephone number:
Web site questions, comments, or problems: KOP Webmaster