At Hartford City several years ago, it was discovered that there were two groups portraying the 18th Indiana Light Artillery; mine and Joe Ferrell's, with most members belonging to central Indiana. Joe and I had decided some time ago that our two groups would fire together at any events we happened to both be at and a strong friendship/bond has existed ever since. We have since taken the field at many fun events with many more to come. Last October, again at Hartford City, we arrived late in the evening and set up camp, not getting ourselves to bed until well after midnight. First thing after waking up that Saturday morning, intent on getting a fire going and having some breakfast, it became apparent that there was ANOTHER group bearing the mantle of 18th Indiana. This group was led by Mike Smith, the majority of it's members being from southern Indiana. Introductions were made and new friendships started. It didn't take long to decide that another merge was in the best interest of all. A winter meeting was held in January at a local Indianapolis restaurant and now the 18th Indiana Light Artillery can field four cannons! I believe the 18th Indiana is now the largest Union artillery reenactment group in the state of Indiana!
2016 promises to be a fun year with many exciting events on our calendar. There will be a lot of new faces and sadly a couple of others that will be leaving us for a while to pursue careers in the U.S. armed forces. We wish them the best of luck and look forward to the day when they come home safely! If you are interested in joining the BEST artillery group in the state of Indiana, send us a message and we will tell you haw to get started! We look forward to hearing from you!