Forts & Fields: Michigan's Military Places, 1669-2014

Though it is a border state, Michigan is probably not the state that first pops to mind when the average American thinks about his country’s military accomplishments. George Washington and his Continental Army never stepped foot in the state. Though it was a part of the Union at the time, Michigan is hundreds of miles away from the nearest Civil War battlefield. Though it has more coastline than another other of the 48 continental states, Michigan has no major naval base from which to launch a mighty fleet. If one looks a bit deeper into Michigan’s history and geography, however, one quickly discovers that the state has a wealth of military history. It is indeed a border state and was the source of a number of key battles in the early portion of the War of 1812. Like other states, Michigan mustered thousands of men to serve in the War Between the States, once even prompting President Abraham Lincoln to utter, “Thank God for Michigan!” During World War II, the state’s largest city – Detroit -- became the nation’s Arsenal of Democracy. During the Cold War, a series of missile batteries and several air bases were established to protect Detroit’s industrial might. From the days of Sieur De La Salle and Father Jacques Marquette through to the modern age, it has always been more than just dots on the map that have been part of Michigan’s military story. Michigan’s military story took shape at Civil War mustering-in camps that existed for only a few weeks in the early days of that bitter war and at modern-day Coast Guard stations charged with the preservation life for those who sail the Great Lakes. Before them came forts built by French explorers seeking to corner the fur trade. Later, it was British soldiers expanding their mighty empire and then Americans preparing pilots for two world wars. These are the stories of Michigan’s forts and fields, the military places where men and women served, fought and sometimes died during the march of history.