Authors Chronicle Dexter's Involvement in Civil War

There will be a lot to like about Dexter’s this weekend at Gordon Hall. Visitors to the event, hosted by the Dexter Area Historical Society, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War with live military camp re-enactments, a dinner with President Abraham Lincoln, contests and games.

It would be easy to miss some of the quieter, less flashy entertainment. Yet those activities provide an opportunity to be a participant in the trip through time rather than simply an observer.

One such opportunity comes from Marty Bertera, an author of Civil War novels and a practitioner of wet plate photography. Bertera will showcase his Civil War-era photography skills by taking wet plate photographs of visitors in period costumes throughout the weekend.

“We do everything exactly the way they did it in the 1850s and 1860s. Between making my own chemicals and making heavy metal plates to staging people for shots, it’s a long process,” Bertera said. “But it’s fun to see a nice image come out, even with all the flaws in them.”

Wet plate photography—also referred to as the collodion process—was the popular style for photographers throughout the Civil War years. The process involves mixing a chemical solution to be poured on a clean glass plate. The glass is then exposed in a camera while still wet. The whole process takes approximately 10 minutes, Bertera said, and the photographer must take the shot before the glass plate dries.

Stitching stories together

Bertera’s interest in the Civil War era began with re-enacting. He has performed all over the country and has been in many of the Civil War re-enactments featured on film.

He began writing about the era not long after and co-authored a book with retired journalist Kim Crawford. The pair will come together at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today at Gordon Hall for a history lesson on the Dexter Union Guard and Dexter’s own Col. Harrison Jeffords.

Bertera and Crawford co-authored The 4th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War, published in the fall of 2010 by the Michigan State University Press. The book chronicles the story of a local regiment and its impact on the Civil War.

“Like anyone who wants to know about the thing they’re portraying, you start doing some research,” Bertera said. “As my research started to build up, I found some very interesting stories. I had collected 25 years of research and written some other books on 4th Michigan, but I’m more a researcher than a writer. So I knew I wanted to bring someone on who was a strong writer.”

Crawford, a former journalist with The Flint Journal, worked in newspapers for nearly 30 years and is an avid history fan.

“I discovered I loved writing articles about local history, so I was pretty good at being able to stitch together a story people found interesting or readable,” Crawford said. “(Marty) had already accumulated an incredible amount of information when he proposed we write a book together. I can honestly say he spent 30 years collecting the letters and the records. I just couldn’t say no.”

'These guys, they’re a lot like us'

Their book chronicles the everyday lives and timeline of the 4th Michigan Infantry, which mustered in Adrian and included the members of Company K, also known as the Dexter Union Guards.

The book also tells the unnerving story of Jeffords, a young college graduate who was promoted quickly and died tragically.

“Today, we really romanticize (the Civil War),” Crawford said. “But it was an awful, terrible bloodbath. It’s just heartbreaking. With Jeffords, here’s a sharp, talented young man and a really good leader who is well-respected. He was a very impressive young man, and he literally found himself surrounded and fighting hand-to-hand with Confederates. He was stabbed by bayonet, which was a very rare and terrible way to die.”

The story of Jeffords and his journey from lieutenant to captain and eventually colonel is a moving one, said Crawford and Bertera, in part because of his youth and similarities to young men fighting in the armed forces today.

“What blows me away about it is when you’re reading about these guys, they’re a lot like us,” Crawford said.

For more information about the Dexter's Civil War Days, visit dextermuseum.org, and click on "Civil War Days." The website includes a full schedule of the weekend’s entertainment and presenters.