Fort Detroit

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Fort Détroit
Detroit, Michigan
The 1763 Siege of the Fort at Detroit by Frederic Remington
Type	Fort
Site information
Controlled by	New France (1701–1760) Great Britain (1760–1796)
Site history
Built	1701
In use	1701–1796

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a French and later British fortification established in 1701 on the north side of the Detroit River by Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac. A settlement based on the fur trade, farming and missionary work slowly developed in the area. The fort was located in what is now downtown Detroit, northeast of the intersection of Washington Boulevard and West Jefferson Avenue.

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit surrendered to the British in November 1760 during the Seven Years' War in November 1760 following the fall of Montreal. It was besieged by Indigenous forces during Pontiac's War in 1763. The British controlled the area throughout the American Revolutionary War, but replaced the French fort with the newly constructed Fort Lernoult in 1779. While the territory on what is now the Michigan side of the Detroit River was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, control of the fort was not transferred until 1796.

The river flowing between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie was called by Le Détroit du Lac Érié by the French, meaning "The Strait of Lake Erie." In 1698, Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac, who had previously commanded Fort de Buade at Michilimackinac, proposed the establishment of a colony at le Détroit. French families would be recruited as settlers, and the Indigenous tribes living near Michilimackinac would be encouraged to migrate to the area. The settlement would not only prevent English expansion into the Pays d'en Haut (Upper Country), but would also deter Iroquois aggression. Jérôme Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, the French Secretary of State of the Navy, approved the plan despite the misgivings of New France's Governor and Intendant.^[1]

In early June of 1701, Cadillac and roughly 100 settlers and soldiers set out from Lachine near Montreal. The expedition followed a northerly route up the Ottawa River and across to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The expedition reached Grosse Ile on the Detroit River on July 23rd. The following day, the expedition returned upstream several miles to a bluff on the north shore of the river at its narrowest point. Cadillac commenced the construction of a fort at this location which he named Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit. The first building completed was a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne, the patron saint of New France.^[2] In September, the first two European women arrived at the fort: Cadillac's wife, Marie-Thérèse Guyon, and Marie Anne Picoté de Belestre, the wife of Cadillac’s lieutenant, Alphonse de Tonty.^[3]

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit was built from white oak and initially enclosed an area of about 0.85 acres (0.34 hectares). The palisade was roughly 12 feet (3.7 m) tall with a bastion positioned at each corner. Dwellings, a warehouse, and the chapel were constructed inside the fort. For many years the entire European population lived within the palisade.^[4] In October 1703, a fire destroyed the chapel and the house of the Recollect priest, Constantin Delhalle, as well as the residences of Cadillac and Tonty.^[5]

After the fort was established, Odawa (Ottawa) from Michilimackinac, and Wyandot (Huron) from Michilimackinac and the St. Joseph River began migrating to le Détroit and established pallisaded villages there. Groups of Miami, Ojibwe and later Potawatomi also migrated to le Détroit. Cadillac reported an Indigenous population of 2,000 in 1705.^[6]

In June 1706, while Cadillac was at Quebec, Odawa warriors at Detroit set out on an expedition against the Sioux. A few days after leaving, a false rumour spread that the Miami living near Fort Pontchartrain were planning to raid the Odawa village. The Odawa chief known as Le Pesant or "The Bear" decided to turn back and lead a preemptive strike. The Odawa surprised eight Miami chiefs near the fort and slew seven of them. Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was commanding Fort Pontchartrain in Cadillac's absence, provided sanctuary to the Miamis and ordered his men to open fire on the Odawa. Father Delhalle and a soldier who were caught outside the fort were killed. In the series of raids, ambushes, and counter-attacks that followed, the Miamis were joined by the Wyandot. About 30 Odawa were killed before they decided to abandon their village and returned to Michilimackinac.^[7][8]

