Location and Focus
We are an educational service organization that recreates and teaches others about the Roman army, from top to bottom. Though headquartered in Texas, our Legion crosses state--and even international--lines!
Our members' interests are broad and deep--we are interested in every branch of the Roman military and every era of its evolution. We encourage the diversity of our members' interests and the "cross-pollination" that diversity brings about. Our members interests currently include (but are not limited to!):
- The Roman Army of the Republican, Flavian, Trajanic, Commodus, and Late Empire eras.
- The Roman Navy, artillery, cavalry, and sports cavalry.
- Gladiators, Praetorians, and a standard honor guard.
- The Roman military/political culture of all eras.
- Greeks, Spartans, and Macedonians.
That said, the Roman reenactment mainstream currently focuses on the Imperial era, so we strive to keep a "critical mass" of Legionary activities and equipment appropriate to that span of time (we prefer the Flavian dynasty under Vespasian.)
As a Legion, our focus is obviously on Roman legionary history. However, our sister group The Roman Way has lots of information and activities about civilian reenactment for men, women and children. Roman reenactment is such a valuable hobby because it offers endless education and fun to the whole family.
Statement from the Founder
How this Legion even got started is a story in itself.
I first became interested in Legio X Fretensis in 1981, when I saw the television mini-series Masada which prominently featured both Legion X and its commander, Flavius Silva (played by Peter O'Toole.) That production went to extraordinary lengths to achieve historical accuracy, and to this day its portrayals of the Legions are considered by many to be the most accurate to appear in television or film.
Well, the seed was planted and I decided to make my first Roman standard and set of armor--entirely from memory! (I had not recorded the mini-series because back then VCR's were still uncommon and very expensive.) So, the Texas Tenth Fretensis had its first legionary soldier almost three decades ago. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see how that first kit came out.
I had been bitten by the Roman bug, and in 1992, I started Nix Imperial Creations, advertising Legion Ten Fretensis for the first time on my brochures as a national legion organization. Unfortunately at the time, I was working two jobs, raising three babies and was already involved in two other ancient society study groups. I could not devote enough time to grow the Legion, so for years it mostly consisted of myself and a circle of friends.
Over time, we few die-hards began going to events and the group crystallized in 2007 when we were invited to help open the Imperial Rome exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History. Momentum has continued to build, and in July (named after the famous Julius Caesar) we unveiled a web-site we can be proud of and we have finally begun investing the many kinds of energy that a growing Legion deserves.
A few words about the web-site: I don't feel it necessary for our web site to repeat Roman army history like I see on many Legion web sites. Others have done a great job of starting at the beginning and educating the reader about the Roman army "from the ground up." The web is filled with great reenactor sites--and many other sites--about Roman history, like this one.
Now don't get me wrong: I am a Roman nut of the first order, but just repeating information that is already everywhere is not as important to me as bringing to life the little-known facts and curiosities that can really excite both beginners and experienced Roman enthusiasts.
I have read hundreds of books about Rome and own a hundred more that I want to read and--like anyone who has been doing this long enough--I frequently find that 90% to 95% of what I read is already familiar: it is that 5% or 10% of brand new insight that I live for. My goal for this group and this site is to continually provide experiences and information like that.
-Terry
P.S. I believe it is good to start them off young!
This is my son Justin when he was nine years old.
I actually bought his plastic armor in Rome, and the round imagio standard of Vespasian was influenced by a real imagio found of Claudius.
Justin has been reenacting with me for a few years, and is now in the Navy--which I take seriously as "fitting" for a soldier of the Legion named after its glorious victories at sea.
The Inspiration and Evolution of the Texas Tenth Fretensis
MASADA: Legion Ten Fretensis takes the mountain fortress Masada,
planting it's Eagle and Trophy on the summit. Note the X under the eagle.
MASADA: Legion Ten batters the defenses and scales the fortress walls.
MASADA: Legion X finds out early in the campaign that it has camped too close to the enemy.
LEG X FRE armor done in 1981 from what I could remember from the TV series.
LEG X FRE in 2007
