09/04/2007

Fort Mackinac Hosts 16th Michigan/Stanton Guard Reenactors September 8 &9

Mackinac Island, Mich. — A group of 16th Michigan Company B reenactors will bring Mackinac Island's Civil War history to life when they encamp at Fort Mackinac on September 8 and 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The reenactors will recreate a little-known chapter in Fort Mackinac’s history, when the Union Army used the island fortress as a prison for three prominent Confederate sympathizers. Dozens of men and women will dress in the fashions of the 1860s, including the “Stanton Guard” unit, named after Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and specifically recruited to guard the Confederate prisoners; the three Confederates (named Washington Barrow, Josephus Conn Guild, and William G. Harding); and various civilians of the era.

The 16th Michigan Company B reenactor encampment is included with regular Fort Mackinac admission: $10 for adults, $6 for youth 6-17, and children 5 and under free. The historic fort is a professionally restored military outpost with 14 original buildings dating back as early as 1780, artifact exhibits, and live demonstrations including rifle and cannon firings, concerts of military music, and court-martial reenactments.

Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and nature parks in northern Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac and is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites—which are accredited by the American Association of Museums—include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park, and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Historic Mill Creek, and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City. Visitor information is available at 231-436-4100 or on the web at www.MackinacParks.com.