Contemporary accounts, both Indigenous and French, do not agree on the cause of the attack or who was to blame. Bourgmont was criticized for his handling of the incident and deserted after Cadillac's return. For the next several years, he lived as a coureur des bois before undertaking an exploration of the Missouri River in 1714.^[9] The Governor General of New France, Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil concluded that Le Pesant was responsible. Vaunreuil insisted that Le Pesant be turned over to the French, and gave Cadillac the authority to arrest and execute him. Le Pesant was apprehended at Michilimackinac but was later allowed to escape. Angry that Le Pesant had not been executed, the Miami and Wyandot killed three settlers in the vicinity of the fort. In response, Cadillac led a lackluster attack against the Miami settled on the St. Joseph River that obtained a few hostages and furs.^[10]

The Wyandot leader Cheanonvouzon may have triggered the conflict by deliberately spreading false rumours.^[11][12] Cheanonvouzon, known as Quarante Sols by the French and Michipichy by the Odawa, was the leader of a band that had split from the Wyandot at Michilimackinac about 1690 and had lived among the Miami before rejoining the Michilimackinac band at Détroit. Cheanonvouzon sought to reclaim Wyandot autonomy from the more numerous Odawa. To this end he established a trade alliance with the Miami and Iroquois. The alliance with the Iroquois gave the Wyandot access to goods like Caribbean rum and scarlet woollens which could be acquired from the British at Albany but not from the French.^[12]

In 1707 Cadillac began granting land in the vicinity of the fort to French settlers. He required that they pay an exorbitant annual rent and a percentage of their crops to him. In response to complaints about Cadillac, Pontchartrain appointed François Clariambault d'Aigremont to investigate conditions at Detroit and other posts. In his November 1708 report, d'Aigremont accused Cadillac of profiteering and enacting policies that threatened French control of the Pays d'en Haut. He noted that in contrast to Cadillac's glowing reports, there were only 62 French settlers at Detroit and 353 acres under cultivation. He described Cadillac's rule as "tyrannical," and added that Cadillac had earned the hatred of both the French settlers and their Indigenous neighbours. D'Aigremont further noted that most of the furs passing through Detroit were going to the English at Albany, either directly or through Iroquois middlemen. As a result of d'Aigremont's findings, Pontchartrain decided to replace Cadillac by appointing him governor of Louisiana which Cadillac later described as a "wretched place" whose inhabitants were "gallow-birds with no respect for religion and addicted to vice."^[1]

Before he was replaced as commander of Fort Pontchartrain, Cadillac naively invited the Meskwaki (Fox), Kickapoo, and Mascouten living to the west of Lake Michigan to relocate to Detroit. The Meskwaki had long been enemies of the Ojibwe, as well as the Odawa, Miami, Potawatomi, and Illinois Confederation.^[13]

In 1710, two bands of Meskwaki along with some Kickapoo and Mascouten moved to the headwaters of the Grand and St. Joseph rivers. One group of Meskwaki established an encampment near Fort Pontchartrain later that year. Cadillac's successor, Jacques-Charles Renaud Dubuisson, was opposed to having Indigenous tribes settle at Detroit, and considered the Meskwaki and their allies to be troublemakers. The Meskwaki stole livestock, taunted the Odawa and Wyandot, claimed they were the rightful masters of Detroit, and openly boasted about their plans to trade with the English. This band abruptly abandoned Detroit early in the spring of 1712 and took refuge among the Seneca.^[14]

In April 1712, the Odawa war chief Saguima led Odawa and Potawatomi warriors in a surprise attack against the Mascouten living at the headwaters of the St Joseph River. Over 150 of the Mascouten were killed including women and children. Saguima had initially planned to attack the Meskwaki living there as well, however, that band had moved to Detroit shortly before the attack. The Mascouten survivors took refuge with the Meskwaki who proceeded to built a fortified camp "less than fifty paces" from Fort Pontchartrain. In retaliation for the attack on the Mascouten, the Meskwaki raided the Odawa village at Detroit, captured three women including Saguima's wife, then invested Fort Pontchartrain. Dubuisson, however, was able to get word to Saguima and to the Wyandot who were still at their hunting camps on Saginaw Bay.^[14]

