War in the Old Northwest
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The notion of a standing army of men of military age is as old as organized government. The best defense for a village and town is probably the people who inhabit it. Their natural knowledge of the land along with a sincere desire to see to the protection of their families and assets make them ideal candidates. Below is a map published in London of the Northwest territories (Library of Congress) as it appeared in 1818. The distances traveled and the vast pathless nature of these new territories helps illustrate the challenges facing any organized military force.
The concept of a reconstituted militia group was oftern discussed but it too a small collection of military history enthusiests, artists, collectors and lacal historians to bring it to life. Many of our group are based out of Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio. Many of the decisive early military engagements of the War of 1812 occoured here. So for many of us (veterans of the America Civil War reenactments), it seemed an idea who's time had come. Since "uniformed militia" is already heavily represented in many 1812 battle reenactements, it was a easy decision to make when we chose to show militia as an organized uniformed body schooled in contemporary manuals of drill. Due to the short duration of the war and the large geographic reach of the campaigns, we also decided on a consistant grey wool or white cotton round jacket as a focul point of the uniform, As an option, developed a regimental pattern which borrows heavily from many New York, Conneticutt and Kentucky examples of the period. As we begin the planning for our nation's observance of the 200th anniversary of our "Star Spangled War", we invite you to look into the First Regiment and possibly join us in the celebration. -Members and Friends of the First Regiment Volunteers
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