Help!!! looking for a federal unit in Michigan.

[BillyYank]

hello everyone this is my first post on the forum, so i think i'll tell alittle bit about myself. I'm 19 years old and have been fasinated by the American Civil War pretty much from birth. My family is apart of the daughters of the American Revoultion. I've had familyl members fight in the American Revoultion and in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. Now you probably asking yourself, hes from Michigan but hes family fought for the south? Well my grandfather is from Alabama and moved to Michigan after the Korean War and got married. I still have family in both Alabama and Georgia today. Two of my relatives deid in the war and only one survived. When i was young my mother thought that i was reincarnated from a person who fought in the civil war because I would talk about (in detail) of my family at home, and other personnel things (kinda weird, i dont remeber saying it).

Anyways, i'm looking for a federal unit in Michigan that can help me get my gear started and show me the basics of reinacting. Any help would be awesome.

P.S. I have a cap and ball revolver 1863 Eli Whitney .36 caliber, There were two models made one by the north and one by the south. The model that i have has the specs of a Northern one, yet the place i bought it from sent a CS holster. I got it from http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(p0e2j3egfu15rdbxwtrjao55))/index.aspx
If anyone can share alittle history with the gun or ever shot one tell me what you know?

[Union Navy]

You could try the Navy! We have a group in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and one of our crew comes down from Flint.
The Whitney was a relatively common Navy armament. The .36 would be referred to as navy anyways. It was faulted at the time because of the low clearance between the cylinder and the rear of the frame - caps would get stuck there and lock up the cyliinder.

[BillyYank]

What kind of reeinactments do you guys participate in? Isnt there a fort wayne in MI?

[Union Navy]

We go many places - Shiloh, Jackson, Merrillville, occasional east coast events, Hartford City, Conner Prairie. Mostly midwest stuff. We can't be as authentic as we might like, having no gunboat or boat howitzer. Our assignments are often different, as commanders rarely know what to do with us. Usually we scout, skirmish, picket and protect the flanks of the artillery (which were often the duties of navy units "back in the day").
There is an historic Fort Wayne in the Detroit area, but that is an infantry only event. We usually don't go places where the navy wasn't found (Gettysburg, for instance).

[willeichler]

Michael,

Glad to see you have history at your heart! I shot you a private message on the forum here yesterday. You might not have found how that works yet. I live just north of you in Rochester Hills and am a member of the 5th Michigan, Co. K. We'd love to talk with you about the hobby and how you can fit in.

On the upper left portion of your screen, see if next to the word "private messsages" there is the number 1 next to unread. Drop me a PM and we'll get you going.

Best Regards,

Will Eichler, Chairman
5th MI, Co. K

[John St.John]

And a plug for the cavalry.

If mounted or dismounted cavalry appeals to you, I can be reached at:

michcav6th@yahoo.com

I represent the Michigan Cavalry Brigade. Custer's 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th red tie regiments. We are based in the SE Michigan area with members throughout lower Michigan, Indiana & Ohio.

PS
Our cavalry group is also very active at the Fort Wayne, Detroit historic site.

[pvt_jb]

Hello,

Check out the 17th Michigan Co. E. We are spread through out southeastern Michigan. www.17thmicoe.org

Jeremy Bevard

[BillyYank]

Thanks to everyone that posted, i guess i had more options than i thought.