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 rallied to their support. Their cooperation was an important factor in several British victories during the remainder of the war.
View of Fort Mackinac from Round Island
Upon learning of the outbreak of war, Major General Issac Brock sent a canoe party to inform Captain Charles Roberts of the news, and orders to capture Fort Mackinac.
Fort Mackinac, Michigan
View of British Landing, c. 1898. British forces landed near the settlement on the night of July 16.
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area, covering 4.35 square miles (11.3 km2) in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". 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 long home to an Odawa settlement and previous indigenous cultures before European colonization began in the 17th century. It was a strategic center of the fur trade around the Great Lakes. Based on a former trading post, Fort Mackinac was constructed on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the site of two battles during the War of 1812 before the northern border was settled and the US gained this island in its territory.
Cyclists on M-185 (Main Street) at mile marker 0 in downtown Mackinac Island
Dwightwood Spring, on Mackinac Island's eastern shore
The statue of Jacques Marquette, Jesuit priest and Great Lakes explorer, in front of Fort Mackinac
A view of M-185 through Arch Rock