Título: Mackinac Island
Seção: 19th century to present
Background: Mackinac Island ( MAK-in-aw) is an island and resort area, covering 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to an Odawa settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It served a strategic position as a center on the commerce of the Great Lakes fur trade.

Conteúdo: During the War of 1812, the British captured the fort in the Siege of Fort Mackinac, the first battle of the conflict, because the Americans had not yet heard that war had been declared. The victorious British attempted to protect their prize by building Fort George on the high ground behind Fort Mackinac. In 1814, the Americans and British fought a second battle on the north side of the island. The American second-in-command, Major Andrew Holmes, was killed and the Americans failed to recapture the island.  Despite this outcome, the Treaty of Ghent of 1815 forced the British to return the island and surrounding mainland to the U.S. The United States reoccupied Fort Mackinac, and renamed Fort George as Fort Holmes, after Major Holmes. Fort Mackinac remained under the control of the United States government until 1895 and provided volunteers to defend the Union during the American Civil War. The fort was used as a prison for three Confederate States of America sympathizers.  John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company was centered on Mackinac Island after the War of 1812 and exported beaver pelts for thirty years. By the middle of the 19th century, commercial fishing for common whitefish and lake trout began to replace the fur trade as the island's primary industry. As sport fishing became more popular in the 1880s, hotels and restaurants accommodated tourists coming by train or lake boat from Detroit.  Following the Civil War, the island became a popular tourist destination for r

user: What was this during

assistant: During the War of 1812, the British captured the fort in the Siege of Fort Mackinac,

user: What did this do for him

assistant: The victorious British attempted to protect their prize by building Fort George on the high ground behind Fort Mackinac.

user: Why was this so terrible

assistant: In 1814, the Americans and British fought a second battle on the north side of the island.

user: What did this mean to him

assistant: The American second-in-command, Major Andrew Holmes, was killed and the Americans failed to recapture the island.

user: What did he try and do

assistant: Despite this outcome, the Treaty of Ghent of 1815 forced the British to return the island and surrounding mainland to the U.S.

user: WHat was so terrible to him

assistant: The United States reoccupied Fort Mackinac, and renamed Fort George as Fort Holmes, after Major Holmes.

user: Who was helping him

assistant: Fort Mackinac remained under the control of the United States government until 1895 and provided volunteers to defend the Union during the American Civil War.

user: Did they do during the civil war

assistant: The fort was used as a prison for three Confederate States of America sympathizers.