Join Michigan author David Wedge for a book talk and signing on Historic Forts of Michigan. The book explores how Michigan’s military forts shaped the Great Lakes frontier as European and then American settlers and explorers moved westward. When La Salle’s crew reached the mouth of the St. Joseph River, they built Fort Miami, the first European military post on Michigan soil. Following a humiliating betrayal, Chief Pontiac laid vengeful siege to Fort Detroit for five months, during which he let neither supplies nor man pass through the siege lines intact. Stationed at Fort Gratiot, a young Lieutenant Robert E. Lee had a sweet tooth that forced him to hide in a closet to avoid a local baker demanding Lee pay his past-due bill. A mosquito helped to force the closing of Fort Saginaw.
Author's Statement
The book, Historic Forts of Michigan, came about through my interest in old military fortifications and my inability to find a book in the public library system that covered all of Michigan’s military forts. I have always been interested in military history and come from a long line of military men. I am a U.S. Air Force veteran of Vietnam. Growing up in Port Huron, I always knew about Fort St. Joseph and Fort Gratiot. I graduated from Lake Superior State University, so I was familiar with the two Fort Bradys, along with Fort Mackinac and Fort Michilimackinac. But I was pretty sure there had to be other forts built prior to Michigan statehood in 1837. So I went looking, searching, and hunting for information on other forts. I ended up being quite surprised by the number of forts built on Michigan soil before statehood.
The vast majority of my research took place before the advent of the internet, but the internet has been extremely helpful in verifying my earlier work, which originally was done simply to satisfy my personal interest in learning about military forts on Michigan soil.
It took a long time for the book to come to fruition. I began the research in 1983, but the book was not published until 2026. In between, life got in the way. I had a job to do, a family to support, and many other obligations, including involvement in community projects. The fort research was put on hold for a few years. It was never forgotten, but I did not always have the spare time to devote to it. Once I retired, I pulled the research out of the closet and began the process of writing and rewriting the material, along with making trips to many small-town museums and libraries in search of obscure references to old forts.
I think I have found them all, but secretly, I hope I have not. I love doing research.