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1ST MICHIGAN INFANTRY A CIVIL WAR REENACTING GROUP
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KALAMAZOO LIVING HISTORY SHOW
This year we manned our recruiting booth as usual at the gun show. While not many individual recruits were picked up we were busy trying to get several groups for Portage and Niles. The highlight of this show had to be seeing a complete Jackson Grays uniform worn by Mark Heath, who is often at our events as a bugler. It was very interesting to see what uniform the Grays wore when they came to Detroit to be mustered into the First.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 18-20 – Ft. Wayne Combined Arms Drill To Arms, Men of Michigan! Michigan U.S. Combined Arms Drill April 18-20, 2008 Historic Fort Wayne, Detroit All Federal Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery impressions Invited! Join us to: *Learn your drill & how to work with other branches of service *Learn Field Safety around Artillery *Shake the rust off your drill for the season *Learn skills that will make the your impression better AND easier *Sleep in the 1848 soldiers’ barracks *Learn why infantry forms square *Visit Friends you haven’t seen since last year *Help Historic Fort Wayne by using it *Dress Parade in the shadow of the Barracks *Camaraderie, Camaraderie, Camaraderie *Full-strength company drill *Drill with your own unit *Veteran instructors from across the State *Learn ways to improve your impression
April 26- Brandywine work weekend
Come lend a hand and clean up the Niles Reenactment site.
PEOPLE IN FIRST MICHIGAN HISTORY
GEORGE HOPPER (seated left)
George C. Hopper- went from "From Beverley Fork to Bottoms Bridge” with the 1st Michigan Infantry. He was enlisted from May 1st to June 6th 1864. Hopper, from Detroit, entered the service as First Lieutenant in Company H in 1861. He became captain of Company C in 1862 and was wounded in action at Gaines Mill on June 27, 1862. He was again wounded and taken prisoner at 2nd Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862. He was later commissioned major in March, 1863. Parts of his service record are unclear at this time.
Lester B. Callahan, 1861. Enlisted in company C, First Infantry, April 24, 1861, at Coldwater, for 3 months, age 20. Mustered May 1, 1861. Mustered out Detroit Michigan, Aug. 7, 1861.
The First Michigan then The First Michigan now
Photograph of First Michigan Infantry soldiers posing in front of a partially-underground building, Sally Port and guard house, at Fort Wayne. The photographer is noted as J.J. Bardwell of Detroit, and the date is May 1861. All of the members that are not wearing great coats in this photo are wearing the shell jacket that Lester B. Callahan is wearing.
To the right is a picture of some of the current members of the First Michigan posing above the same sally port seen in Bardwells photo. I hope that these photos will fire you up for the coming drill at the fort. If we get more members to the fort for this spring drill we can hopefully try and recreate this photo of the First.
THIS MONTH IN FIRST MICHIGAN HISTORY April 1861- Organizing in Detroit, MI April 1862- Duty at Camp Hamilton, Fortress Monroe, Va April 1863- At Falmouth, Va. until April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. April 1864- Duty near Culpeper, Va. April 1865- Appomattox Campaign. Battle of Five Forks, April 1. Fall of Petersburg, April 2. Pursuit of Lee, April 3-9. Appomattox Court House and surrender of Lee, April 9. Duty at City Point, Va., until May 16
NEXT MONTH IN FIRST MICHIGAN HISTORY May 1861- Mustered into service on the May 1. Left State for Washington, D.C., May 13. Occupation of Arlington Heights, Va., May 24. (We were one of the very first regiments to cross into Confederate territory.) May 1862- Duty at Camp Hamilton, Fortress Monroe, Va. May 1863- Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5. May 1864- Duty near Culpeper, Va. Campaign from the Rapidan to the James River, May 4-June 15. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Laurel Hill, May 8; Spotsylvania, May 8-12; Spotsylvania Court House, May 12-21. Assault on the Salient May 12. North Anna River, May 23-26. Jericho Mills, May 23. Totopotomoy, May 28-31. May 1865- Duty at City Point, Va., until May 16. Moved to Alexandria May 16-18. Grand Review, May 23.
AUTHENTIC ITEM OF THE MONTH
This month’s authentic item of the month is the sack coat. When trying to decide what to wear to a reenactment you can never go wrong with the sack coat. It was the most widely distributed coat during the war. Just about every regiment during the war was issued these jackets in the spring in preparation for the hot summer campaigns. To get the more uniform look in the First Michigan it would be great if most enlisted members of our group tried to acquire and wear sack coats. While the First Michigan had been issued other coats during the war, the sack coat saw the widest usage and would be the best for reenacting purposes. There are several versions of sack coats (lined and unlined) as well as many arsenals issues and private purchase styles. Privates usually had the plainest coat while officers and NCOs’ had private purchase coats which had special linings or extra pockets. There are numerous photos of company’s during the war where the entire company had sack coats except the NCOs’ and officers which had frock coats. The following paragraphs are taken the Wambaugh, White & Companies website.
“Perhaps the most visible part of any Federal soldier's impression, the humble fatigue blouse is arguably the most important garment a Civil War living historian can own. Much debate in the living historian community has been given to having the correct "pattern" for the type of coat that is being reproduced. Frankly, much of this debate has been in vain, for the simple fact that while construction details may have differed from arsenal to arsenal, and contractor to contractor, the pattern stayed the same for nearly every fatigue blouse produced. While minor features such as facing width and collar shape may have been remarkably different between coat suppliers, these features are not differences in the pattern, but merely difference in the features.
MEMBER OF THE MONTH- CARL BOWERS
Carl is married, has adult children, and resides in Jones, MI. He works for the Department of Public Services in Three Rivers.
First Michigan Biography Name: Carl Bowers Rank: Private Enlistment: May 1st, 1861 (3 Months) Sept. 16th, 1861 (3 Years) Date of birth: Nov. 29th, 1806 Chicago, Il Occupation: Cabinetmaker, Well-digger Bio: I grew up in Chicago while learning the cabinet making trade. Joined the Illinois militia in 1832 and fought with distinction during the Blackhawk War. After the war and the passing of my father I moved to Michigan in 1841 to hack out a new life in the wilderness of Three Rivers, Michigan. I started a successful business as a cabinet maker and was contracted to dig all of the cities wells. I joined the 1st Michigan, three month regiment as soon as I heard about the secession going on the south. After returning from Bull Run I re-enlisted with the 1st Michigan three year regiment to finish the job of preserving the Union and to set men free.
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“THE WOLVERINE” A PUBLICATION OF THE 1ST MICHIGAN INFANTRY
April 2008 |