Why Not Thirteen Months?

I recently had the pleasure of escorting some family members to one of New York's historic forts. Some of you may recall seeing photos of two grandsons having the time of their lives at Fort Niagara this past spring. When I learned there was a Revolutionary War reenactment at Fort Ontario, in Oswego, NY, I thought it was a good opportunity to give the girls a chance to dress up too!

Unfortunately, August is my craziest month of the year and we went with less than period-appropriate costuming. The little one wore a hand-me-down Regency dress (yes 1812) and the older one wore... gasp... I can barely admit this... a polyester 'colonial girl' costume we grabbed from Amazon.

If you know how much I love to sew and make costumes, you'll know how this bothered me!

But what was important? Having fun and learning history.

We couldn't have had a better day for it!

And that day even Granny learned something when we had the pleasure of chatting with and learning from a Seneca man. He brought a large pack full of items, and after the kids sat at his feet to listen, a a larger group of people gathered.

So, my reference to thirteen months?  Do you see this snapping turtle shell made into a ceremonial rattle? Our instructor said he was a 'Twisted Hair' and though he didn't have curls, he explained it denoted him as a medicine man or shaman.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/39718914_native-american-snapping-turtle-rattle

The very long neck of the snapping turtle is splinted as it dried to use as a handle, then reinforced.

If you've never had the pleasure of seeing a snapping turtle in person, you might be surprised at the length of their neck! While they are pleasantly cordial in the water, never try to make friends with one on land. Best to watch and enjoy! SNAPPING refers to how quickly they could break off your finger! While some say the safest way is to carry it by the tail, that can cause injury for the turtle.

Our teacher at Fort Ontario described how he might use the rattle in a healing ceremony and then pointed out that the shell could also be used as a calendar! How cool is that?

The main part of the shell has thirteen segments.  
The smaller edge segments number twenty eight.
Now, I can't tell you any good reason why we have twelve confusing months with varying number of days in them. Is Rome to blame?

The Haudenosaunee people, like most 'first people' of the Americas (and around the world) simply used lunar months. Thirteen moons and twenty eight days apart.  I don't know how 'leap year' day works into this formula, but I like a nice straight and logical idea like this turtle shell calendar!

What do you think?

Arnold T. Drooz, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Location, Location, Location with Debra E. Marvin

Prime Real Estate always gets a good price. In the matter of the Niagara River, gateway to the interior of the North American Continent, three major countries fought and paid with blood to control this important spot.

Travel by europeans began with the French fur trade industry, the first non-native people to travel deep into the cold upper regions of this inhospitable land. Inhospitable to those not willing to trudge along "Indian" paths and ford rocky rivers. North American was a land of abundant trees. Rivers were its highways.

What we know as Fort Niagara is at the mouth of the Niagara River where it flows into Lake Ontario, the last (or first) lake to tie into the great St. Lawrence River. (Depending if you are going with the current or against it!)

The Great lakes are central in the continent and connected all the way out to the north Atlantic, making them a most important travel route.

The current site of Fort Niagara began around  1679 when it became a small, temporary French Fort called Fort Conti. Facing a cruel winter, the soldiers left and it wasn't until 1687 that a large effort was made to build Fort Denonville. Without any reason to tough out another brutal winter, the fort was again abandoned until politics forced a permanent site. In 1726 the incredible building known as The French Castle was erected, making it a site worth fighting over. British soldiers and navy men took it over in 1759 during the French and Indian War (the Seven Years War), only to give it up again in 1796 to the new country of The United States.

But wait, there's more...

Britain gained it back in another battle during the War of 1812. They remained there from 1813-1815, then returned it to those ungrateful rebels, the U.S. Army.

This is the story of so many forts throughout North America and I imagine around the globe.

The French Castle

Thankfully no blood has been shed there in warfare in a long time, only bloodied knees and bloodied blisters of visitors and reenactors.

The view from the south block house toward French Castle along the lake shore, during a reenactment weekend.

I hope you've had a chance to read The Backcountry Brides Collection and The Captive Bride, both  from Barbour Publishing, and both utilizing this tremendous historical treasure in upstate New York.

