Fort George ended its summer program with the 26th Fife and Drum Muster and Soldiers’ Field Day last weekend, full of historical military music and unique musket firings.

The event gives summer employees a chance to bond and officially close off the season.

Special events co-ordinator Pete Martin said Soldiers’ Field Day is one of the Fort’s most exciting events.

“One of the main reasons they do this is for the squads and the drum corps,” Martin said.

“All these kids who do this for a summer job come together and talk with other people who do the same thing they do from other forts across Ontario.”

While major re-enactments include professional re-enactors and hobbyists, smaller roles like the drum corps are made up of summer students.

For Martin, the event reminds him of when he was a summer student in Fort Erie.

In addition to the drum corps marching around the fort, re-enactors performed musket demonstrations.

One demonstration, the perfect volley, attracted the largest crowd. Its firing includes a line of soldiers shooting their muskets at the same time to create one loud and simultaneous shot.

“Ideally, soldiers were trained, and they wanted to have one ‘Bang!’” Martin explained.

The demonstration is done in the format of a competition. Each group competes to see which can create the most consistent volley.

The teams were divided by different types of soldiers and re-enactor groups: grenadiers from Fort George, the 41st Light Company and the Fort Erie guard.

Each group shot five rounds of ammunition, most attempts creating a synchronous shot that earned applause and plugged ears from viewers on the benches.

Barb Young, a guest at Fort George visiting from Brampton, Ont., saw the fife and drums demonstration in the past and decided to come back this year with her granddaughter, five-year-old Acacia.

“I’m always interested in Canadian history,” Young said. “I like to remind myself about how it all came down.”

For Acacia, the best part of her visit was listening to the drum corps.

“I liked the music, but I didn’t like the guns because they were so loud,” she said.

Other families at Soldiers’ Field Day, such as the Roberts, came out to see one of their own participate in the re-enacting.

Stephanie Robert said she usually watches her daughter, Jenna, re-enact at Fort Erie, but decided to bring the family to support her at Fort George for the first time last weekend.

Stephanie and her husband, Marc, said they have gotten used to watching their daughter fire a musket, but still get excited to see her perform.

“I find it surprising there are girls doing it, because in that day, a woman would not be there,” Stephanie said.

“In this day and age, we can be included in things like that even though, historically, we weren’t.”

Marc explained that Jenna studies anthropology and history, stemming from the family’s interest in history.

“Whenever we are touring, we always read the plaques and stop and visit, so for her to have this interest in good,” he said.

The next big event the Fort George will host will be a celebration of Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock’s birthday on Oct. 6.

Another sign of the summer coming to a close is the end of the fort’s free admission, which concludes on Sept. 2.