Sneaking Inside the Walls of Fort Michilimackinac

Welcome back! Last month in Unearthing the Past at Fort Michilimackinac we delved below the surface (literally) and viewed items uncovered from the sand used to recreate the fort, structures, and also exhibits that exist today at this historic site. We discovered a bit about the people who lived in the area before the original fort installation and after. 

I mentioned in the last post that reading Pegg Thomas’ stories of fort life impacted my adventure at Fort Michilmackinac. To enhance your experience, how about if we tiptoe inside the palisade walls? Have no fear, there is no danger of an attack. Though you might be able to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of Colonial life. Shall we enter the water gate where voyageurs would land their vessels and carry their goods to be counted? Or shall we enter by land, perhaps as a settler seeking goods to purchase? Enter through one and exit through the other you say. Excellent. My thoughts exactly. Let’s go! Onward and inward, to the Colonial Fort Michilimackinac.

By water, we pass the artillery platforms and enter near the King’s Storehouse. Here visitors can view a short film previewing life at the height of the fort in the 1770s. Nearly 2,000 people lived and worked in the protection of the palisades. 

Steps from the King's Storehouse resides the Commander's House. In the photos below, take a moment to absorb the accoutrements of daily life. Harsh Michigan winters necessitated large, crackling fires. Not everyone living at the fort had the luxury of this magnificent stone fireplace. Look at that ceiling. There is something to be said for homes and items created by hand. The intention and time behind the final product cannot be mimicked in mass-produced goods. I wonder at the hours involved in designing, building, and carving the large wardrobe. 

Below, photos show of an example of an enlisted soldier and his wife's rented house. The Army allowed some soldiers to live in these houses with their wives and children. Army-issued and privately purchased items fill the space. When women were not working for the military, they acquired other jobs such as doing laundry for fort residents. The payment for that weekly task rested at eight shillings. The extra income helped as the military only provided basic necessities.

In the last episode, we dug into the archeology at this site. Below is a display of ceramics the archeologists unearthed. The wife living here used these vessels or some similar. Teapots, earthenware cups, stoneware milk jugs, earthenware bowls, and porcelain dishes to name a few. Notice the item at the bottom. Chamber pots were all the rage on freezing nights.

The remaining soldiers, most likely lower in rank, bunked together in the Barracks. Soldiers toiled, slept, ate, and drilled together. They rarely mingled with civilians, other than at church. 

Soldiers earned eight pence daily, six removed to pay for food rations. Since this fort was at the end of the line, the quality was often lacking. The military expected them to amend their diets by fishing and tending gardens for produce. 

A group of men pooled their rations together, called a "mess." Two messes per room of the barracks. In 1776, daily rations consisted of: one ounce of rice, 1/4 pint of peas, eight ounces of salt pork, one ounce of butter, and one pound of flour or bread. The mess combined ingredients and efforts, cooking their own meals.

The day we visited, docents presented history surrounding tea and served samples. A poignant example of added value in visiting historical sites. Shared details expounded on topics I had never heard before or considered. The British Trader's House afforded a backdrop for visitors to sit, listen, and steep.

Associated with health and hospitality, there is an entire culture set around tea. A shared beverage in the same container goes back to ancient times. Representing shared resources, tea is a bridge to build relationships. Time for tea and manner in which it is served varies by people group. 

We learned that originates from one plant: Camelia Seninsis. How the leaves are harvested determines the end product. White leaves are the hardest to process. Green leaves are lighter in flavor. Black leaves are oxidized. Oolong is on the greener side of black tea. Here in 1770s they drank Oolong loose leaf black teas. 

How did tea find a place on the British table?

Catherine of Braganza, born in Vila Viçosa, Portugal, married King Charles II in May of 1662. Her dowery included a chest of tea. At the time, British citizens drank beer/ale. After the union, and by the end of 1800s, most British subjects drank tea.

Another facet to consider are the necessary components to make, serve, and consume tea. A table set included a tea tray, tea pot, strainer, creamer, sugar bowl, spoons, and other specialized equipment. A kettle started the process. The finish - tea cups and saucers. An entire niche for production and consumption. Next time we take a sip of tea, we might better appreciate the rich and long history before it filled our cup. 