This month, I'm giving away a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card to one random new subscriber to my newsletter. (contest includes new entries through June, July and August, so sign up today if you're not already a follower.)

Buy Links for The Backcountry Brides Collection
Amazon paperback and digital ebook
Christianbook.com

Wolf Pelt and Musket and Feeling Silly

Fortress America: The Forts That Defended America, 1600 to Present -- Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Fortress America: The Forts That Defended America, 1600 to Present
By J. E. Kaufman and H. W. Kaufman
Illustrated by Tomasz Idzikowski
Da Capo Press, a Division of Perseus Books Group (hardcover 2004, paperback 2007, now available in ebook, also)
416 pages


Publisher's Description:

From the earliest colonial settlements to recent Cold War bunkers, the North American continent has been home to thousands of forts and fortress structures. Seacoast forts were the nation's primary means of strategic defense from the 1790s until World War II. Almost every seaport on both coasts had at least one fort to protect it at one time or another. Inland forts were built to defend against attacks by Native Americans, or to defend against the English, the French, or the Spanish. So many forts were built-most in the 1800s-that there are few places in the continental United States more than fifty miles from a fort location. Yet, despite their prominence and importance, there has never been-until now-a single volume devoted to American forts and homeland fortification defense.As in their previous and very successful books, experts J. E. and H. W. Kaufmann include never-before-published photographs, extraordinary drawings, cut-aways, and diagrams to illustrate Fortress America.

IF you have a FORT in your story you WANT this book!!!

-- Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

This is a great compendium with some limits that I will address. What it does cover are the main forts in America with great illustrations and explanations of the forts. I was looking for specific forts and their information and I found limitations. Given that this is a book touching on so very many forts and locations, the reader is not going to get in depth information.

There is a great deal of narrative history that attempts to illustrate the uses of forts in specific instances. And there are many nuggets of information contained in those passages. However, the reader should look at this as an encapsulated overview. There is an extensive bibliography in the back which allows the reader to pursue further information from the original source.

About a quarter of the book is from the colonial era to American Revolutionary War era. This is one of the few books I've come across that had comprehensive information about forts. In the back is also a glossary of fort terms, which is handy. Having grown up near a couple of re-created forts in Michigan, I've heard much of the life at colonial forts. Don't expect that from this book. As the title says, these is more about the fort's defensive purposes.

I'm glad to have this book in my research library. I will say for researchers of specific forts, such as those put up for settlers in the backcountry of America during the French-Indian War, you're unlikely to find them in this compendium. When doing further research for my novella, "Shenandoah Hearts", in The Backcountry Brides (Barbour, Mary 2018) I happily stumbled upon a book referencing Fort Holmes, where one of my ancestors was born. It was in an Indy published book from an author local to the region where the fort stood. And for specific forts that have been re-created, some of the best books can be found in the museum's bookstores.

Recommended for: Serious writers who have fort settings in their books across time frames in America. Also, military historians should enjoy this book.

The Laundress's Life at Fort Michilimackinac by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Laundress Reenactor at Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, Michigan

This summer I had the privilege of promoting my new release My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude's Mooring up North, staying in Mackinaw City for a month! And we rented a cottage only a half mile from Colonial Michilimackinac, one of the Michigan State Historical Parks in the area.  So a beautiful walk along the Lake Huron shoreline away, we were able to enjoy programming at the fort! 

One of the wonderful presentations was about the role of the laundress at colonial forts. I was surprised to hear that the wife of a soldier could earn well more than her husband, by taking in laundry! I've read so many things about camp followers fulfilling these roles but I'd not thought about the many enlisted men's wives who might do so.  

The married enlisted men lived in homes inside the fort such as this one depicted below. So if the soldier's wife was a laundress, he'd enjoy a much more comfortable home because her funds could help purchase more goods.

Once previously we had a post about laundry day, by Lori Benton, (Click here to read).

One of the challenges a colonial-era laundress faced in the forts was in getting out stains in white shirts. A lot of scrubbing happened, and the sun helped, but if you want to know more about how laundresses worked their magic, we suggest you plan a trip to beautiful Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City!

Check out the huge pots of hot water and the way the garments are "hung" up. The depiction shown is during the time of British occupation of Fort Michilimackinac. The fort was originally made by the French, later was taken over by the British, was moved to Mackinac Island, and eventually the Americans took possession (before the Brits grabbed it again for a while!)

