National Archives Records To Shed Light on Fort History
By Jessica Delaney

The history of Fort Mackinac dates to the American Revolution and has been well documented, yet there are periods during which little is known. As a strategic influence during the fur trade, it was the site of the first land battle of the War of 1812, and after the Civil War, the fort became a historically important tourist destination.

Between the two wars, however, documentation has been hard to find, notes Steve Brisson, the chief curator at Mackinac State Historic Parks.

“It is a relatively unknown period,” said Mr. Brisson, “especially compared to the height of the fur trade and the War of 1812 when there were things being reported because there was so much activity.”

That may be changing, however, with the recent rediscovery of quartermaster records in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. by historian Bruce Hawkins. The records cover some of the business transactions from 1817 to 1850. Recorded in the logs of Fort Mackinac, for example, are the purchases of tools, saws, equipment, and even cattle hair, and they will be helpful in learning how people lived at the fort during the 19th century.

“At first glance,” Mr. Brisson said, “this is just a list of the ordering of mundane supplies, but when you get it all together and study it, the humanity becomes apparent.”

By taking the lists of materials and their quantities, and by looking at averages, trends, changes, and the items that were used, he said, historians can paint a picture of what life was like at the fort.

Mr. Hawkins, an independent researcher, has worked with Mackinac State Historic Parks on a variety of projects over the years, so when he discovered this record group while working on an unrelated project, he contacted historians here with the news.

This is the first time the National Archives have been searched for Fort Mackinac records of this type, said Mr. Brisson. Park historians have used the Archives for other information, however. Phil Porter, now the director of Mackinac State Historic Parks, used a register of enlistments in his research of soldiers during the Victorian period to obtain their age, nationality, and languages spoken. The information helped develop programs at the fort and eventually led to Mr. Porter’s book, “A Desirable Station.”

The quartermaster records found by Mr. Hawkins will be copied and sent to Mackinac Island, where researchers here will dissect the information they contain and use that information for specific reference and, possibly, for future major works. The records will also be available to other scholars.

Acquisition of the documents will cost $5,200, and is being paid for with a grant from the Tawani Foundation, which funds historic preservation, health and wellness, and environment conservation. Last year, the foundation funded the agency’s reprinting of “War 1812: The United States and Great Britain at Mackinac, 1812-1815.”