F561 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by the The collection of original documents as an aid to historical research, in which the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society is at present engaged, has in the present volume its ample justification. The war of 1812 formed an interesting epoch in the history of the American continent; and while in a general sense the facts relative thereto are amiliar to the general reader, now for the first time are brought together in print the official reports and correspondence of the British officers in command on the Canadian frontier and in Michigan; and in this volume can be found that portion of the British official story of the first two years of that war which forms a page in the annals of Michigan, together with such parts thereof relating to Upper Canada as was found inseparable therefrom. But even to the unprofessional reader, these letters and reports cannot fail to have a lively interest, as showing the inner causes which tended to the final result; and here, too, the story of Gen. Hull's surrender of Detroit finds further illustration, and the judgment that at best Gen. Hull was a weak man unfitted to the rank he had attained. The importance of the island of Mackinac, as a strategic point, is also shown in a most vivid manner, while the methods of the British in dealing with and cajoling the Indians into their support find ample illustration. A succeeding volume will contain papers of similar interest, bringing the story down to the final evacuation, by the British, of Michigan soil. The committee deem themselves fortunate in having been able to secure from the Archive office at Ottawa, Ontario, those copies of the original documents which are there guarded with the most jealous care, and that they are here brought together in a form convenient for distribution, study and preservation. LANSING, MICH.. June 25, 1890 b MICHAEL SHOEMAKER, Chairman A. D. P. VAN BUREN Committee of Historians |