On May 13, Jean-Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes accompanied by seven French traders arrived from Fort St. Joseph and were able to reach the safety of Fort Pontchartrain. Soon the Wyandot returned from their hunting camp, followed by Saguima with 600 Odawa and Potawatomis. The Meskwaki withdrew into their fort which was then beseiged by the Odawa, Potawatomis, Wyandot, and French. Following a parley, the three Odawa women were released, however, the siege continued as France's Indigenous allies were unwilling to negotiate with the Meskwaki. The Meskwaki war chief Pemoussa later offered his own life and a gift of seven young women as slaves if his people were allowed to leave but his offer was refused.^[14]

A series of severe thunderstorms in late May allowed the Meskwaki to escape. Led by Saguima and Vincennes, Indigenous and French forces tracked the escapees and entrapped them at Grosse Pointe near the outlet of Lake St. Clair. After four days of fighting Pemoussa proposed to surrender both himself and his warriors if the French would spare their families. Vincennes agreed, however, once the Meskwaki warriors had laid down their arms they were massacred. Pemoussa was captured but later escaped. The women and children were enslaved. Some were later sold or gifted to the French. The Wyandot, however, elected to torture and burn all of their captives rather than keep them as slaves.^[12]

In response, the Meskwaki still living at Green Bay and those who had joined the Seneca began raiding in the vicinity of Detroit. Operating in small groups, they attacked and killed anyone who strayed too far from Fort Pontchartrain or the palisaded villages. Five Wyandot and three French settlers were killed in 1713. Also that year, the Wyandot intercepted a large Meskwaki war party on the Ile aux Dindes, a small island in the Detroit River about six miles downstream of Fort Pontchartrain. Raids continued in 1714 and 1715, forcing the French, Odawa and Wyandot to stay close to home. The raids ended in 1716 after a French-led expedition from Montreal attacked the main Meskwaki village on the Fox River. After a four-day siege, the Meskwaki sued for peace. They provided hostages, agreed to return captives, and ceased their attacks against France's Indigenous allies.

Conflict between the Meskwaki and Illinois began anew in 1719. The renewed fighting had little effect on Detroit until the Ojibway sent out war parties against the Meskwaki in 1723, disrupting the fur trade at Detroit and Michilimackinac. In 1728, the Governor General of New France, Charles de Beauharnois concluded that a military campaign against the Meskwaki was warranted. 400 French soldiers and coureurs des bois led by François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery were joined at Michilimackinac by Odawa, Ojibway, Potawatomi, and Wyandot from Detroit. The forewarned Meskwaki abandoned their villages and retreated west. Lignery burned the villages and destroyed the corn in the fields then returned to Michilimackinac.^[14]

The Fox Wars ended in 1630 when the Mascouten and Kickapoo abandoned their long-standing alliance with the Meskwaki. The Meskwaki began a difficult journey east to seek sanctuary with the Seneca but were discovered by the Cahokia while encamped on the Illinois River. The Meskwaki fled south and east across the tallgrass prairie located to the south of Lake Michigan but were constantly harassed by the Cahokia. The Meskwaki took refuge in a grove of trees and constructed rough fortifications. Warriors from the Potowatomi, Kickapoo, and Mascouten joined the Cahokia to besiege the Meskwaki encampment. French soldiers under the command of Nicolas Antoine Coulon de Villiers and traders from Fort de Chartres and Fort St. Joseph joined the seige as did warriors from the Sauks and Miami. Efforts to negotiate were rebuked and while the Sauks provided sanctuary for some of the children, almost all of the Meskwaki were killed or enslaved when they attempted a breakout. Attacks on remnant groups of Meskwaki continued for several years thereafter.^[14]

After a few years, the British and French conflict in North America, a front in the Seven Years' War of Europe, came to a head in the French and Indian War which broke out in 1754. Detroit was far removed from the main areas of conflict and was not involved in combat. Two months after the capitulation in 1760 of the French at Montreal, on November 29, 1760, the French ceded Fort Detroit to the British Army's Rogers' Rangers.

