Getting Their 'Aarrggghhh' On

When Long Beach resident Bob Macmillan isn’t dressing up as a pirate, he can sometimes be found reenacting the Civil War.

Like many of the pirate impersonators who came out this past weekend to the Pirate Invasion on the Belmont Veterans Pier, Macmillan belongs to the Living History community, in which participants reenact different time periods from throughout history. As traveling history educators, many people take on multiple roles.

Macmillan, a warehouse worker who showed up to the pier on Sunday dressed as “Captain Barbossa,” has been apart of the Living History community for nearly seventeen years. He had met his wife, Kathy Macmillan, on the grounds of a Civil War Reenactment event. His 10-year-old son, Ian Macmillan was born into this community. Young Ian, who was dressed in a homemade Black Beard costume on Sunday, has participated in numerous reenactments since his infancy.

 “Some of the people who are doing the Civil War fights also do the pirate stuff,” said Macmillan. “There is a lot of co-mingling between the Civil War era, the Frontier, the Colonial, and now the pirates. In essence, the community members wear many hats.”

Macmillan’s love for history attracted him to the reconstructed Civil War battles and pirate gatherings. His love became his hobby, as he began researching his role as J.E.B. Stuart in the Civil War battles.

“The community is very serious about getting every detail correct on these roles,” Macmillan said.

The same seriousness of the Civil War reenactment can be applied to the roaming pirates dressed in well-worn linen tops, floppy hats, loose trousers, and mid-calf leather boots that swarmed the Belmont Shore over the weekend. Some carried rum cans, and used phrases, “arr” and “ahoy there.” Some pirate enthusiasts had numerous pirate-inspired tattoos trailing down their arms and legs. The more conservative ‘pirates-for-the-day’ opted for the temporary nautical tattoos offered at the airbrush booth.

Macmillan created his Barbossa voice with a lot of practice on Jeffery Rush’s character in the film. From the acquired pirate language to the striking resemblances to Johnny Depp’s character in “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” he said it takes a lot of dedication. He wandered the pier with his wife and young son on Sunday, stopping at times to greet curious kids mingling around their parents. Children gravitated towards him as they marveled at his hand-made costume.

“The boots came from a Civil War settler from back East and the shirt is a gift from my Aunt,” he said. “It is actually a Scottish shirt and the rest of everything I made.”

His wife Kathy Macmillan, or “Mrs. Brandy Barbossa,” created the numerous accessories attached to the outfit along with the red French floral patterned vest lined with blue material and the golden silk band across the Captain’s waist. In addition to creating the Captain’s clothing, she dreamed up an emerald green loose blouse paired with a flowing long skirt.

MacMillian said like-minded individuals in the Living History community want to show people how others have lived in the past. Some of the history is altered a bit as a result of modernization such as the fair treatment of women in society and the banishment of slavery. But like most hobbies, it is all in fun.