Stepping out of the British Trader's House, we walk toward The Church of Ste. Anne. It stands just before the Southwest Rowhouse that contains special exhibits for the public. The Parade Ground is near the archeological site, followed by the remaining rowhouses. Other buildings include the latrine (necessary but thankfully not in current use), blacksmith shop, Priest’s House, Guardhouse, and Powder Magazine.

As we funnel out the Land Gate, we walk through the Native American Encampment. Read more about the Anishinaabek if you would like, in last month's Unearthing the Past at Fort Michilimackinac.

When the fort is open for visitors, interpreters in full regalia provide insights of Colonial Life. Presentations ranging from preparing food, gardening, to cannon fire, are sure to bring the fort to life for young and seasoned alike. Programs and special events plunge into history. Fort Fright in October and A Colonial Christmas in December are a few of the added activities. 

Have you visited a fort? Which one and where is it located? Or might you make plans to visit this fort in the future?

If you have a hankering for more fort life before you are able to make the trek, you will be excited to learn Pegg Thomas’ Her Redcoat is available now and transpires at Fort Michilimackinac! The heroine, Laurette Pettigrew is friends with the Ojibwe.

Here are the four stories by Pegg Thomas mentioned in the post:

Henri's Regret, Maggie's Strength, Sarah's Choice, Her Redcoat.

Pegg has many more journeys available in her tales. When describing Pegg weaving a yarn, this statement winds twofold. She crafts compelling stories and creates with yarn from start to finish. Visit her website to peruse her books. Join her newsletter to be the first to hear of her adventures in both avenues. Watch videos as she shares the textile process step-by-step. From drafting and carding wool to combining colors, on to the spinning wheel, and designing the final product, Pegg opens a window to long ago processes and precious items made by hand.

For history surrounding Fort Michilimackinac, read these posts by Kathleen Rouser: An Unburied Historical Treasure: Colonial Fort Michilimackinac and The Siege of the Fort at Detroit (Please note, the Giveaway ended.)

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 128 Plans, in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of an American soldier and a college senior. If it were up to Rebecca, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, she tackles the craft of fiction while learning from a host of generous writers. Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram PinterestX/Twitter

The Unseen Maid

By Sherri Stewart

Television series, such as Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs created a huge interest in the lives of English gentry and those who served them. The majority of the residents of stately homes were not the wealthy owners, but servants, and for them, life was hard and certainly far from heavenly. Their daily tasks included keeping the house and grounds immaculate, caring for horses and vehicles, cooking and serving meals, raising children, sewing, washing, and providing creature comforts including coal for the fireplaces, water in the bedrooms, and food and drink whenever it was required.

Such a rigorous schedule meant that housemaids had to get up as early as 5:30 a.m. in order to clean the living areas and light fires before the family appeared. In the kitchens, other maids would be lighting stoves and boiling gallons of water, which had to be carried upstairs by senior maids and valets to fill the china washbasins or hip baths in every bedroom.

The estate was required to be run without any apparent effort at all. So if a guest passed a maid sweeping the stairs, the maid either had to turn her face to the wall or hide behind doorways, because her presence was an admission that the house didn't run itself. Maids had to use the back stairs and side entrances so that they wouldn’t meet the people they served. Attics were used for maids’ rooms, which were cold in winter and hot in summer. Male staff often slept near their work.

Maids typically ate dinner at around 2 p.m. in the servants’ hall. Everyone waited behind their chairs until the butler and housekeeper arrived and signaled they could sit. This pause in the day’s toil provided some free time, but servants were rarely allowed to leave the house. A bell could ring at any time, calling them to provide a service or to perform routine tasks. In effect, there was no end to their working day, and one day off a month was the most they could hope for. Brass bells on heavy coils mounted in the servants’ hall allowed maids to hear the summons to any room in the house. There was no such thing in the servants’ hall as being “off duty.” 

Even by 19^th and 20^thcentury standards, wages were low; however, maids had fewer expenses than other workers because accommodations and food were provided. In less affluent houses, this could mean slim pickings, but in the great aristocratic mansions, maids were well fed. They might have even sampled treats such as ice cream left over from parties the night before. 

