Alan Corbiere The Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potowatomi) have always revered the island of Michilimackinac. So much so that at the conclusion of the War of 1812, the Odawa tried to keep it in their possession. The Odawa suggested that the British negotiators offer the Americans a greater quantity of Anishinaabe land on the mainland in… Continue Reading
Latest in: Military History
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Alan Corbiere The Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potowatomi) have always revered the island of Michilimackinac. So much so that at the conclusion of the War of 1812, the Odawa tried to keep it in their possession. The Odawa suggested that the British negotiators offer the Americans a greater quantity of Anishinaabe land on the mainland in… Continue Reading
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Alan Corbiere On the morning of October 5, 1861, 96 year old Odaawaa Chief Jean Baptiste Assiginack of the Biipiigwenh (Sparrowhawk) clan rose from his slumber and got dressed. J.B. Assiginack, frame bent with age, did not fully fill out the blue admiral attire he had been given for services during the War of 1812.… Continue Reading
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Alan Corbiere At the commencement of the War of 1812, the British were not totally certain that the Western Confederacy (including the Anishinaabeg: Ojibwe, Odaawaa and Potowatomi) would fight alongside them. The Western Confederacy had lost confidence in the British at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 when the British had abandoned the Anishinaabeg… Continue Reading
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Alan Corbiere This post is the first in a series of essays on Anishinaabeg participation in the War of 1812. The posts were previously published at ActiveHistory.ca and, in a modified version, in the July 2012 edition of the Ojibway Cultural Foundation newsletter. It is well known that the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potowatomi, Mississauga, Algonquin, and… Continue Reading
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Daniel Laxer Historians tend to overlook the role of musical instruments in the Seven Years’ War. Few devote much attention to explaining how armies operated or battles played-out. Fred Anderson’s Crucible of War, for instance, does a terrific job explaining the origins and unfolding of events, but hardly assesses the experiences of soldiers on the… Continue Reading
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Keith Mercer The Royal Canadian Navy recently named October 21 “Niobe Day,” in honour of HMCS Niobe, one of Canada’s first two warships. It was bought from the British in 1910, shortly after the Naval Service of Canada was established that spring, and served in the First World War before being seriously damaged in the… Continue Reading
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Jacqueline Reynoso In mid-January 1776, the paths of two military officers crossed in Hartford, Connecticut. While passing through the city, General Charles Lee encountered the imprisoned British Major, Christopher French. There, during an evening meal, they exchanged competing assessments about the ongoing military struggles of the period. At some point during the evening, they put… Continue Reading