Fort Mackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
was originally established by the French in 1691 where the town of St.
Ignace, Michigan now stands. It was continued there for six years and
then removed to Detroit. In 1714 it was moved to the place which is now
Mackinac City. In 1759 all this upper lake country was taken over
by the English and was occupied by them for a score of years. This
fort was merely a stockade of timbers and the English garrison felt very
uneasy there when the American Revolution was in full progress.
This portion of the country known as
Michilimackinac
was at that time the envy of many nations; and great wealth and power
were in this northern section to which Mackinac Island was the key.
The fortune of the fur industry was there and later was to be realized
the value of the greatest copper and iron mines in the world, to say
nothing of the vast forests.
After sufficient pressure was brought to bear orders were given for the
fort to be removed to Mackinac Island. Major Sinclair thought the
island an excellent place for a fort with its advantageous position, its
abundant forests, its wonderful water and its good harbor; consequently,
in 1790 the fine block-houses were built, a government house and a few
other buildings were erected and the English troops took possession.
This new fort was declared as a part of our settlement at the close of
the war but a settlement which the British were very slow in making, and
their reluctance is not to be wondered at.
When we think of the American Revolutionary War we
think of Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Lexington, Concord and Yorktown.
Our thoughts automatically travel those sacred places in the east; we
are not about to dwell upon Mackinac Island in Michigan. And yet
the giving over of
Mackinac Island to
us by the British was the last act of the Revolutionary War and our
final victory.
We
waited, however, for thirteen years before the transfer was made. The
English were loath to surrender this jewel of the straits, and made use
of every possible technicality to procrastinate and put off the day,
when, at last, the Stars and Stripes should he seen floating front the
old block‑house. But with his characteristic breadth of vision and
pains‑taking detail, President Washington was not to let this slip nor
be overlooked in any way.
When the treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and all
this upper lake country was secured. Great Britain was supposed to
withdraw her troops "with all convenient speed". Washington
promptly sent
Baron von Steuben
to Montreal to receive the forts from Gen. Haldimand; but the General
made excuses that he had no orders from his government to hand them
over. Gen. Knox was sent on this errand, also Col. Hull, and our
minister to England, John Adams, insisted on the terms of the treaty
being immediately carried out-but to no avail. Great Britain made
excuses, and argued that the Americans had not carried out some details
stipulated as their part in the treaty; and thus the case was unsettled
for a long, long time. It was not until another treaty came about,
the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, that the forts were
evacuated and turned over to the United States Government.
George Washington
said in his address to Congress in December, 1796:
"The
period during the late session, at which the appropriation was passed
for carrying into effect the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation,
between the United States and his Britannic Majesty, necessarily
procrastinated the reception of the posts stipulated to be delivered,
beyond the date assigned for that event." He adds: "As soon,
however, as the Governor General of Canada could be addressed with
propriety on the subject, arrangements were cordially and promptly
concluded for their evacuation and the United States took possession of
them comprehending Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac and Ft.
Miami."
When
the war of 1812 was upon us, just sixteen years after the British had
given over the island with its splendid new block-houses to us, to
recover them was one of the very first moves made by England. The
British landed unseen at three o'clock one morning on the northwest side
of the island, known to this very day as British Landing. They
planted their cannon on higher ground than that occupied by the fort.
And with some Indian allies of the woods they firmly established
themselves. This was the situation at daybreak. Our troops
found themselves unprepared for resistance, for through some mistake or
negligence which has never been determined upon, word had failed to
reach the American Commandant that the United States and England were
again at war. Resistance being utterly useless the English flag
was again raised at the fort. This was the first stroke of the war
and the fort was held by England until 1815 when by the Treaty of Ghent
it again became ours and has remained so ever since.
Mackinac Island has
been voted by the Michigan Society D.A.R. as Michigan's most historic
spot.
-Hazel Fenton Schermerhorn.
For additional Fort Mackinac history, use the links
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