Michigan in the War of 1812: Part 1

    Since the Treaty of Ghent was signed in December of 1814, I decided to write about what happened in Michigan during the war. When I started my research, I learned there was a lot more to report than I had anticipated, so this month, I will just focus on the Mackinac area during the war of 1812. I will discuss what happened further south in the Detroit area at a later date.

The War of 1812 had more than a few conundrums. Named after one year, it actually lasted from 1812 to 1814. The primary reason for the war, which was impressment of American sailors, ceased to be an issue before the war officially began, and the biggest battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred after the peace treaty had been signed on December 24, 1814 in Ghent, Belgium. Unlike other wars in American history, where Michigan played a supporting role with no battles fought on its homeland, during the War of 1812, cities like Detroit and Mackinac Island saw a fair amount of fighting, and unfortunately not much of it was successful on the part of the Americans.

One of the first engagements of the war was the Siege of Fort Michilimackinac on Mackinac Island.  In modern times, this is known as Fort Mackinac. Once learning of the war, the British commander of upper Canada, Major Isaac Brock sent a canoe party to British Captain Charles Roberts.  Roberts was on St. Joseph Island, less than 100 miles away from Michilimackinac, and he left to capture Fort Mackinac as soon as he received his orders.  At the time, Fort Mackinac was a log fort on a limestone ridge overlooking the southeast harbor of the island.  The Americans had 61 artillerymen under Lieutenant Porter Hanks stationed at the fort.  After hearing rumors of unusual activity, Hanks sent scouts to investigate, including fur trader and militiaman Michael Douseman.  This contingent was captured by the British and Captain Roberts learned just how uninformed Lt Hanks was. The British quickly moved towards Mackinac Island.  On the morning of July 17, British forces landed on the north end of the island two miles from the fort. This area is now called ‘British Landing’. The British moved a cannon to the ridge above the fort and fired a single round. Next they sent a message under a flag of truce, demanding immediate surrender.

Since Lieutenant Hanks was caught completely by surprise, he gave up without a fight.  Every soldier in the garrison was taken prisoner, then released on the condition that they would not fight for the remainder of the war. It was a tough, embarrassing blow for the Americans in Michigan. Civilians on the island were given a choice: either take an Oath of Allegiance to Britain or leave the island.

Not much happened in Michilimackinac in late 1812, nor in 1813. The Americans did manage to establish a blockade of goods up to the island which lead to two miserable winters for the British encamped there. A new commander arrived on the island in May of 1814, Robert McDouall. Wanting to strengthen his position on the island, he fortified the defenses of the existing fort and decided to build a stockade and blockhouse at the highest point on the island where the British had fired on the fort 2 years earlier.  He not only used his soldiers to construct this new defensive structure, he also required the villagers to help move rocks and build the facility that was named Fort George. McDouall also trained his soldiers harder than any of the other previous commanders on the island.

Out east, the American forces were holding on against the British. Emboldened by this, Americans in the west tried to go on the offensive, and in July 1814, Americans tried to retake Mackinac Island as a part of a larger campaign to harm the trading alliance between the British and the Natives. Plans were made in Detroit, and on July 3, a squadron of five American ships under Commodore Arthur Sinclair  headed toward the Island. On their way, they stopped at St. Joseph Island, which had been held by the British but was abandoned in 1812 when they left to take Michilimackinac. The Americans arrived off the shores of Mackinac Island on July 26. 

The Americans wanted to have an element of surprise to their attack, but their arrival had been very delayed. Because of this, British Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall knew of the attack and made plans to defend the island. Without surprise on their side, the Americans bombarded the island, but were unsuccessful, as their artillery fire fell well short of the fort and into the army gardens below. To further complicate this ill-fated attack, a dense fog fell upon the area and the Americans were forced to retreat.

On August 4, the Americans returned, and Lieutenant Colonel George Croghan decided to land on the island near the same place that the British had landed years earlier. The American gunboats bombarded the island again, trying to chase the Natives out of the woods. Instead of waiting to be attacked, McDouall brought most of his men to meet the Americans. They met on a farm belonging to Michael Douseman, who had pledged his loyalty to the British after he had been captured two years earlier. Once again, the Americans were defeated in embarrassing fashion. Thirteen Americans were killed, including Major Andrew Holmes and Captain Isaac Van Horne.  Fifty one Americans were wounded, and two were captured. The Americans fled to their ships and left the fort and the island to the British until the end of the war.

The Americans didn’t want to completely leave Mackinac to the British, so they continued to block their enemies from getting any supplies. They left two ships, the Tigress and the Scorpion to patrol the water routes used by the British. However, the Americans in the west continued to be outsmarted, and in early September, 1814 a party of Royal Navy sailors and soldiers captured the American gunboats on Lake Huron.  It was another attack the Americans never saw coming, and this defeat now left the British in control of Lake Huron until the end of the war.

