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HOUGHTON -- Though the Civil War was fought along fronts more than a thousand miles away, the Upper Peninsula played a significant role in the Union's eventual victory.  Dozens of names are on a plaque at Veterans Park in Houghton--a public reminder of the 73 men who served their country and lost their lives during the Civil War.

"In the three counties that make up the Copper Country, about 850 men were either drafted or enlisted to go into the Civil War," says Michigan Tech history professor Larry Lankton.  "That's about two-thirds of the total number of soldiers from the Upper Peninsula."

But the U.P. provided much more than manpower.  Between the Keweenaw’s booming copper industry and the growing success of iron mining along the Marquette Range, Upper Michigan helped supply the military with two very essential metals.

"Copper was used for everything from buttons to buckles to bronze cannons," Lankton says.

"Iron ore was put into gun metal as well as cannon balls, rails, railroad tracks, steam boilers and also steel for bridges," says Barry James, curator of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum.

The Jackson Mine in Negaunee was one of only three iron mines operating at the start of the Civil War, but by 1864, ten new companies had formed and production had increased by 80 percent, despite a shortage of workers.

"Many men were going off to fight in battles and join the Union army," James says.  "The others coming to take their place didn't want to work in mines in certain locations, so many would work in places that were safer."

As with other wars, social unrest was common across the U.P.  Workers went on strike, drinking and violence were rampant, and the Quincy Mining Company even formed its own militia to protect the property.  But the consequences of the war weren't all bad.

"The government hadn't been involved prior to the Civil War in doing much on behalf of citizens that were suffering financially, but they felt obliged to provide some kind of economic relief to the families of soldiers," Lankton says.

You can look at artifacts and learn more about the U.P. mining in the Civil War era at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee.