The First Successful Invasion of the United States from a Foreign Nation Happened in Michigan

Today Mackinac Island is a tourist destination sought out by travelers and families every summer. In the summer of 1812, however, it was the front lines of America's first war as an independent nation and the site of the first invasion by a foreign power.

The conflict was, of course, the War of 1812. The belligerent nation was England and the target was the northwest side of Mackinac Island. Today, the section of Mackinac known as British Landing.

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During the the 2010s, in commemoration of the 200 year anniversary of the War of 1812, the Michigan legislature passed the following proclamation:

Whereas, From June 1812 to July 1815, the Michigan Territory was on the front line of a conflict between the United States, Great Britain, and Native American tribes of the region; and

Whereas, The first land engagement of the War of 1812 on United States soil was the successful attack and capture of Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island, by British and Native American forces on July 17, 1812. One month later Fort Detroit fell to British troops as well. While American troops retook Detroit in 1813, they failed to re-capture Fort Mackinac as they were defeated during the Battle of Mackinac Island on August 4, 1814

The emphasis is ours.

The Redcoats came from St Joseph Island northeast of Mackinac in British Canada. They landed and demanded the surrender of Fort Mackinac. The instillation was yielded without a shot fired as the American commanders feared a massacre by the larger foreign force.

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Today bikers along M-185 on Mackinac Island will see a single symbolic cannon now guarding the spot where America was first successfully invaded.

Fort Mackinac was important in the Great Lakes theatre of the War of 1812 as the island was a key strategic spot in the control of the Straits of Mackinac.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The panting accompanying this photo is of an 1812 British landing force in Spain during the Peninsular War in Europe.]