MI Lakeside Cemetery, St. Ignace, Michigan

Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Lakeside Cemetery, St. Ignace, Michigan, is one of my favorite cemeteries because it overlooks the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge.

St. Ignace sit on the Upper Peninsula side of the Mackinac Bridge.

I don't have any ancestors from Michigan. However, we visit Northern Michigan almost every summer. I discovered that Lakeside Cemetery includes the graves of several Civil War veterans. So, I photographed a few (but not all) of these graves.


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Fort Michilimackinac is in Mackinaw City and Fort Mackinac is on Mackinac Island. If you get cold while on Mackinac Island you can buy a Mackinaw coat to keep warm. Or you can wrap up in a Mackinaw blanket, it is not a Mackinac blanket even if you are on Mackinac Island.

I previously toured both Fort Michillimackinac and Fort Mackinac. Both played significant roles in early 1800's history. During the War of 1812, the U.S. evacuated Fort Dearborn at present-day Chicago after the British took Fort Mackinac from the US. However, I am not aware of any Civil War-related history at either of these two forts.

I will see if I am able to post any decent photos of Fort Mackinac. I will see if I am able to discover whether any of the key players from the Civil War were ever stationed at Fort Mackinac.
 
Fort Michilimackinac is in Mackinaw City and Fort Mackinac is on Mackinac Island. If you get cold while on Mackinac Island you can buy a Mackinaw coat to keep warm. Or you can wrap up in a Mackinaw blanket, it is not a Mackinac blanket even if you are on Mackinac Island.
And they make fun of Southern names!!!
Regards
David
 
There were some southern political prisoners kept at Fort Mackinac for a time during the Civil War .. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned about 1780 and relocated to the island because the British thought it was too vulnerable after George Rogers Clark's forays . There are 2 cannon from Farragut's flagship Hartford in Mackinaw City and one in Petoskey . I love going through old cemeteries in the UP and northern lower looking for veterans . BTW the "ac" comes from when the French occupied the area and the "aw" comes from the British period . As stated they are both pronounced "aw".
 
There were some southern political prisoners kept at Fort Mackinac for a time during the Civil War .. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned about 1780 and relocated to the island because the British thought it was too vulnerable after George Rogers Clark's forays . There are 2 cannon from Farragut's flagship Hartford in Mackinaw City and one in Petoskey . I love going through old cemeteries in the UP and northern lower looking for veterans . BTW the "ac" comes from when the French occupied the area and the "aw" comes from the British period . As stated they are both pronounced "aw".
I watched a civil war style baseball game up there a few years back.
 
There were some southern political prisoners kept at Fort Mackinac for a time during the Civil War .. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned about 1780 and relocated to the island because the British thought it was too vulnerable after George Rogers Clark's forays . There are 2 cannon from Farragut's flagship Hartford in Mackinaw City and one in Petoskey . I love going through old cemeteries in the UP and northern lower looking for veterans . BTW the "ac" comes from when the French occupied the area and the "aw" comes from the British period . As stated they are both pronounced "aw".

I had no idea that the area had such connections to the Civil War. The local books that I read did not mention this! Thanks for the information!
 
I had no idea that the area had such connections to the Civil War. The local books that I read did not mention this! Thanks for the information!
A lot of Civil war vets settled in Michigan for relatively cheap land . You will find lots of them from Ohio , New York , etc. Genesee county Michigan is named for Genesee County NY for example .
You won't find much in the local books . The visitor's center at Fort Michilimackinac has a decent bookstore , but you will find virtually nothing about its capture by the local Chippewas in 1763 during Pontiac's Uprising .
 
I previously toured both Fort Michillimackinac and Fort Mackinac. Both played significant roles in early 1800's history. During the War of 1812, the U.S. evacuated Fort Dearborn at present-day Chicago after the British took Fort Mackinac from the US. However, I am not aware of any Civil War-related history at either of these two forts.

I will see if I am able to post any decent photos of Fort Mackinac. I will see if I am able to discover whether any of the key players from the Civil War were ever stationed at Fort Mackinac.

