Two events from last spring and summer are already on our "must-do" list for 2008.

The Battle of Plattsburgh Association holds its second-annual Military Timeline on the grounds adjacent to its War of 1812 Museum on the former Air Force Base. Though the organization generally keeps its focus on the eponymous local conflict, on this occasion it extends that mission.

Engagements from the arrival of Samuel de Champlain through the present get attention. Strolling the encampments last year, I talked to re-enactors who explained the use of black powder, listened to a woman in a billowing pink dress talk about fashions of the early 19th century and scrutinized a bazooka up close.

WEAPONS OF WAR

On one table was laid out all that had to fit into a typical World War II knapsack. It's an amazing array: field rations of chocolate and vitamins (made by Hershey), a portable razor, ampules of morphine, a latrine shovel, a Gamon bomb to throw into tanks. You get the picture.

Participants offered short indoor talks during which they described their uniforms and discussed issues relevant to the period they were re-enacting. These people were terrific, full of detail for the history devotee but able to make concepts relevant for those in the audience such as my wife, Marty, normally not one to listen to stories of battle.

Thus, a man dressed in the bright red uniform and tricorne hat of the British Army during the Seven Years' War (1756-63) explained that, in this era before standardization and uniform caliber, each weapon came with its own bullet mold. He displayed a 1757 "over and under" smooth bore rifle. It held two shots at a time, with a swivel for switching to the second one.

Europeans, long accustomed to battle on open fields, had to adapt to the forested terrain on which the French and Indian War was fought. Portraying the legendary Robert Rogers, one speaker described the development of ranging units skilled in concealment and raiding. Rogers' rules are still part of standard military training manuals today.

The New Orleans business community financed the Washington Artillery during the War Between the States. A soldier showed us his sidearms. His short musket used mercury pellets as primer, a response to the unreliability of flint in wet weather. The American South lacked iron, so his standard issue .45-caliber revolver featured a brass frame.

1812 FASHION SHOW

One man dressed as a marine taught us about the Boxer Rebellion in China at the turn of the 20th century. Another portrayed a World War II paratrooper, a soldier intended to fall behind enemy lines in anticipation of an infantry attack. His paraphernalia represented barely a third of the 500 pounds a typical paratrooper carried during a jump.

This year's Timeline, on May 24 and 25, will again feature an encampment with re-enactors from around the region. Visitors will have opportunities to examine artifacts and reproductions from each time period, plus plenty of time to talk with the re-enactors. Black-powder shootings, plus bazooka and jeep demonstrations, will also be included in the program.

Be sure to attend some of the presentations in the War of 1812 Museum's Press-Republican auditorium. Also on the agenda are an 1812-period fashion show, a medical tent and an herbal display. Sunday's activities will include a memorial service at the Post Cemetery.

Events run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 24, and 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25. The museum's exhibits, including its newly installed "Secrets Beneath the Surface," with artifacts recovered from Lake Champlain, will also be open both days.

JAZZ FESTIVAL