Family, Love of History Bring Reenactors Back to Mackinac
By Jessica Delaney

Alison and Nicholas Calder of Dearborn enjoyed sampling the wares from their grandfather’s quartermaster supplies. The two often spend two to three weekends at encampments with their uncle and grandparents.

“There’s a certain level of insanity and a love of history that makes a person get into reenacting,” said Stephanie Resland. She is one to talk, wearing a tight corset and a pair of boots on an 87-degree day.

Ms. Resland is a reenactor, a camp follower of the Scottish 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, and she joined 75 other reenactors July 16 and 17 at Colonial Michilimackinac for the Crown Forces Encampment.

At left, Stephanie Rensland of the Scottish 42nd Royal Highland Regiment portrays a camp follower at encampments and battle recreations. “Camp followers were legitimate business people,” she says. “They did washing, cleaning, mending, and cooking for the soldiers.”

The Crown Forces were named for King George’s troops during the French and Indian War, and they included redcoat regulars and provincial regiments from each colony, Scottish soldiers, and rangers.

The reenactors, too, formed a disparate group, coming here from groups throughout the Midwest for this rendezvous at Mackinaw City. They were hosted by Mackinac State Historic Parks, but they conducted their own program.

“We’ll have a good smattering of the types of soldiers that would have fought for the king,” said Brent Kemmer, the camp coordinator for the Crown Forces encampment. “Some of these troops wouldn’t have made it as far west as Michilimackinac, but we wanted to give a broader view of the war.”

The reenactors converged for a weekend of living in the manner of people in the 18th century, and for the visitors to Michilimackinac, they gave demonstrations in marching, musket firing, and period clothing. The men and women lived as near as possible to the way they would have in the 1760s, during the period of the French and Indian War. This included sleeping in tents, cooking over fire, and not using any electrical devices.

“The greatest thing about this hobby is the night,” said John Calder, a member of Massachusetts Provincial Battalion. Mr. Calder portrays a civilian quartermaster, and he lives in Dearborn. “Around nine or so, there is no public, but we’re still all dressed, using candles, there are no electric lights, and we just sit around the campfire. Even when nobody is watching, we try to keep as close to the 18th century as we can.”

At times, maintaining such strict adherence to historic customs can be difficult. Although reenactors are allowed, and, in fact, required, to use Colonial Michilimackinac’s bathroom facilities, all other aspects of life are reconstructions of life in a moving military camp, which can mean some uncomfortable situations for many of the reenactors.

“We always have to cook over a fire,” said Molly Troeger of Grand Rapids, a member of the Scottish 42nd Royal Highland Regiment. “That is never nice in the summer.”

Paul Grant, also of the Royal Highland Regiment, commented on the difficulties of wearing a period authentic outfit in temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s.

“It’s way too warm for this clothing,” said Mr. Grant, who was clad in a wool kilt, high knee socks, and a wool shirt and vest. “The kilt is nice, but this is too much wool to be wearing in the summertime.”

With heavy clothing and difficult tasks, the question arises as to why these people would dedicate several weekends each summer at reenactments. The answer, for many reenactors, is multi-layered and complicated, but there is one binding factor that they almost all hold in common: reenacting is a family hobby.

“There are six Calders here,” said Mr. Calder proudly, gesturing at his younger son, a sergeant, three of his grandchildren, and his daughter-in-law. “This whole unit works as a family.”

Mr. Grant was pulled into the encampment after a Fourth of July celebration with his family, when his brothers pressured him to try it out. Ms. Rensland is the daughter of two reenactors, and dragged her best friend and “adopted sister,” Ms. Troeger, into the camp.

“This is really the best family hobby,” said Ms. Troeger. “You can see kids running for hours, not just plugged into a TV. They’re having the time of their lives. This is an extended family structure. There’s not a kid in this camp that I can’t tell not to do something. This is the place for old-fashioned family values.”

Many reenactors also find participating in historical activities a way to feed a fascination with history, and a way to continue to learn.

“For me, this started out as an interest in history,” said Mr. Calder. “This was a good way to learn history, and to teach it, as well.”

Ms. Troeger, who is a professional writer, couldn’t help but wax poetic of her experience as a reenactor at Colonial Michilimackinac.

“The locale is absolutely beautiful, with the lake and with the sense of history,” she said. “Here, people can connect more to those who came before. You can close your eyes and smell the gunpowder and hear the soldiers march, and you’re there. Just for a brief moment, you’re there.”

Outside of the common bonds of family and history, however, there are not many apparent similarities between individual reenactors.

People come from various backgrounds, careers, religions, and areas of the country. That, several involved said, is part of what makes the experience so enriching.

“There is such a broad base of backgrounds,” said Mr. Kemmer. “We have people who do parttime work to people with doctorates in engineering. We have everything, and that’s one of the nicest things.”

While the most visible things these reenactors will do are the encampments and occasional military reenactments, the work that goes into being a reenactor extends far beyond sleeping in tents and firing muskets. Participants are involved throughout the year, both in meetings, and in gathering their own equipment.

The Royal Highland Regiment is part of the Northwest Territories Living History Society, which meets quarterly, holds social events, and also a winter camp where members can trade ideas, share books, and prepare for the summer season. Also, gathering equipment and preparing authentic period clothing requires extensive amounts of time and money.

According to Mr. Kemmer, to completely outfit a soldier can cost about $2,000.

“Everybody has to provide his own stuff,” said Mr. Kemmer. “We have manuals telling them what is correct to wear and carry. We’ll send them to sutlers, which are the stores we buy things from, and we’ll tell them which have the best deals. For those who want to be really authentic, they’ll make their own things, and we can give them patterns.”

Mr. Calder put in extensive research when he decided to portray a civilian quartermaster. He wanted to find out precisely what a quartermaster in the 1760s would have carried, how much of it, and what would be done with the supplies. He then put in the effort to actually buy, find, or make replicas of the equipment that would have been supplied by a quartermaster.

“We have these displays to show people the things a quartermaster had,” said Mr. Calder. “We have examples of things the soldiers would have carried. It helps to give people an idea of the quartermaster persona.”

Ms. Troeger added that, especially for the women, there is lots of off-season work to be done as seamstresses for their own outfits and those of their men. In addition, while the men are almost exclusively involved in the military aspect of reenacting, the women have to choose from a variety of activities ranging from sewing and cooking to washing and candle making.

“There’s lots of information out there, and always more to be discovered,” she said. “Especially for the women, who really have to decide where they want to go and what they want to do.”

Even with the hard work, the temperatures, and the large investment of money, reenactors still find the activity well worth their time. For Mr. Calder, it is the opportunity to indulge his love of history and to return to a more childlike mentality.

“I’m a little boy who still likes to play army,” he said.

Colonial Michilimackinac is hosting four other encampments this summer. The Campeau Company Encampment was here last weekend, while the Michilimackinac Marines Encampment will be here August 6 through the 7. Jaeger’s Battalion of Roger’s Rangers camps at the Fort August 13 and 14, and the King’s 8th Regiment will arrive for an encampment September 24 and 25 and will live in the Fort buildings.