Civil War muster at White Pine Village

PERE MARQUETTE TWP. — Historic White Pine Village will be the site of a Civil War Muster on Friday, September 21st and Saturday, September 22nd on the village grounds. Battery D, 1st Michigan Light Artillery will co-host the event. Many re-enactors will be encamped on the grounds during the weekend muster.

This year’s event is geared toward demonstrating what the average citizen and soldiers experienced during the Civil War, on the sesquicentennial of the 4-year siege which pitted the North against the South, brother against brother, and molded this country’s history.

Friday will be an educational program day, aimed at middle-school students who will be visiting from throughout the western Michigan area. Stations demonstrating ladies’ attire and social customs, Missippi Navy, Sanitary Commission, Infantry Uniforms (both Southern and Northern), Prisons, Small Arms (pistols and rifles), Camp Life and cooking, and cannon firing will run throughout the day. The re-enactors will be available for questions as visitors tour the encampment.

Saturday will also have many of these demonstrations, but will be geared toward the general public. Volunteer interpreters will also be stationed throughout the Village’s 29 museum sites and buildings.

The admission price for Civil War special event will be $11.00 for adults, $6.00 for children (6-17; 5 years old and younger are free), and $29.00 for an entire family (parents and children 17 and under, or grandparents and grandchildren 17 and under). To visit Historic White Pine Village, take Pere Marquette Highway south 2 miles from the airport, then west on Iris Road 1 1/2 miles, and north 1/2 mile on South Lakeshore Drive. Or, if arriving from the U.S. 31 Expressway, take exit 166 and follow the signs. For more information call 231-843-4808, email us atinfo@historicwhitepinevillage.org, or check out our website at www.historicwhitepinevillage.org.