THREE FLAGS AT THE STRAITS: The Forts of Mackinac

by Walter Havighurst ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1966

This is the fourth and by far the best of the The American Forts Series books. Havighurst mixes action, lore and pastel moods with equal skill, and is an old hand at the Great Lakes regions. If there is a fault with this series it is that it all seems to be the same book: settlement by the French missionaries, clashes with the Indians, invasion by the British, re-establishment by the French, and eventually takeover by the Americans. Also, the wars follow the same pattern in each volume, as does the commercial development from the fur trade to the present. The same people show up, Rogers Rangers, John Jacob Astor, Mad Anthony Wayne. Fort Mackinac is built on the straits of Mackinac, a channel connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan which is four miles wide at its narrowest point. The Fort itself has had three sites in its 350-year history, two on land and one on Mackinac Island in the Straits. The island, long a national park, is surrounded by miles of deep water and kept free of modernization. Havighurst's contribution to this history of Mackinac is more in potent evocation than the routine flow of events.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION