Battle of Mackinac Island (1812)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Fort of Mackinac was one of the first engagements of the War of 1812
. A British
and Native American
force captured the island soon after the outbreak of war between Britain and the United States
. Encouraged by the easy British victory, more Native Americans subsequently rallied to their support. Their cooperation was an important factor in several British victories during the remainder of the war.
was an U.S. fur trading
post in the Straits of Mackinac
between Lake Michigan
and Lake Huron
. Since the mid-seventeenth century, it had been important for its influence and control over the Indian tribes in the area. British and Canadian traders had resented it being ceded to the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War
. The United States Army
maintained a small fort, named Fort Mackinac
, on the island. About 40 miles (64.4 km) away was the British military post on St. Joseph Island
and the (Canadian
) North West Company
's trading post at Sault Sainte Marie
.
The British commander in Upper Canada
, Major General Isaac Brock
, had kept the commander of the post at St. Joseph Island, Captain Charles Roberts, informed of events as war appeared increasingly likely from the start of 1812. As soon as he learned of the outbreak of war, Brock sent a canoe party led by the noted trader William McKay
to Roberts with the vital news, and orders to capture Mackinac.
McKay reached St. Joseph Island on 8 July. With the assistance of the North West Company, Roberts immediately began to collect a force consisting of three men of the Royal Artillery
, 47 British soldiers of the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion (which Roberts later described as being "debilitated and worn down by unconquerable drunkenness"), 150 Canadian or métis (part-Indian) fur traders and voyageur
s, 300 Ojibwa
(Chippawa) or Ottawas
who were at the island to trade skins, and 110 Sioux
, Menominee
and Winnebago
who had been recruited by Indian agent Robert Dickson
from present-day Wisconsin
.
As preparations for the expedition proceeded, Roberts received successive orders from Brock to cancel, and then to reinstate, the attack on Mackinac. Colonel Edward Baynes, the Adjutant General
for all British forces in Canada, also sent orders for Roberts to concentrate on defending St. Joseph Island. However, on 15 July, Roberts received further orders from Brock which allowed him to use his own discretion. Fearing that the Indians would drift away if they were not allowed to attack, Roberts immediately set out. His force was embarked in the armed schooner Caledonia
belonging to the North West Company, seventy war canoes and ten bateaux.
The United States Secretary of War
William Eustis
, who was apparently preoccupied with financial economies, had sent no communications to Hanks for several months. He sent word of the declaration of war on 18 June to the commanders in the northwest by ordinary rate post. The Postmaster at Cleveland, Ohio
, realised the importance of the news and hired an express rider to take it to Brigadier General William Hull
who was advancing on Detroit
, but it was too late to save both Hull and Hanks from being taken by surprise by the outbreak of hostilities.
Though he was unaware of events elsewhere, Hanks had heard rumours of unusual activity at St. Joseph Island. He sent a fur trader named Michael Dousman
, who held a commission as an officer in the militia
, to investigate. Dousman's boat was captured by the advancing British force, and Dousman apparently quickly changed sides.
Having learned from Dousman that the U.S. forces were unaware of the outbreak of war, Robert's force landed at a settlement subsequently named British Landing
on the north end of the island, 2 miles (3.2 km) away from the fort, early on the morning of 17 July. They quietly removed the village's inhabitants from their homes, dragged a 6-pounder cannon through the woods to a ridge above the fort, and fired a single round before sending a message under a flag of truce, demanding the U.S. forces surrender.
Hanks's force was surprised and was already at a tactical disadvantage. The flag of truce had been accompanied by three of the villagers, who greatly exaggerated the number of Indians in Roberts's force. Fearing a massacre by the Indians, Hanks capitulated without a fight. The United States garrison was taken prisoner but was released on giving their parole not to fight for the remainder of the war.
or leave within a month. Most took the oath. Roberts arrested three deserters from the British Army and twenty alleged British subjects. There was no looting, although Roberts expropriated the goods in the United States storehouses and a government trading post and purchased several bullocks to feed the Indians. The British subsequently abandoned their own fort at St. Joseph Island and concentrated their forces at Mackinac Island.
Of the Indians present, the Ottawa contingent had apparently remained aloof from the others. They and most of the Chippawas subsequently dispersed. At least some of the Western Indians proceeded south to join the tribes with Tecumseh
at Fort Amherstburg
. The mere threat of their arrival prompted the American Brigadier General Hull to abandon his invasion of Canadian territory and retreat to Detroit on 3 August.
The news of the loss of Mackinac prompted several Indian tribes (such as the Wyandots near Detroit) who formerly were friendly to the Americans or neutral, to rally to the British cause. Their hostility influenced the U.S. surrender at the Siege of Detroit
shortly afterwards. Lieutenant Hanks was killed by a cannon shot at Detroit shortly before the surrender, while awaiting a court martial for cowardice.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. A British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
force captured the island soon after the outbreak of war between Britain and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Encouraged by the easy British victory, more Native Americans subsequently rallied to their support. Their cooperation was an important factor in several British victories during the remainder of the war.
Background
Mackinac IslandMackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
was an U.S. fur trading
North American Fur Trade
The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, exchange, and sale of animal furs in the North American continent. Indigenous peoples of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning...
post in the Straits of Mackinac
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...
between Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
and Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. Since the mid-seventeenth century, it had been important for its influence and control over the Indian tribes in the area. British and Canadian traders had resented it being ceded to the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
maintained a small fort, named Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac is a former American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century near Michilimackinac, Michigan, on Mackinac Island...
, on the island. About 40 miles (64.4 km) away was the British military post on St. Joseph Island
St. Joseph Island
St. Joseph Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, near the mouth of the St. Marys River which connects Lake Huron with Lake Superior. It is the second largest island in Lake Huron and the third largest in the Great Lakes overall, trailing Manitoulin and Lake Superior's Isle Royale.St...
and the (Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
's trading post at Sault Sainte Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
.
The British commander in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, Major General Isaac Brock
Isaac Brock
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB was a British Army officer and administrator. Brock was assigned to Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he commanded his regiment in Upper Canada successfully for many years...
, had kept the commander of the post at St. Joseph Island, Captain Charles Roberts, informed of events as war appeared increasingly likely from the start of 1812. As soon as he learned of the outbreak of war, Brock sent a canoe party led by the noted trader William McKay
William McKay
William McKay was a noted trader and traveler in Upper Canada, who subsequently served as a military officer during the War of 1812....
to Roberts with the vital news, and orders to capture Mackinac.
McKay reached St. Joseph Island on 8 July. With the assistance of the North West Company, Roberts immediately began to collect a force consisting of three men of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, 47 British soldiers of the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion (which Roberts later described as being "debilitated and worn down by unconquerable drunkenness"), 150 Canadian or métis (part-Indian) fur traders and voyageur
Voyageur
Voyageur is a French word meaning "voyager" or "traveler".Voyageur can refer to:*Voyageurs, persons who transported furs by canoe during the fur trade era....
s, 300 Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
(Chippawa) or Ottawas
Ottawa (tribe)
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
who were at the island to trade skins, and 110 Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, Menominee
Menominee
Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.The Menominee are a nation of Native Americans living in Wisconsin. The Menominee, along with the Ho-Chunk, are the only tribes that are indigenous to what is now Wisconsin...
and Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
who had been recruited by Indian agent Robert Dickson
Robert Dickson (fur trader)
Robert Dickson was a fur trader, and later an agent for the Indian Department in Upper Canada, who played a prominent part in the War of 1812....
from present-day Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
As preparations for the expedition proceeded, Roberts received successive orders from Brock to cancel, and then to reinstate, the attack on Mackinac. Colonel Edward Baynes, the Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
for all British forces in Canada, also sent orders for Roberts to concentrate on defending St. Joseph Island. However, on 15 July, Roberts received further orders from Brock which allowed him to use his own discretion. Fearing that the Indians would drift away if they were not allowed to attack, Roberts immediately set out. His force was embarked in the armed schooner Caledonia
USS Caledonia (1812)
USS Caledonia was a brig, formerly HMS Caledonia, which was captured by the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812 and taken into American service. The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie, and was sold at the end of the war.Caledonia was the first warship in the U.S...
belonging to the North West Company, seventy war canoes and ten bateaux.
