IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 45 
Recognizing the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of 
Fort Michilimackinac on the Straits of Mackinac, and its importance 
to the people of Michigan and the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2015 
Mr. BENISHEK (for himself, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. 
WALBERG, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. TROTT) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the 
establishment of Fort Michilimackinac on the Straits of 
Mackinac, and its importance to the people of Michigan 
and the United States. 
Whereas the year 2015 marks the tricentennial of the estab-
lishment of Fort Michilimackinac on the Straits of Mack-
inac; 
Whereas King Louis XV of France ordered the fortification 
of the Straits of Mackinac in order to stabilize Native 
American relations and prevent English intrusions from 
Hudson’s Bay; 
Whereas Constant Le Marchand de Lignery arrived with 20 
French troops in the summer of 1715 and constructed 
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•HCON 45 IH 
Fort Michilimackinac near an Odawa village and the re-
cently 
reestablished 
mission 
of 
St. 
Ignace 
de 
Michilimackinac; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac served as the staging point for 
military expeditions to stabilize the fur trade throughout 
the 1720s and 1730s; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac developed into the major 
depot for the northwestern fur trade; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac was the site of large Indian 
councils as the French built alliances to fight the British; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac was transferred from France 
to Great Britain at the end of the Seven Years’ War fol-
lowing the fatal blow to New France at Quebec in 1759; 
Whereas Native Americans of the Great Lakes region were 
dissatisfied with British control and staged an uprising in 
the summer of 1763, resulting in a successful attack and 
capture of Fort Michilimackinac on June 2 using the 
ruse of a baggatiway game; 
Whereas after reestablishing peace, the British fostered alli-
ances with Native American nations, hosting councils at 
Fort Michilimackinac; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac continued as the main fur 
trade center of the upper Great Lakes under British con-
trol; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac additionally served as a crit-
ical logistical and administrative center for British sol-
diers and closely allied Native American war parties com-
batting rebel forces during the American Revolution; 
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Whereas fearing an attack by American rebels, the British re-
located the fort to nearby, more defensible, Mackinac Is-
land in 1779–1781; 
Whereas the site of the fort was recognized by historians 
throughout the nineteenth century as a prominent histor-
ical site of the Old Northwest, and was preserved as a 
municipal park from 1857 onward; 
Whereas the park was gifted to the State of Michigan and 
placed under the care of the Mackinac Island State Park 
Commission and designated as Michigan’s second State 
park in 1909; 
Whereas the Park Commission began a professional archae-
ological program in 1959 that has continued every sum-
mer since, resulting in a wealth of research on the history 
of Great Lakes fur trade and the reconstruction of the 
fort; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac has hosted nearly 8,000,000 
visitors since it opened as a historic site in 1960; 
Whereas Fort Michilimackinac was designated a National 
Historic Landmark in 1961; 
Whereas located at the foot of the mighty Mackinac Bridge, 
Fort Michilimackinac continues to function as the cross-
roads of the Great Lakes, providing untold educational 
and economic benefits to the people of Michigan; and 
Whereas in this 300th year since the founding of Fort 
Michilimackinac, the Park Commission will commemorate 
the history of the site in a series of celebrations begin-
ning May 30, 2015: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress recognizes the significance of 
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•HCON 45 IH 
the establishment of Fort Michilimackinac and its impor-
tance to the people of Michigan and the United States on 
the occasion of its tricentennial. 
Æ 
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