FORT MADISON, IOWA -- Re-enactors from Fort Meigs in Perryburg, Ohio took over the Old Fort Madison this weekend, offering the public a look back into the year 1812.
"I come down here from time to time because I love history. I came down here especially to see them fire the canon. That's what I like..all the smoke and fire," says Jim Holtkand.
Holtkand's at the Old Fort Madison in Iowa, a replica of Fort Meigs in Ohio that had direct connections to the war of 1812. Over the weekend, re-enactors demonstrated their artillery skills, musket firings and open hearth cooking. Even as the storms rolled through the area, the show went on.
"We found out the electricity went out, and we're like, okay. It didn't affect us any," says Ted Kolbet, a re-enactor. "People have been showing up, and saw the canon over there and are waiting for it to go off again."
They didn't have to wait long as the troops prepared the canon for the fourth time that day. After the smoke cleared, visitors had plenty more to see.
"Thirty people lived in this area. Look how small this prairie ground is. They basically stayed here all night and day," says Holtkand.
And for the last two days, so have these troopers.
"I'm having a wonderful time doing this," says Kolbet.
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