2022 Was No Fluke - Jackson 2023 Came Back As Strong As Ever!

1984.

39 years ago I was not yet married,  thus I had no children.  And obviously,  no grandkids.  In fact,  being still in my twenties,  I had just gotten engaged.  And I still worked at a record store.  Life what it would become for me today wasn't even yet a dream.

But that was life for me during those Reagan years,  when the first Jackson Civil War Muster took place.  How I would've loved to have attended that first one to see the changes over the last 39 years!

But,  alas,  I didn't attend/participate until 20 years later,  in 2004,  the year I dove headfirst into the world of reenacting and living history.  I remember how blown away I was seeing so many Civil War soldiers all in one area.  And cannons.  And the civilians.  I was like a two year old looking at the world in wonder.

In fact,  here are a few pictures from our very first year to be in attendance - 2004:

Jackson 2004
The 21st Michigan military.  My son Tommy's the one with the long hair.

Jackson 2004
My son,  Robbie,  too young to do military,  instead played the fife
with the other musicians.

Jackson 2004
This has always been one of my most favorite of pictures,  and it's one of my first reenacting shots.  I have no idea who these folks are,  for I was heading to watch the battle - my first real battle! - and this passed before my eyes,  so I snatched up my camera and,  well,  this is what I captured.   I see a story here...I see a family attempting to escape the death and destruction of the war,  perhaps being fought in one of their farming fields.
And I captured the scene...

That was then - each year for Jackson went amazingly well until,  unfortunately,  for some odd reason things began to change;  less and less reenactors showed,  and then it was moved to another location.

Then covid hit...and Civil War reenacting seemed to be in grave danger due to the older participants dropping out and a lot of woke issues with many others.

This is now - 

Jackson is back at its original location - Cascades Park - and reenactors are showing up in droves...excited again!  Not only that but many of the whippersnapper kids who used to play in the water and run around the trees are now old enough to be soldiers.  Yes---it is a younger more authentic-looking event!

The 2023 Jackson program booklet,  with a listing of all
of the events taking place.
There was enough going on to keep visitors there
all day and into the night!
And then come back the next day for more~

After a few years of taking place at a different location and then completely shutting down due to covid,  hence the reason why this is the 36th Jackson and not the 39th,  and then having many of us glumly anticipate hearing that this event,  like so many others,  would be no more,  the untiring hard work of a few folk,  including Maurice Imhoff  (President of the Jackson Civil War Muster Host Committee),  surprised everyone in this hobby by announcing its return in 2022.

The 2022 Jackson really took everyone off guard because,  well,  no one was sure how it would be,  and the fear of it being a shell of its former self was at the forefront of our minds.

Ahhh...on the contrary,  everyone was quite impressed.  Word spread about how great Jackson's return was.  In fact,  I witnessed it myself and was thoroughly impressed  (click HERE).

So...would 2023 be as triumphant as the previous year?

Well,  upon my arrival I was right off the bat very impressed with the larger amount of everything and everyone:  tents,  reenactors,  younger  reenactors,  sutlers,  activities,  and spectators.

This told me right away that Jackson was back!

And it's back to stay!

What I have here is my  "report"  on how the event went this year,  including loads of pictures,  as usual.

Upon looking inside the program booklet,  visitors and participants found that in the schedule of events,  Larissa,  my presentation partner,  and I were one of the scheduled  "events,"  and we gave a presentation on A Year on a Victorian Farm  (or,  as listed,  Farming in the 1860s):

There we are!
We are so very happy and proud to be able to play such a
role in helping in the Jackson Civil War Muster's return!

And here is our write up - - our biography  (so to speak)  from the souvenir program:

This was an honor - - ~~~

Just before our presentation:
All set up and ready to go!

We speak of not only our chores but of our farming/work clothing as well.
And also a bit of 1860s etiquette. 
Here I was explaining that I may remove my jacket/frock coat if I was working out in the field,  due to the hear,  but if a neighbor happened by,  I would have it near me to slip on quickly before greeting my friend.

Larissa's real-life son,  Zane,  took the following few shots of us~
In our presentation we have three daughters - no sons - and we have raised
one of our daughters doing male farm chores.  We built a story around this.
As you can see behind us,  we usually will bring a few artifacts to show,  
some,  such as the oil lamp,  are actually from the 19th century!

Describing the homemade handmade rakes.

The flail.
Afterward a gentleman came up to me and told me he had heard of a
flail but had never seen one or even knew what it was.  And now he did!
Another person came up to me later in the day and said she had never
knew what a harrow was until it was explained here at our presentation.
I absolutely love  when this sort of thing happens!  Sometimes I think
that everyone knows this stuff,  and I have to realize that most don't, 
just like I didn't until I began my research.

Then there was the couple who not only thought Larissa & I were really married to each other,  but that we were actually farmers!

Boy---were they shocked when I told them! 

When you can raise that believability factor,  that's what brings it all to life  in the living history world.

So after our presentation I had the idea of getting our tintypes taken.  Photographer,  Robert Beech,  thought it would be fun to do a sort of  American Gothic-type image.  We mostly went along with it:

Mr.  Beech the tintype photographer,  works his magic
in capturing our likeness.

And here is how it turned out:

The image here of us is somewhat replicating
the American Gothic painting...but in our own way.
I suppose we are smiling too much,  but I we really didn't want
the all too dower facial expressions of the original.