Capture of Mackinac
Fort Mackinac was sited on a limestone ridge which overlooked the harbour at the south-eastern end of the island. The American garrison consisted of 61 artillerymen under Lieutenant Porter Hanks with seven guns, although only one of these, a 9-pounder, could reach the harbour. There were other weaknesses; the garrison relied for fresh water on a spring outside the fort, and the position was overlooked by a higher ridge less than a mile away.The United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
William Eustis
William Eustis
William Eustis was an early American statesman.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied at the Boston Latin School before he entered Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1772. He studied medicine under Dr. Joseph Warren and helped care for the wounded at the Battle of Bunker...
, who was apparently preoccupied with financial economies, had sent no communications to Hanks for several months. He sent word of the declaration of war on 18 June to the commanders in the northwest by ordinary rate post. The Postmaster at Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, realised the importance of the news and hired an express rider to take it to Brigadier General William Hull
William Hull
William Hull was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Detroit to the British.- Early life and Revolutionary War :He was born in...
who was advancing on Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, but it was too late to save both Hull and Hanks from being taken by surprise by the outbreak of hostilities.
Though he was unaware of events elsewhere, Hanks had heard rumours of unusual activity at St. Joseph Island. He sent a fur trader named Michael Dousman
Michael Dousman
Michael Dousman was a fur trader and merchant with business interests in and around Mackinac Island during the War of 1812 period. He was the father of Wisconsin pioneer Hercules L...
, who held a commission as an officer in the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, to investigate. Dousman's boat was captured by the advancing British force, and Dousman apparently quickly changed sides.
Having learned from Dousman that the U.S. forces were unaware of the outbreak of war, Robert's force landed at a settlement subsequently named British Landing
British Landing
British Landing is a place within Mackinac Island, Michigan and is located on the shore of Mackinac Island, two miles northwest of the island's downtown and harbor. British Landing is the site of a War of 1812 amphibious operation on July 16-17, 1812, by a joint force of the British Army and...
on the north end of the island, 2 miles (3.2 km) away from the fort, early on the morning of 17 July. They quietly removed the village's inhabitants from their homes, dragged a 6-pounder cannon through the woods to a ridge above the fort, and fired a single round before sending a message under a flag of truce, demanding the U.S. forces surrender.
Hanks's force was surprised and was already at a tactical disadvantage. The flag of truce had been accompanied by three of the villagers, who greatly exaggerated the number of Indians in Roberts's force. Fearing a massacre by the Indians, Hanks capitulated without a fight. The United States garrison was taken prisoner but was released on giving their parole not to fight for the remainder of the war.
Aftermath
The island's inhabitants were made to swear an oath of allegiance as subjects of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or leave within a month. Most took the oath. Roberts arrested three deserters from the British Army and twenty alleged British subjects. There was no looting, although Roberts expropriated the goods in the United States storehouses and a government trading post and purchased several bullocks to feed the Indians. The British subsequently abandoned their own fort at St. Joseph Island and concentrated their forces at Mackinac Island.
Of the Indians present, the Ottawa contingent had apparently remained aloof from the others. They and most of the Chippawas subsequently dispersed. At least some of the Western Indians proceeded south to join the tribes with Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
at Fort Amherstburg
Fort Amherstburg
Fort Amherstburg was built by the Royal Canadian Volunteers at the mouth of the Detroit River to replace Fort Detroit, which Britain was required to cede to the United States of America in 1796 as a result of the Jay Treaty....
. The mere threat of their arrival prompted the American Brigadier General Hull to abandon his invasion of Canadian territory and retreat to Detroit on 3 August.
The news of the loss of Mackinac prompted several Indian tribes (such as the Wyandots near Detroit) who formerly were friendly to the Americans or neutral, to rally to the British cause. Their hostility influenced the U.S. surrender at the Siege of Detroit
Siege of Detroit
The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812...
shortly afterwards. Lieutenant Hanks was killed by a cannon shot at Detroit shortly before the surrender, while awaiting a court martial for cowardice.