Military Reenactors To Visit Fort

A group of 16th Michigan Company B reenactors will bring Mackinac Island's Civil War history to life when they encamp at Fort Mackinac Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 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.