R. R. Beech - Photographer

"Your handcrafted,  authentic,  and completely archival Wet Plate Tintype or Ambrotype was produced the same way they were made 160 years ago,  and will last many generations...While I strive for perfection,  many factors affect the outcome of the plate,  but that is a good thing.  It makes every single plate a unique and irreplaceable work of art.  Most marks on the plate happen at the edges,  and are introduced in the creative process.  Traditionally,  these were covered up by inserting them in a case or cardboard sleeve.Process marks such as the drip edge are proof that your plate is the real thing and not a digital effect."

Robert Beech

Though we had Civil War at Charlton Park back in July,  which was a fine event indeed,  there were more reenactors at Jackson - including more 21st Michigan members -  so it was great to see so many I have not seen in seemingly ages.

And one person in particular I've known on Facebook,  met one time in person about five years ago,  but have never reenacted with:

Jenna is a long-time reenactor from Wisconsin.  She & I have been Facebook friends for,  well,  probably over a decade,  and we finally met in person at the Kalamazoo Living History Show back in 2018.  Here at Jackson 2023 was the first time we were at the same reenactment.
She is a wonderful person and a reenactor's reenactor. 
And here we both are!!!

North and South can still get along:
Here we have Jenna visiting with the Confederacy's 1st Lady,  Varina Davis.

Speaking of getting along...
Here we have the President of the Confederacy,  Jefferson Davis
with the President of the United States,  Abraham Lincoln. 

As was mentioned in the program,  our Jacksonburg name had been changed to Camp Harrison in honor of one of our long-time reenactors,  Keith Harrison,  who passed away earlier this year.

So here are a few citizens of Camp Harrison:

Jackie & Cyndi

Joyce & Sue

Bobby & Michael Schroeder stand with Jason Monarch.

The 1st couple of the Confederacy,  Jefferson and Varina Davis.

The Alto's

Vickie & Tom.
Their blood runs thick in the Jackson Civil War Muster, 
and has for decades.

Andy's the Eggman
whooooo.....!

It was good to see 1860s Charlotte again!

Susan and her new husband Dave were there with their sutlery.

A nice chunk of the Schroeder family was camping out.
Always good to see them - and I simply cannot believe how
fast their children are growing!

The Cary clan,  including their three granddaughters!

The finest blacksmith in the land,  no matter which century
you may find him in,  Richard Heinecke~

The Alexanders entertained with guitar-playing period music!

Even Jim was on hand,  advertising the wonderful Waterloo Farm Museum 
(& Dewey School Museum)

I did not take too many battle photos for I was pretty much in only one area,  which was near the artillery.  However,  that was very cool for I love the boomers and don't often get close-ups of them - "boomers shooting boomers"  (as Larissa said lol) - and I ended up with some pretty good shots.

Lorna and her grandson were there as well.

Miranda eyed the excitement with some trepidation.

Of course,  with the cavalry near,  the artillery needed to be extra careful
on their cannon fire,  which they always were.

The cannons were fired in,  I believe,  two-second intervals.
It was very cool to see and hear  (and feel).

But,  for my first time...

I actually caught the flame shooting out of the cannon!

How cool is this?
My first time ever getting such a shot!

The Union army soon marched off the field.

After the battle there was something I didn't know about - a very cool medical scenario.

Unfortunately,  I was not aware of it otherwise I may have been able to be more involved,  so I,  instead,  captured the excitement for posterity:

The ladies did a beautiful job caring for the wounded men in battle.

The  "wounded"  men also did a great job.

This was a first for Jackson in quite a long while,  and I was very pleased to see its return.

We did something similar in Port Sanilac about a decade ago,  and the effect
really plays out well to the visitors. 
It's this sort of thing  "they will take this home with them."

Perhaps she could not save this young man,  and it simply overwhelmed her...

Luckily for some it could've been a flesh wound - nothing too serious.

I played with this picture a bit and tried to give it a more ethereal effect.

Cousin Charley the Reb,  with the fancy strange-looking glasses, 
was there!
I am so sad I did not see him!
But my son,  Robbie,  captured him!
Probably wanted his glasses - - lol

It is to my understanding that President Lincoln only met
General Lee once,  but then others say they've never
met at all.  And I've not found any indication that Lincoln
and Stonewall Jackson ever met.
Yet,  here they are,  the three of them,  at Jackson!

I was only there on Saturday,  but,  as you can see,  it was filled with bringing the past to life.

I believe everyone who was there,  including visitors,  would agree when I say it was one of the best Jackson events ever.

It's been a long time---welcome back!

And now,  let's remove our hats and bow our heads to remember a wonderful man - a man who had the biggest heart of gold:

A wonderful tribute to a reenactor's
reenactor...to one who gave his all to this hobby
and to historical preservation.
We were blessed to have known him.

This is my last reenactment for a while - - - but I won't let that stop me from time-traveling or spending time doing traditional things with past connections,  for fall is nigh and that means tradition will reign!.

Stay tuned.

Until next time,  see you in time.

Besides my own photos,  I also used a few pictures from: 

Larissa Fleishman  (and her son Zane)

Robbie Giorlando  (my son)

Ian Kushnir

Jenna Theissen

  

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