EDWARDSBURG: Music from the Civil War era will waft through the air, and at least 18 reenactors will be in period attire at the Sauk Trail Festival on Sat., Sept. 26, at the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum.

This year’s event, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., covers the years 1775-1875 and celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary. The festival spans the period from the signing of the Declaration of Independence through the Civil War.

The Sarett Nature Center’s 35-foot Voyageur Canoe will be in Edwardsburg for free rides on Pleasant Lake. An artillery demonstration, children’s crafts, and an archaeological dig will provide interest.  Erica Hartley, director of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, will speak. She is an instructor for the Institute for Intercultural and Anthropological Studies at Western Michigan University.

A highlight of the day will be a performance by four members of the open group, Lawless Jam, featuring the guitar, Appalachian dulcimer, banjo, and fiddle. The songs to be performed were either written during the Civil War or popular at the time. The exception is “Ashokan Farewell,” the title theme of Ken Burns’ 1990 documentary series, “The Civil War,” on PBS.

Selections will include “Soldiers’ Joy,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “John Brown’s Body,” “Battle Cry of Freedom,” “Rally Round the Flag,” and “Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

The Lawless Jam emerged in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when Michiana-area musicians began jamming outdoors at the Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park near Vandalia. Since then, the group has played at the Cass County Historical Society’s Harvest Festival at Newton Woods, the Underground Railroad Days, and the Cass County Fair. Members jam from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Cass County Council on Aging, Cassopolis.

Fort St. Joseph and Its Ties to the American Revolution will be Erika Hartley’s topic.

Hartley is the curatorial fellow of the Niles History Center.

Hartley will explore the fort’s history, its key location in the Great Lakes region, and what historical documents and archaeology have revealed about its role in the American Revolution.

Several reenactors from Robinson’s Battery 1^st MI Light Artillery Company C. will be available to answer questions about a cannon on display. The reproduction Parrott Civil War field rifle is similar to those used in the War Between the States. 

Reenactor Joe Zdziebko will also speak on the history of muskets, their different components and how to fire them.

Food trucks will be on site.  There is no admission charge.