Andrew Holmes

From Wikipedia.

Major Andrew Hunter Holmes (1782-August 14, 1814)

Born in Fairfax County, Virginia, was a War of 1812 American officer.

He was captain of the 24th Infantry in the War of 1812 and promoted to major on June 8, 1813.

On April 18, 1814, he was major of the 32nd Infantry.

His victory at the Battle of Longwoods in Upper Canada, near present-day London, Ontario was lauded.

But, he was killed on August 4, 1814, in an attack on Fort Mackinac, Michigan, in the Battle of Mackinac Island.

Holmes County, Ohio, and Holmesville, Mississippi , are named after him.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Longwoods-- Part 3

 Although Andrew Holmes had defeated the British, he knew he was outnumbered and decided he would be unable to capture the post at Delaware.  At 9 p.m., a short time after the British retired from the field, he abandoned his position at Twenty Mile Creek where the battle was fought and retreated to Detroit.

The British later abandoned their outpost at Delaware.

However, two American six-pounder guns which Holmes had abandoned near Pointe au Pelee were discovered by a Canadian militia unit who destroyed their carriages and concealed the guns in a black ash swamp where they remained until the end of the war.

Holmes was promoted to major, but was killed a few months later at the Battle of Mackinac Island.  The British commander, British Captain James Lewis Basden had been wounded at the Battle of Longwoods, recovered and later fought at the Battle of Lundy's Landing.

The battle site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Holmes Was Special Forces Pirate Hunter Before the Battle of Mackinac-- Part 1

From the July 12, 2014, Mackinac Island Town Crier "A Look at History: Fort Holmes Namesake Was Special Forces Pirate Hunter Before Mackinac" by Frank Straus.

Holmes Hill, a rocky mound and rock hazard in Wawashkama Golf Links is named for him as is the former British Fort George on Mackinac Island.  Andrew Hunter Holmes gave his life fighting for the United States in the War of 1812.  He was second in command of the American forces under George Croghan when they attacked Mackinac Island in 1814.

Before he was killed at the Battle of Mackinac, he assisted  the army against the notorious pirate brothers, Pierre and Jean Lafitte who were into smuggling slaves and anything else they could get their hands on in the Gulf of Mexico area.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Hunter Holmes and the "Great Rebellion" at Princeton-- Part 1

From the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 16, 1908.

The "Great Rebellion" at Princeton took place on March 31, 1807.  On April 1, 1807, one of the expelled students was one Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, who later became Secretary of State of the United States.  Five other "rioters" were from Virginia like him, including Andrew Hunter Holmes.

Andrew Holmes was born in 1789, and attended Princeton and William and Mary.  he was a lawyer in New Orleans when the War of 1812 began and was killed at the 1814 Battle of Mackinac.

--Brock-Perry

Mackinac Island's Fort Holmes-- Part 2: Andrew Hunter Holmes

From Wikipedia.

Was captain in the 24th United States Infantry during the War of 1812..  Promoted to major June 8, 1813.  On April 18, 1814, he was a major in the 32nd U.S. Infantry and was victorious at the Battle of Longwoods in Upper Canada, but was killed on August 4, 1814, in the American attack on Fort Mackinac.
This attack was led by George Croghan.

Holmes County, Ohio, and Holmesville, Mississippi as well as Fort Holmes are named for him.

--Brock-Perry

Mackinac Island's Fort Holmes-- Part 1: Originally Built by the British

From Mackinac Parks site.

I started writing about this fort on June 10, 2016.

Fort Holmes sits atop the highest elevation on the island and was recently reconstructed and free and open to the public during normal operating hours from May to October.  It is a small wooden and earthen fortification.

When the U.S. reoccupied Mackinac Island after the War of 1812, the name was changed from Fort George (the British built the fort and named it in honor of Britain's King George III) to Fort Holmes in honor of Major Andrew Hunter Holmes who was killed in the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island.

After the war, the fort was also the site of at least two different viewing towers.

In 1936, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) used the original 1817 blueprints to rebuilt the fort, but it later fell into disrepair.

--Brock-Perry