Michigan Commemorates the War

From the September 6th Michigan Radio (NPR) "Stateside: It's the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812."

Michigan was the site of the first major battles of the war around Detroit and Mackinac Island.  Both were very embarrassing for the United States, showing how ill-prepared we were for the war.  According to historian Jim McConnell, Mackinac, July 17, 1812, "wasn't really a battle because the British caught the fort by surprise and the fort surrendered without firing a shot."  That British General Issac Brock was brilliant.

Then, August 16, 1812, came the fall of Detroit and the fort there, a shock to President Madison and the country "it certainly broke the spirit of Americans at the start of the war."  Again, great generalship by Isaac Brock.  (I'd never heard of him until I started this blog.)

From September 5-10th, US and Canadian Naval ships, the US Coast Guard and the replica brig of the USS Niagara from the Battle of Lake Erie, are docked and open to the public at Detroit.

Detroit's Commemoration.  --Brock-Perry