Members of the Voyageur Ancient Fife and Drum Corps from Lafayette stand at attention in front of
a bronze sculpture depicting U.S. soldiers walking beside a horse that their commander ordered them to
forfeit to help transport Miami women and children taken prisoner to Fort Greenville during the harsh
winter. (The sculpture was recently moved from the battlefield site to the downtown Marion riverwalk.)
Every weekend, somewhere in these 50 states, a group of people get together, dress up and re-enact some favorite period of history. They may stage a medieval joust or re-fight a World War I battle. The show could be a Civil War-era encampment at Gettysburg (Penn.)…or a re-enactment of the War of 1812 near Marion.
Every mid-October, as the state’s leaves turn bright colors, a large group encamps on the bank of the Mississinewa River in east central Indiana to re-enact the battle of Mississinewa from the War of 1812. It is the largest and finest re-enactment of that war in the country.
Visit and you’ll see it all, from American regulars in their snappy uniforms to the enemy British “lobsterbacks” in their famous red coats. You’ll see many of the same types of Native Americans you would have seen nearly 200 years ago. Merchants of all types are also present, selling food, clothing and crafts. There are master printers, gunsmiths, tinsmiths, silversmiths and soldiers named Smith.
Photos from left to right show volunteers portraying life in Indiana nearly 200 years ago. Included are
Don Shenefield as a captain with the 2nd U.S. artillery; costumed high school senior Katie Stearn of
Goshen with her horse; an unidentified trapper relaxing in the Wilderness Camp; and Michigan re-enactor
David Mitchell as a Native American. British force re-enactors prepare to charge (below).