Fort Mackinac housed a very small number of Confederate political prisoners during part of the Civil War.
 
We vacation up there every year. I have a Mackinac Associates membership. They have a Civil War day on Mackinac Island, Mid June. All I can say is that there are so many things to do in the area, it is really worth the trip. There is a water powered saw mill, Michillimac, the Island...then Ignace and Father Marquette’s museum...
 
There were some southern political prisoners kept at Fort Mackinac for a time during the Civil War .. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned about 1780 and relocated to the island because the British thought it was too vulnerable after George Rogers Clark's forays . There are 2 cannon from Farragut's flagship Hartford in Mackinaw City and one in Petoskey . I love going through old cemeteries in the UP and northern lower looking for veterans . BTW the "ac" comes from when the French occupied the area and the "aw" comes from the British period . As stated they are both pronounced "aw".

I just got back from vacation up there, wish I had known about this cemetery!

There are actually three IX in Dalghrrn guns in Mackinaw from the Hartford... I took pictures several years ago.

Fort Mackinaw was also a posting for a great deal of young officers who went on in their later years to have prominence in the Civil War, there is a new book out about all the different interesting people who served there which I got as a Christmas present last year. It seems since post 1815 the fort was pretty quiet that it served as a kind of safe, training post before being posted to more contentious places out West. It was regarded as a cushy post back then too, except in the winters.

There is also another small Fort, Fort Holmes which was built on the highest point of the island that was recently reconstructed. It’s purpose was to prevent what happened in 1812, when the British snuck up behind the big fort on the higher ground and thus forced its surrender. They built the new smaller fort, a blockhouse really, and called it George but after the war the Americans renamed it for a Major who died in 1815 on the island trying to take the place back using the same plan that the British had used (didn’t work so well when the enemy was expecting it!). The fort was not independent really and was manned by people from Fort Mackinaw. But that was a bit of a pain and so the fort was abandoned. There was a old Reconstruction in the 1930s up there that also went to ruins. I think they built the new Reconstruction in 2014? Within the last decade anyways, as the first time I went up there it was a cool surprise as I was mainly just walking to the top of the island and it was still in ruins.
 
A lot of Civil war vets settled in Michigan for relatively cheap land . You will find lots of them from Ohio , New York , etc. Genesee county Michigan is named for Genesee County NY for example .
You won't find much in the local books . The visitor's center at Fort Michilimackinac has a decent bookstore , but you will find virtually nothing about its capture by the local Chippewas in 1763 during Pontiac's Uprising .

I saw on a history documentary that the Chippewas captured Fort Michilimackinac after a 3 day lacrosse game. The Chippewas knocked the ball into the fort and pretended that it was an accident. They used this as a ruse to run into the fort. The Chippewa women watching the game all had weapons concealed on them.
 
I found Lakeside Cemetery by accident once when I rode my bicycle around the backroads of St. Ignace. The cemetery is up against the Straits State Park. You can actually ride from the cemetery into the park, although I haven't actually done so.

I have an interest in historic and interesting cemeteries. I explored the three cemeteries on Mackinac Island, but I don't have good photos of these. I'd really like to have an opportunity to get some good photos of the island cemeteries. However, we are island day-trippers, which means that we aren't actually on the island in the early morning or the late afternoon / late evening when the sunlight is actually decent. We always take the ferry to the island after breakfast, and then leave the island before dinner. Also, we take our bikes and ride around the perimeter of the island. After this, I am beat and not in a mood to climb the hills in the middle of the island. Excuses, I know.

Here are some other gravesites that I found in Northern Michigan: 5 striking gravesites of the UP
 
We vacation up there every year. I have a Mackinac Associates membership. They have a Civil War day on Mackinac Island, Mid June. All I can say is that there are so many things to do in the area, it is really worth the trip. There is a water powered saw mill, Michillimac, the Island...then Ignace and Father Marquette’s museum...

Sorry but I thought the Father Marquette Museum was destroyed by fire in 2000.
 
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