Mid-1500s - the Order of the Arrow Native American Village

Long before Spaniards made their way into the Southwest, Central Texas was inhabited by Native American hunter-gatherers. These indigenous people camped, fished and hunted along the rivers, creeks, and springs, moving their camps frequently to follow the available food supply. The Tonkawa tribe, with a population of almost 2000 hunter-gatherers, hosted other nomadic tribes, including the Comanches and Lipan Apaches.

Food was plentiful in this fertile area – herds of deer roamed freely; buffalo traversed the blackland prairies at the base of the Edwards Plateau; fish, crawfish, prawns, clams and mussels grew enormous in the rivers and springs. Each fall, the Native Americans harvested pecans from trees that grew along the lush river banks and gathered blackberries and roots for the winter. They lived in huts, tipis, and wickiups covered with brush and anything else available.

Step back in time at ScoutJam and see what life would have been in a typical Native American Village 500 years ago. Throw tomahawks and learn to knap flint.

Sahawe Dancers

Native American dance is unlike most other dancing in the world. It is not only a way to have fun, but spiritual in itself. Dance can be a form of prayer, a way of expressing joy or grief, and a method of becoming closer with man and nature.

The Sahawe Indian Dancers, originally founded in 1950 as the Comanche Club Indians by Scoutmaster of Troop 81 in Uvalde, Texas, show-case Scouts who have crafted elaborate outfits and learned dances by traveling to and studying at Native American events in the Southwest.

http://www.westtexasscoutinghistory.net/other_sahaweindians.html

Watch the Sahawe Dancers perform authentic Indian dances in traditional Native American costumes at ScoutJam.

Late 1700s - Longhunter & Mountain Man

As Europeans began moving west, big game depletion forced hunters to enter Texas on long hunts.

The “long hunter” lived on the edge of civilization – he often was a farmer with a large family to feed. Usually clad in wool or linen clothes; he carried a flintlock.

The “mountain man” was different – he lived in the wilderness and depended on traders to get his goods to market. His clothes were made from animal skins and he carried a more advanced, percussion cap rifle.

During ScoutJam, visit with a mountain man and find out how he helped expand the frontier.

Sons of the Texas Republic

After the growing tensions between Mexico and Texas erupted into violence on Oct. 2, 1835 in Gonzales, General Sam Houston, commander of the Republic of Texas army, sent a plea for volunteers to help Texas fight for freedom. With promises of “liberal bounties of land,” the Alabama Red Rovers came to Texas, waving a solid blood-red flag as its banner and wearing bright red uniforms.

Tragically, the blood-red color foretold a massacre -- the Alabama Red Rovers were executed at Goliad on March 27, 1836. Their leader, Capt. Jack Shackelford, was spared because he was a surgeon. Captured by the Mexican army, he was forced to tend to the sick and injured Mexican soldiers. Eventually, Shackelford escaped and joined a detachment of Texas soldiers. On June 9, 1836, Shackelford was honorably discharged from the Republic of Texas army and returned to Alabama.

The Sons of the Texas Republic are also known as the Texas Dare-Devil's with their cannon, the Black Stallion.

http://www.wheelerplantation.org/rovers2.htm

1800 to 1920 – Blacksmiths Forge Ahead in Texas

During the early 1800s, blacksmiths provided Native Americans and Texans with iron tools and repair services. The blacksmith created many types of necessary objects from iron or steel by hammering, bending, and cutting metal (forging). Both at the Alamo and after the Texas Revolution, the blacksmiths produced wrought iron gates, grills, railings, furniture, sculpture, tools, religious items, cooking utensils and weapons.

By the mid-1800s, blacksmiths were employed to shoe horses and repair equipment, such as wagons, horse tack, and military equipment.

See a working forge and a blacksmith at ScoutJam.

http://habairon.org/History/Alamo.html

http://habairon.org/History/index2.html

1861 to 1865 – the Civil War in Texas

On Feb. 1, 1861, Texas seceded from the Union. One month later, Governor Sam Houston, leader of the Texas Revolution, was ousted for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As the Civil War raged on, devastating Union and Confederate forces alike with an ever-rising death toll, Texas supplied more and more soldiers for the Confederacy, becoming a “supply state” until 1863. For the last two years of the war, Texas was called the “back door” of the Confederacy and provided cotton to Confederate troops by transporting it through Mexican border towns.

Texas was the site of the last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch, fought about 12 miles outside of Brownsville, five weeks after Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Appomattox, Virginia. Two weeks later, Texas Confederate forces surrendered formally on May 26, 1865, and then fled across the border to Mexico.

Confederate soldiers will reenact life in their regiment for scouts and their families at ScoutJam.

1866 to 1892 - Buffalo Soldiers

The Civil War ended, but the bloodshed continued as the half-century struggle between the Plains Tribes and Texans grew increasingly intense. Characterized by violence, hatred and animosity, the Indian Wars cost almost every frontier family in Texas a loved one.

Taking advantage of the depleted U.S. Army, the Comanche and Kiowa Indians pushed white settlements back more than 100 miles on the Texas frontier. In an attempt to end the Indian Wars, Congress organized regiments of Black soldiers to fight in Texas.

These regiments proved formidable – their valor was so noticeable, the Indians called them, “Buffalo Soldiers” because of the strength and courage they displayed during battle.

Step back in time at ScoutJam and see how Buffalo Soldiers helped build the West.

1866 to 1900 – Chuckwagon Cooking

As the Texas frontier expanded, settlers moving to new areas as well as nomadic workers like cowboys and loggers needed food. Charles Goodnight, a Texas rancher, invented the “chuckwagon,” a wagon that carried food and cooking equipment as part of the wagon train. “Chuck” was slang for “food,” and chuckwagon food included easy-to-preserve items like beans, salted meats, coffee, and sourdough biscuits.

Get a taste of the past at the Chuckwagon Cooking display during ScoutJam.

1823 to Present - Texas Military Forces Museum

The Museum's exhibits display the story of Texas Military Forces from 1823 and the first militia musters in Stephen F. Austin's Colony to the present day. They include extensive models of famous battles and military implements and uniforms ranging from the Texas Revolution to the Mexican War, Indian Wars, War between the States, and the Spanish American War.

During ScoutJam, see several special shows with live fire attack re-enactments, plus a WW-II encampment. Brought to you by the Texas Army National Guard.

1942 to Present – U.S. Air Force

The bloodiest war in U.S. history was raging throughout Europe and in the Pacific. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a vastly enlarged air force that would conduct long-range, strategic bombing. The U.S. Air Force was born!

Becoming a “force” to be reckoned with in just two years, the Eighth Air Force beat the Luftwaffe in aerial engagements in early 1944. Allied fighters bombed German fighter airfields with increasing frequency and cleared the skies over Normandy for D-Day.

In the Pacific Theater of Operations, The USAAF provided major tactical support and later created the 20^th Air Force to bomb Japanese cities. To win the war, President Harry Truman ordered the Air Force to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-in-hd/videos/flying-in-the-south-pacific#flying-in-the-south-pacific

Today, the U.S. Air Force is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world, with about 5778 manned aircraft in service, approximately 156 unmanned combat air vehicles, 2130 air-launched cruise missiles, and 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. It's mission is “TO FLY AND FIGHT IN AIR, SPACE AND CYBERSPACE FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES AND IT'S GLOBAL INTERESTS.”

Scouts and their families will see U.S. Air Force jet fighters fly-over ScoutJam as a patriotic reminder of the sacrifices and heroism of our men and women in uniform.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Air_Force