Though it may not seem likely, based on what happened in Michilimackinac, the Americans were able to defeat the British in the War of 1812. The Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, officially ending the war. The treaty, among other things, required the British to return their captured territory to the United States, including Fort Mackinac. The British  withdrew to nearby Drummond Island, where they actually remained until 1828, which is a whole nother story. 

Much more happened in Michigan during the War of 1812.  Be sure to check back next month to learn more about Detroit’s efforts in the war. 

What Woman Wills, Heaven Wills”

The American Civil War was a conflict that affected most American citizens. More than 620,000 soldiers lost their lives to wounds and disease. Unfortunately, civilians were not exempt from dying either. It was a defining moment in American history and Michigan played a significant role as 90,000 Michigan men served in the Union forces. This was about 23 percent of the male population in the state at that time. In addition, Michigan farms helped feed the troops, Michigan forests provided lumber for war materials and Michigan mines produced copper and iron, all essential materials that were  critical for the survival of the Union. Our state also supplied more horses to the Union Cavalry than any other state, and Lincoln himself once said “Thank God for Michigan” in reference to the Wolverine State’s contributions.

However, it wasn’t only Michigan men who helped restore the Union. The women of the state also did much for the cause. Like other women from the country, from all walks of life they were forced to adjust their lives in various ways. Many took over family businesses, some disguised themselves as soldiers and enlisted, and most did everything they could to help in the war effort. During the war, many Soldiers’ Aid Societies were formed to care for the sick and wounded men and our proud women from Michigan were the very first to start one of these societies.

The United States Army Medical Department was totally unprepared for the flood of wounded and ill volunteer men and soldiers. The small staff had a difficult time dealing with this influx. Once civilians realized the burden, efforts to send medical supplies, food, blankets and other comforts to the front were made all over the north. At first, there was very little unity in these efforts to help as individual families, wives and mothers scrounged up whatever supplies they could and sent them to the front. 

Because of the lack of unity, many of these efforts failed. It was soon realized that if the women banded together, more could be done for the men away fighting. The United States Sanitary Commission started on June 18, 1861, in Washington DC even before the first official battle of the war. This was a private relief agency modeled on the British Sanitary Commission, set up during the Crimean War years earlier. It’s main goal was to support the sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army however they could. The USSC spread across the North, and raised money, medical supplies and other contributions to support the cause. The commission enlisted thousands of volunteers.

Smaller societies began to spring up around the entire country, started by civilians. The first of these societies, the Soldiers’ Aid Society of Detroit was organized in Detroit on November 6, 1861. Its main goal was to support and comfort the soldiers at hospitals, in the camps, and on the battlefields. Women and children prepared food and supplies to give to the soldiers as they marched off to war. It worked closely with the US Sanitary Commission to ensure other items sent arrived undamaged and made it to the soldiers that needed them the most. Local communities provided donations, goods were sorted and sent by steamship and train depots to the battlefields. In later years, they sent packages of food, clothing and other goods.  One mother even sent her son a honeycomb wrapped in a new shirt.

Many citizens opened local-level aid societies, but after the first year, smaller groups funneled all of their donations through the larger organizations. Three other state-wide relief groups worked with the Soldier’s Aid Society: the Michigan Soldier’s Relief Association, the Michigan Soldier’s Relief Committee, and a Michigan branch of the US Christian Commission. All of these groups solicited cash and donated food and supplies from Michigan citizens.  They used word of mouth, leaflets and newspaper advertisements to ask people for help.

Michigan’s organizations were concerned with using new measures to preserve and promote good mental and physical health. In later years, groups solicited for cash over supplies so they could purchase the most necessary supplies at that particular time. Civilians held many fundraisers, including masquerade parties, ice cream parties, a State Sanitary Fair in Kalamazoo, and even a strawberry festival.

Societies also inspected Army camps, trained nurses and were instrumental in establishing a Soldiers’ Home to help traveling and returning soldiers. Michigan was instrumental in all these areas. In fact, in her 1864 report from army camps around Washington D.C., Mrs. E. Brainerd sums up the contributions of all Michigan aid organizations in her description of handing out supplies to soldiers:

“I have seen many turn away, after having their wants supplied, with tears of gratitude streaming down their war-browned cheeks. The friends at home little know what a luxury it is to be enabled, by their generosity, to relieve in a measure the sufferings of the brave defenders of our nation’s honor. Had it not been for the donations tendered by our people at home, we would not have had the means to accomplish the good we did.”

In the disease-ridden camps and hospitals, even something as simple as a new blanket or a kind word could save a life. I, for one, am proud of the Michiganders who gave so much of their time and money to help bring whatever comfort and joy they could to the ailing men of our torn nation and additionally I am thankful for all the materials we supplied to keep our nation united!