 

Visitors to kitchens and servants' quarters can only be amazed at how hard the maids had to work to keep the great stately homes running. Not least of their difficulties was lack of time off. World War I opened up more jobs, especially for women, and as the 20th century progressed, fewer women tolerated the restrictions of a maid’s life. However, for many women, the fear of the unknown world beyond the estate’s gate kept them ever leaving.

https://britishheritage.com/history/servants-lives-below-stairs

Selah Award finalist Sherri Stewart loves a clean novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passions are traveling to the settings of her books and sampling the food. She traveled to Paris for this book, and she works daily on her French and German although she doesn’t need to since everyone speaks English. A widow, Sherri lives in Orlando with her lazy dog, Lily. She shares recipes, tidbits of the book’s locations, and other authors' books in her newsletter.

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Secrets Dark and Deep

TV anchor, Maddie Caldecott, has a secret so deeply buried within that she doesn’t remember it. But the man called Absalom knows her secret, and his threats to exact his revenge are becoming more and more intrusive. As an investigative reporter, Maddie can dig out the truth of any story, but she can’t unearth the secret she’s blocked until it’s too late.

Police Detective, Brody Messner, is at his wits end. How can he protect Maddie if she resists his every suggestion? His need to protect her has become personal. From Orlando to Zürich, he follows her, trying to stay one step ahead of her assailant—all of his notes to her, and the song. https://bit.ly/49gE1wp

The Castillo de San Marcos, Part 1--and a giveaway

 

By Jennifer Uhlarik

 

If you’ve been to St. Augustine, Florida, I’m sure you’ve seen the huge stone fort that sits at the mouth of Matanzas Bay. If you’ve not been, let me tell you about it. The town and it’s magnificent masonry fort is a show-stopper with a long and varied history.

 

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. The town was founded in 1565 by the Spanish admiral, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, in order to give Spain a colony in the New World where its treasure fleet could defend itself and Spain’s North American territories against other European powers. But for the first one hundred years after its founding, the only defenses St. Augustine’s settlers had against these powers—and pirates or any other force coming against them—were a series of wooden forts that all met quick ends. Some forts were burned to the ground. Others fell victim to the ravages of termites. Hurricanes damaged and demolished still others. 

 

When British pirates led by John Davis attacked St. Augustine, leaving every building looted and damaged, sixty residents dead, and seventy more taken captive, the Spanish Crown decided a more permanent fortification was needed—especially since the British were forming colonies in along the eastern seaboard within easy sailing distance of the Spanish settlement. After this attack, money, troops, and supplies were sent from Mexico and Cuba to fortify St. Augustine.

 

In 1671, engineer Ignacio Daza was tasked with drawing up plans for the huge fort that would become known as Castillo de San Marcos—a square masonry fort with bastions at each corner, a moat, two drawbridges, and a ravelin protecting its only entrance. Groundbreaking for the fort occurred in October of 1672. Five months later, both the governor of La Florida who was spearheading the fort’s construction, as well as the engineer, Ignacio Daza, died of illness. Before they passed, these men saw the eastern wall and the adjoining bastions constructed to half their final height

(the fort stands twenty-five feet tall today with lookout towers at the corners of each bastion), but it took an additional twenty-three years to finish the construction of the Castillo, due in some part to money shortages, pirate attacks, epidemics, storms, and lack of commitment from the Spanish crown. But in 1695, the Castillo de San Marcos was completed. The total cost of the fort’s construction totaled nearly $3 million dollars (adjusted for today’s dollar value). 

 

The fort was constructed of “coquina,” mortar, and a covering of plaster. Coquina is a naturally formed substance made when layers upon layers of tiny seashells become cemented together over long periods of time. Just off the coast of Anastasia Island, a quarry of this substance was found, so soldiers and convicts were sent to the quarry to cut “bricks” of coquina, which were transported across Mantanzas Bay to the location of the Castillo de San Marcos. At this location, Native Americans from three Florida and Georgia tribes were conscripted into working on the fort, digging foundation trenches and laying the bricks. Once the coquina was laid in place, a mortar was made of lime, sand, and water, which was used to secure the bricks in place. The entire structure was then given a plaster coating over the coquina to further fortify it.

 

Since no one was certain how the coquina would do under cannon fire, the fort’s outer walls were constructed especially thick—anywhere between twelve and nineteen feet, depending on the location. (The walls closest to Matanzas Bay are thicker than the inland sides). The bastions at each corner were constructed in order to deflect cannonballs launched at the fort. There is one entrance into the fort, in the center of the south wall. To reach it, one must cross two drawbridges which could be raised to keep out intruders, and a triangular ravelin was positioned between the entrance and the water to prevent cannon fire from reaching the entry.

 

In 1702, the British attacked and took the town of St. Augustine—but not the fort. The attackers positioned cannons within the city streets and turned fire upon the fort, pounding the seashell walls with fire. To everyone’s surprise, the cannonballs either bounced off or sunk in only slightly with no real damage to the structure. Across the years, other attacks would come from various countries and sources, and in each case, the coquina fort stood strong, repelling everything the invading armies or navies could throw at it. However, as the French and Indian War ended, power structures in North America, the Caribbean, and Cuba shifted with the stroke of a pen, and Spanish-controlled Florida became the possession of the British in 1763. Castillo de San Marcos now belonged to England, and its name changed to Fort Mark.

 

It’s Your Turn: I’ll continue the interesting history of Castillo de San Marcos next month, but for now, tell me what you find most interesting about the origins of this castle-like fort, which is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. Leave your name and email address to be entered in a drawing for an audiobook copy of The Cowboys collection—including four novellas by Cindy Ervin Huff, Sandra Merville Hart, Linda Yezak, and me.

 

Award-winning, best-selling novelist Jennifer Uhlarik has loved the western genre since she read her first Louis L’Amour novel. She penned her first western while earning a writing degree from University of Tampa. Jennifer lives near Tampa with her husband, son, and furbabies. www.jenniferuhlarik.com

COMING MARCH 1, 2022

 

Love’s Fortress by Jennifer Uhlarik

 

A Friendship From the Past Brings Closure to Dani’s Fractured Family

 

When Dani Sango’s art forger father passes away, Dani inherits his home. There, she finds a book of Native American drawings, which leads her to seek museum curator Brad Osgood’s help to decipher the ledger art. Why would her father have this book? Is it another forgery?

 

Brad Osgood longs to provide his four-year-old niece, Brynn, the safe home she desperately deserves. The last thing he needs is more drama, especially from a forger’s daughter. But when the two meet “accidentally” at St. Augustine’s 350-year-old Spanish fort, he can’t refuse the intriguing woman.

 

Broken Bow is among seventy-three Plains Indians transported to Florida in 1875 for incarceration at ancient Fort Marion. Sally Jo Harris and Luke Worthing dream of serving on a foreign mission field, but when the Indians reach St. Augustine, God changes their plans. However, when Sally Jo’s friendship with Broken Bow leads to false accusations, it could cost them their lives.

 

Can Dani discover how Broken Bow and Sally Jo’s story ends and how it impacted her father’s life?

 

(NOTE: This blurb does not yet match bookseller’s descriptions, but it IS the same book).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kidnapping George Washington

By J. M. Hochstetler

General George Washington

The American Revolution was one of the last “gentlemen’s” wars. That meant that, for example, a captured enemy officer was allowed free range of the town where he was held as long as he signed a parole promising not to escape. Kidnapping equally became a gentleman’s game in which both sides considered the act justified if it helped to shorten the war, while assassination was deemed a disgrace and unworthy of gentlemen. George Washington approved kidnapping as a strategy and supported attempts to kidnap British General Henry Clinton and one to snatch traitor Benedict Arnold from New York City, all of which failed. Likely more than 1,000 such attempts against top military and civilian leaders on both sides were made during the war.

There were good reasons for this strategy: to remove leaders from participation in the war; and to exchange a captive as needed for one of their own of the same rank that the enemy held. Precise intelligence about the object’s location and absolute secrecy were crucial to success. Failure might leave the raiders stranded in enemy territory, and if captured, they could be hanged. Speed was therefore vital to snag their object, then return to safety with the captive in tow.

Ford Mansion

Washington’s army spent the winter of 1778-79 at Morristown, New Jersey, where they endured more severe and desperate conditions than at Valley Forge the previous year. Temperatures plummeted and 28 blizzards pounded the region, burying the roads under snowdrifts that made traveling any distance difficult at best, impossible at worst, and often brought transportation of essential supplies to a halt. The army camped in a place called Jockey Hollow, while Washington and his staff set up headquarters roughly 3 miles away in Morristown, crowded into the home of widow Theodosia Ford and her 4 young children. For a brief overview of the army’s  trials, watch the video below.

It didn’t take long for the distance between their arch rival and his army to draw the attention of British spies, who immediately passed the information to the British high command. This vulnerability inspired plans for a coup that not only could demoralize the rebels, but just might cripple the patriot cause beyond recovery and end the war with a British triumph: the capture of the American commander.

Not that the patriots were oblivious to the dangers. Washington had already been the object of one failed kidnapping attempt in summer 1776, and his second in command, General Charles Lee was currently held by the British after being snatched in a daring raid that December. It did not escape notice that with rivers and creeks throughout the area frozen solid there was a very real possibility the British might attempt a raid into New Jersey. But Washington was surprised when Silas Condict, a member of the New Jersey executive council, sent him a letter warning that a party of horsemen could reach Morristown undiscovered and capture him. The American commander was convinced, however, that with his Life Guard quartered close by and the army not far down the road, a raid would easily be quashed, and he brushed off Condict’s warning.

Washington at Jockey Hollow

But with only 87 Life Guards available at that time, and snow often blocking the roads between headquarters and the army, a very real hole in security existed. Partially plugging it, two brigades under Maj. General St. Clair were stationed west of Elizabethtown to guard against British raiders crossing the Hudson from Staten Island. St. Clair also had the foresight to ask New Jersey authorities to raise a militia company of light cavalry to patrol the coastal roads. The patrols would soon prove their worth.

In fact, a British plot was already afoot to send raiders across the Hudson River, frozen solid that unusually cold winter. At around the same time Captain George Beckwith, Lt. Gen. Wilhelm vonKnyphausen’s aide, and Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, commander of the loyalist Queen’sRangers, independently came up with plans to kidnap the American commander based on detailed intelligence. Knyphausen preferred Beckwith’s plan because it called for a larger main force consisting of several hundred cavalry and infantry, which would cross from Manhattan, targeting Washington’s headquarters, while 3 diversionary units crossed from Staten Island to attack several American outposts in northern Jersey.

Queen's Rangers

Set for February 8, the attack had to be postponed because of intense snow and rain storms. Knyphausen rescheduled the operation for the night of February 10, not knowing that one of St. Clair’s spies was in New York City gathering intelligence. The anonymous spy was likely a “loyalist” the British allowed through their outpost at Paulus Hook, New Jersey, to trade in New York. When the British stopped all traffic in and out of Paulus Hook on the 10^th while cavalry was assembled there to cross the Hudson, he became trapped. By a stroke of sheer luck the clueless British chose him to serve as guide to the main body of raiders, and he crossed with them from New York into New Jersey early on the morning of February 11, headed for Morristown.

The detachment managed to get as far as Hackensack and penetrate five or six more miles into the country. Still a good distance from Morristown, they were forced to turn back by sleet-crusted snow that cut the horses’ fetlocks, and then came under American fire. Unknown to them, Continental soldiers and Jersey militia had also discovered the British diversionary forces and drove them back across the Hudson as well. The only real damage occurred at Elizabethtown, with one American soldier injured and the houses of several prominent citizens plundered “in a most barbarous manner.” All while Washington slept the night away at his headquarters, blissfully unaware of how close he had come to falling into British clutches.

The opportunity to capture Washington and end the war was briefly at the fingertips of the British high command. But fortunately for the fledgling United States and for us today, the moment passed. Ultimately it was not to be.

~~~

American Patriot Series #5

Following a humiliating defeat at Philadelphia and a rival’s stunning victory at Saratoga, Washington’s army faces a bitter winter at Valley Forge. Meanwhile, General Jonathan Carleton races to save Elizabeth Howard from the horrors of the prison ships in the British stronghold at New York, while British General William Howe plots to execute them both. From heart-pounding battles on the high seas, to the rigors of Valley Forge and the Shawnee’s savagely fought wars to preserve their ancestral lands, Valley of the Shadow continues the thrilling saga of America’s founding in an inspiring story of despair, courage, and triumph. 

~~~

J. M.Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Her American PatriotSeries is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Northkill, Book 1 of theNorthkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 Indie Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, released April 1, 2017. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year.

An Unburied Historical Treasure: Colonial Fort Michilimackinac

As you walk through the opening in the palisades into historic Fort Michilimackinac you are transported back to Colonial America. You wouldn’t guess that the structures had been rebuilt within the last century.

During the summer, the return of the voyageurs is reenacted often. In fact, this wooden fort, strategically placed on the Straits of Mackinac, at the northern tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula was built more for the fur trade than defense. Michilimackinac was established in 1715 by the French.

Over the years scholars have disputed the meaning of the name Michilimackinac. Most have believed the name to mean “The Great Turtle” as this was considered the shape of Mackinac Island. In 1887, Andrew J. Blackbird, an Odawa historian wrote that the area was named as a memorial to an extinct tribe known as the “Mi-shi-ne-macki naw-go.” 

View of Straits of Mackinac and entrance into the reconstruction of Fort Michilimackinac from
inside by Aldryd, 2006 [CC] from Wikimedia Commons.

Voyageurs and traders came from Montreal to meet at Michilimackinac with trappers who’d traveled farther west to obtain pelts. Many Native Americans lived in a close by community, also trading at the outpost. There were many peaceful years and friendly relations between the French and Native Americans, such as the Odawa tribe.

The thriving church of Ste. Anne also had a place in the fort. Today there are reenactments of an 18^th century wedding each day the fort is open to visitors.

After the British victory in the French and Indian War, the British took charge of the fort. Because of their poor treatment of the Native Americans, this did not sit well with the local tribes. Along with the fact that they had recently fought on the same side as the French, which didn’t help the relationship with the British either.

Backyards in Ft. Michilimackinac by grggrssmr, 2009 [cc]
from Wikimedia Commons

The French and Metis (Ojibwa and French) civilians along with British fur traders stayed there after the transfer of power. The British continued to maintain its operation as a fur trading outpost.

A young, perhaps rather naïve commanding officer, Captain George Etherington, was sent with his regiment in 1761 and took command of Michilimackinac in 1762. 

Invited by the Ojibwa to watch a game of baggatiway (a game similar to lacrosse), under the guise of celebrating King George III’s birthday, Captain Etherington was shocked when the Ojibwa pulled a surprise attack.

Cannon shot at the fort by Snaplucky, 2017, [cc]
Wikimedia Commons

After their wooden ball wound up in the fort. Ojibwa women wrapped in blankets waited on the sidelines, hiding knives to pass to their men. The warriors entered the fort, killing most of its English inhabitants. At least twenty-seven British men were killed between the attack and those executed later. Perhaps a dozen others were held as prisoners. Etherington and his lieutenant survived the attack but were held captive.

This coup had been planned by Native Americans working with Chief Pontiac, whose rebellion was designed to oust the British from the areas they controlled. The Native Americans held Michilimackinac for a year and then the British regained control after bearing gifts and making promises of better treatment.

Fort Michilimackinac didn’t have a higher vantage point from where to observe oncoming enemies and the wooden palisades were difficult and expensive to keep in repair. In 1781, the British built a brand-new fort on Mackinac Island with limestone walls in an area which could be well-defended. (If you’ve ever walked up the many steps to Fort Mackinac on an 85-degree day you know what I’m talking about!)

Inside the fort by Eli Duke, 2004, [cc]
Wikimedia Commons

After overseeing the construction of Fort Mackinac, Patrick Sinclair, the lieutenant governor of Michilimackinac, ordered the burning of Fort Michilimackinac. It’s days as a fur trading post were over.

Archaeological excavations of the site began in 1959 and led to rebuilding many important buildings in Fort Michilimackinac. Today, excavations continue and the fort is overseen and cared for as part of Mackinac Island State Parks. If you’d like a firsthand experience of colonial life on the straits at the northern tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula you will enjoy the reenactments, sites, and daily activities offered during the tourist season.

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser

More than fists fly after a fight between Philip and Zeke. When their widowed parents, Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper meet they can’t seem to agree on much.
But when he is deathly ill, Maggie nurses him back to health, and takes his children in hand. Growing affection between them is quickly denied by both. An old beau appears offering Maggie a new opportunity. But then tragedy strikes the town and Thomas and Maggie find themselves working together to save the children of Stone Creek from a huckster’s potion. As Maggie considers leaving town, Thomas wants to offer her an alternative. Is he too late to declare his love to the angel of mercy who has captured his heart?