British rule differed in several major ways from French rule. The British required greater taxes and confiscated weapons from settlers they classified as "unfriendly", a category they used for many French Canadians. The British refused to sell ammunition to the French Canadians or to the Native Americans who had been trading with the French. The French traders had armed many of their trading partners with guns for years, beginning with the five Iroquois nations in New York. The British changes limited the ability of the Native Americans to trap and hunt, as well as rendering them less of a threat. The British colonists did not emphasize maintaining good relationships with the Native Americans. But the French Canadians had formed many families through intermarriage and knew about the Native American custom of giving gifts.

After the French left the conflict, Pontiac, war-leader of the Ottawa, rallied several tribes in Pontiac's Rebellion. He attempted to capture Detroit from the British on May 7, 1763. They failed to capture the fort as the British were forewarned of the attack, but did lay siege to it (see the Siege of Fort Detroit).

The British force in the fort, commanded by Henry Gladwin, consisted of 130 soldiers with two 6-pound cannons, one 3-pound cannon, and three mortars. The 6-gun schooner Huron was anchored nearby in the Detroit River. Two months into the siege, on July 29, 1763, the British brought a large relief force into the area. Skirmishing in the area, including the Battle of Bloody Run, continued until mid-November when the Indians dispersed.

During the American Revolutionary War, Detroit was far to the west of the main areas of action. The British used the fort to arm American Indian raiding parties, who attacked rebel colonial settlements to the southeast. American revolutionaries, particularly George Rogers Clark, hoped to mount an expedition to Detroit to neutralize these operations, but could not raise enough men to attempt. However, Clark did capture Henry Hamilton, the Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs of the Province of Quebec and senior officer at Fort Detroit, when he traveled south to Fort Sackville.

In late 1778, while Hamilton was still being held as a prisoner of war, Captain Richard B. Lernoult began construction on a new fortification situated a few hundred yards to the north of the original fort. It was named Fort Lernoult on October 3, 1779. This new fort largely superseded the original fort and was often referred to as "Fort Detroit."

Following the United States gaining independence in the Revolution, the government made the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 with several Indian tribes. They ceded several blocks of land to the United States that were beyond the Greenville Treaty Line and within the Indians' territory.

Article 3, Item 12 notes:

The post of Detroit, and all the land to the north, the west and the south of it, of which the Indian title has been extinguished by gifts or grants to the French or English governments: and so much more land to be annexed to the district of Detroit, as shall be comprehended between the river Rosine [known today as the River Rouge], on the south, lake St. Clair on the north, and a line, the general course whereof shall be six miles distant from the west end of Lake Erie and Detroit river.^[15]

On July 11, 1796, under terms negotiated in the Jay Treaty, the British surrendered Fort Detroit, Fort Lernoult, and the surrounding settlement to the Americans, 13 years after the Treaty of Paris ended the war and ceded the area to Britain.

Some accounts say that only Fort Lernoult survived the 1805 fire that destroyed most of Detroit. It appears that no part of the original Fort Detroit remained after this time. Fort Lernoult was officially renamed Fort Detroit in 1805, then renamed Fort Shelby in 1813. Soon after its use by the military ended, the fort was demolished by the City of Detroit in 1827.

The second Hotel Pontchartrain, now named the Fort Pontchartrain a Wyndham Hotel, is located on the former site of the fort. The Michigan Historical Marker for Fort Pontchartrain is located at the southwest corner of the Crowne Plaza, at Jefferson Ave. and Washington Blvd.^[17]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit.

• Farmer, Silas (1884). The History of Detroit and Michigan, or, The Metropolis Illustrated: A Chronological Cyclopaedia of the Past and Present, Including a Full Record of Territorial Days in Michigan, and the Annuals of Wayne County – via Open Library.

42°19′41″N 83°02′52″W / 42.32806°N 83.04778°W / 42.32806; -83.04778