Michigan Territory Militia

Militiaman in Detroit during the War of 1812

Active| 1805-1837
Disbanded| 1837
Country|  United States
Allegiance| Michigan Territory
Branch| Militia
Type| Infantry (1812)
Dragoons (1832)
Weapons| Rifle
musket
scalping knife
tomahawk
sword
Engagements| War of 1812

* Hull's Canadian Campaign (1812)
* Battle of River Canard (1812)
* Siege of Fort Mackinac (1812)
* Siege of Detroit (1812)

Black Hawk War

* Horseshoe Bend (1832)
* Wisconsin Heights (1832)
* Bad Axe (1832)

Commanders
Commander in Chief| Governor of Michigan Territory

Military unit

Colonel Henry Dodge was the commander of the Michigan Territory Militia in Wisconsin during the Black Hawk War of 1832, from a sketch by artist, George Catlin

The Michigan Territory Militia was the predecessor to the Michigan Army National Guard and existed from 1805 to 1837 as an entity concurrent with Michigan Territory's existence in the United States.

## Colonial and pre-Territorial militias

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Main articles: Colonial militia in Canada and Militia (United States)

In the French colonial period, a proposal was made in 1708 to organize the first Michigan militia at Fort Detroit which is referenced in the Cadillac Papers. Following the defeat of the French regime, Michigan militias were also organized during British colonial occupation prior to the arrival of the Americans.[1]

The earliest evidence of a formally organized American-style militia in pre-Territorial Michigan can be traced back to a militia unit participating in a Detroit parade on May 11, 1803. Michigan Territory was organized on June 30, 1805.

* Pre-Territorial Michigan militias began in the 18th century with the formation of French Canadien civilians to help defend French colonialsettlements such as Fort Detroit which continued into the British colonial period

* Pre-Territorial Michigan militias also consisted of French Canadien frontiersman known as coureur de bois who lived with and in the fur trade of the Native Americans in the Great Lakes region which continued into the British colonial period

## Territorial Militia

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The official organization of the Michigan Territory in 1805 also included language that allowed for the creation of a militia.[1]

## War of 1812

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The Michigan Territory Militia existed only on paper until the War of 1812.[1]

## Black Hawk War

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Stillman's Run

Buffalo Grove

Plum River

Indian Creek

St. Vrain

Fort Blue Mounds

Spafford Farm

Horseshoe Bend

Waddams Grove

Kellogg's Grove

Ament's Cabin

Apple River Fort

Sinsinawa Mound

Wisconsin Heights

Bad Axe

Michigan Territory (Wisconsin)

Illinois

Unorganized
Territory (Iowa)

Map of Black Hawk War sites
Battle (with name) Fort / settlement Native village
Symbols are wikilinked to article

## Creation of Michigan State Militia

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Main article: Michigan Army National Guard

## Michigan Territory boundaries from 1805-1837

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* From 1805 to 1818, the western border was a line through Lake Michigan.

* Between 1818 and 1833, Illinois and Indiana became states and the unincorporated land from their territories, plus a handful of other townships, was made part of Michigan Territory.

* Between 1833 and 1836, all the remnants of the old Northwest Territory were part of the Michigan Territory along with portions of the Louisiana Purchase.

* Michigan shrank in 1836 with the creation of the Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836 with the present boundary in the Upper Peninsula.

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Michigan's Early Organized Militias", Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, michigan.gov, accessed May 24, 2009.

* Au, Dennis M. "BEST TROOPS IN THE WORLD": THE MICHIGAN TERRITORIAL MILITIA IN THE DETROIT RIVER THEATER DURING THE WAR OF 1812", GEORGE ROGERS CLARK Selected Papers From The 1991 And 1992 George Rogers Clark Trans-Appalachian Frontier History Conferences, Center for French Colonial Studies, U.S. National Park Service. U.S. National Park Service, 1992.
* Rosentreter, Roger. Michigan's Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2003.

* v
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* e

Black Hawk War of 1832

Native people|

| British Band|

* Black Hawk
* Checokalako
* Neapope
* Pamisseu
* Towaunonne
* Wabokieshiek

|

Dakota|

* Wapasha

Ho-Chunk|

* Waukon Decorah

Menominee|

* Oshkosh

Potawatomi|

* Billy Caldwell
* Shabbona
* Waubonsie

Sauk and Meskwaki|

* Keokuk
* Wapello

U.S. people|

| Army|

* Henry Atkinson
* Hugh Brady
* Jefferson Davis
* Winfield Scott
* Zachary Taylor

|

Militia|

* John Giles Adams
* Milton Alexander
* David Bailey
* Ebenezer Brigham
* John Dement
* Henry Dodge
* William S. Hamilton
* James D. Henry
* Abraham Lincoln
* Alexander Posey
* John H. Rountree
* Isaiah Stillman
* James W. Stephenson
* Samuel Whiteside

Others|

* George Davenport
* Henry Gratiot
* Antoine LeClaire
* Joseph M. Street
* Felix St. Vrain
* Joseph Throckmorton
* Satterlee Clark

Places|

Illinois
Apple River Fort
Buffalo Grove
Dixon's Ferry
Fort Armstrong
Fort Beggs
Galena
Indian Creek
Kellogg's Grove
Plum River
Saukenuk
Stillman Creek
Stillman's Run Battle Site
Waddams Grove
Yellow Creek

Michigan Territory (Wisconsin)
Bad Axe River
Blue Mounds Fort
Fort Crawford
Fort Defiance
Fort Hamilton
Fort Jackson
Fort Koshkonong
Fort Union
Gratiot's Grove
Helena
Hamilton's Diggings
Pecatonica River
Roxbury
Sinsinawa Mound
Soldiers Grove
Victory
Wisconsin Heights Battlefield
Wisconsin River

Engagements|

* Minor engagements
* Battle of Stillman's Run
* Buffalo Grove ambush
* Plum River raid
* Indian Creek massacre
* St. Vrain massacre
* Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds
* Spafford Farm massacre
* Battle of Horseshoe Bend
* Battle of Waddams Grove
* Battle of Kellogg's Grove
* Attack at Ament's Cabin
* Battle of Apple River Fort
* Sinsinawa Mound raid
* Battle of Wisconsin Heights
* Battle of Bad Axe

Related topics|

* Black Hawk Purchase
* Black Hawk Tree
* Keokuk's Reserve
* Treaty of St. Louis (1804)
* First Treaty of Prairie du Chien
* Fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien
* Warrior

Portals:

* Michigan
* Modern history

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