By Staff
NILES - A hotbed of pre-war Republican sentiment and a major stop on the Underground Railroad, Niles, sent an astonishing 1,256 men into the Union army from a prewar population of only around 6,000 people. Men from Niles served in 24 different regiments.
Niles native Steve Hawks will present a program tonight on Niles, Michigan's role in the Civil War. The special meeting of the Kalamazoo Civil War Round Table will be at the First Floor Theater, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose St., Kalamazoo, at 7:30 pm
Hawks will use 170 year-old Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles as the focal point for examining the role that Niles and its citizens played in the war. Silverbrook contains the graves of numerous interesting Civil War figures, including the commanders of five Michigan regiments that are buried within 50 yards of each other. These cemetery "residents" range in ability from Colonel Henry Morrow, outstanding commander of the 24th Michigan of the famous Iron Brigade down to Colonel Francis Quinn, the successful Niles businessman who was arguably one of the worst Colonels in the Union army.
Hawks has been a member of the Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table for 10 years. A multimedia producer with the Williams Group in Grand Rapids he is the author of the award-winning CD-ROM, Twelve Roads to Gettysburg. In addition to his interest in the Civil War, he is also a train buff and is a member of the Union Pacific Historical Society.
The Museum will be open outside of normal operating hours especially for this event. Doors will open at 6:30 to allow time for visiting the special Civil War exhibit "Liberty on the Border" on the third floor of the museum. Based on a nationally touring exhibit created by the Cincinnati Museum Center, the exhibit also includes items from this area to help chronicle what was occurring locally during that war.
Admission is free.