War of 1812 Bicentennial event, at Fort Wayne, Sept 21-22

yeah, not as big of an event as the Civil War Days event last weekend, mainly because there's just not that many reenactors out there who portray that period of history.

nonetheless its a great time to come to the fort. and yes, Fort Wayne / Sand Hill of Springwells played a part in the War of 1812. It was here that the Bombardment of Sandwich occurred, which were essentially the opening shots of the War of 1812. It was where the British forces landed a month later to capture Detroit without a fight. it was also the site of the Treaty of Springwells signing in 1815, which concluded hostilities between the Americans and the local tribesmen that had allied with the Brits. the fort as we know it was not built yet, but you can come learn how this site figured into some pretty historic events that shaped American history; i believe Jim Conway should be giving his "History of Spring Wells" lecture that he did last time.

200 years ago, Detroit and the rest of the Northwest Territory was still under British military occupation. this event will be commemorating the return of Michigan to U.S. control by lowering the British flag from the fort, and raising the 15-star American flag.

there aren't too many weekends left in our season before we're closed for the winter. we have the fall flea market coming up Oct 12-13. and we are still open weekends until then.


https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...30200225_n.jpg

http://historicfortwaynecoalition.com/1812.html

I noticed the guy playing the War of 1812 Dr. was also the Civil War Dr. He does a good job. Do you know his name?

not offhand, but yes, he [[like many reenactors) portrays more than one time period. i dont come from the reenacting side, i work mostly behind the scenes, so i am not familiar yet with a lot of the people who come here to reenact; i recognize a lot of faces, but thats about it.

thanks to those who came out this weekend, we did great on sales [[our new tshirts seem to be a hit)!

I WISH that i had any time on most weekends to go to something like this. I used to love the ghostly lantern light tours of Fort Wayne of many years ago.

Most mornings, pretty early, I take a cup of coffee to the Delray Boat launch to watch the sun rise. The launch area is closed in the winter and I wish I could do the same in the Fort.

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Originally Posted by SWMAP

Most mornings, pretty early, I take a cup of coffee to the Delray Boat launch to watch the sun rise. The launch area is closed in the winter and I wish I could do the same in the Fort.

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you can if you join the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition. yearly dues=$20, and grants free access to the site most days of the year. it is, of course generally expected however that you also do some occasional work there to help out, instead of just using it as your personal hangout. not that anyone really does that, but just saying. [[it is still a functioning workplace for many people, including the Army CoE, the Detroit Historical Museum Collections Resource Center, etc).

i am here most everyday, from 8am to dark, sometimes later. doing groundswork, etc