Have you heard? NINE of our Colonial Quills authors are part of the Backcountry Brides collection, from Barbour Publishing, which releases this spring in May! My novella, "Shenandoah Hearts" is set right before the onset of the French-Indian War and includes some forted drama. You can pre-order at Christian Book Distributors.

I will be one of the guests at the Virginia ACFW Facebook party on Friday, September 1st, with the 5:00 PM spot. Come by and visit with us for a chance to win a giveaway (click here). And my colonial-era novel Saving the Marquise's Granddaughter is part of this Celebrate Lit giveaway (click here.)

Giveaway:  Choice of RT Book Reviews' Top Pick Carrie's Mackinac Island-set novel or any of her books, including this upcoming release. Answer this question to enter the giveaway: Can you imagine living inside a colonial-era fort?

The Original Fort Michilimackinac - Fort DeBuade in St. Ignace, Michigan, by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Above is a close up and enhanced image of the 1696 Coronelli Map of the Great Lakes, touted as being the most accurate map of the Great Lakes found in the 17th Century. Obviously, as we know today, it was sadly lacking in accuracy. One thing that is easy to see however, is that whoever controled the Straits of Mackinac wielded military might at that time. The straits are that close area between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. The French were the first colonial presence in this area.

The original Fort Michilimackinac, one of three forts bearing the name, was constructed by the French and built in St. Ignace, Michigan. The fort also went by the name Fort DeBuade. St. Ignace is located in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula. Situated on land that juts out into the straits of Mackinac, St. Ignace is bordered by two bays and two of the Great Lakes - Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  Located at a strategic juncture for the fur trade, the French built the fort centrally, with two tribes also encamped on either side.  We don't really know what Fort DeBuade looked like but it make have been a stockaded wooden fort such as one can find displayed in Mackinaw City at the Michigan State Parks Fort Michilimackinac. (Wiki gives several references, that look good, for their notes on Fort DeBuade.)

Native American life, around colonial forts, isn't always considered at many museum sites. The Fort DeBuade museum, in St. Ignace, houses many Ojibway artifacts and is located at the site of one of the villages that surrounded the fort. Native American goods and history are the focus.

The French had a different approach to interacting with the Native Americans than the British died when they came to the straits (their ill treatment later contributing to Pontiac's Rebellion.)

In my recent releases, Books 2 and 3 in the Christy Lumber Camps Series, The Lumberjacks' Ball and Lilacs for Juliana, the stories are set near St. Ignace, in the early 1890s. 

Although they are after Fort DeBuade's day, the residents of the area (I grew up not far from there) were no doubt affected by the history of the fort.  Having different tribes encamped on either side of a French fort had to have been an interesting situation--there was a balance to be had. Yet when the English came in, it is well documented that they failed to treat the tribes with respect and immediately began to engender their hostility.

The later built Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City was ultimately dismantled and moved to Mackinac Island. Seated high on the bluff, the final fort built had an excellent vantage point!

In the time of my series, Fort Mackinac, as it is now called, was winding down. There was no longer a need for a fort in the straits of Mackinac.

Question: Does it seem strange to you that over time the main French fort moved three times in the Straits of Mackinac?

Bio: Former “Yooper” Carrie Fancett Pagels writes Christian historical romances about overcoming. She grew up in Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where many of her stories are set. Possessed with an overactive imagination, that wasn't "cured" by twenty-five years as a psychologist, she loves bringing characters to life. Carrie and her family reside in Virginia’s Historic Triangle, which is perfect for her fascination with history. Carrie enjoys reading, traveling, baking, and beading—but not all at the same time!  

A Romantic Independence Day: Part 2 - Inside Old Fort Western

On Monday I shared about the romance of visiting America's oldest standing wooden fort, Old Fort Western in Augusta, Maine in my post A Romantic Independence Day: Part 1. 

ro·man·tic

Marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized.

Today I'd like to share some of the stories I've learned about the old colonial fort. You'll soon see why I'm so excited to spend the 4th of July visiting there again.

March 5th, 1755 letter from Capt.James Howard to Governor Shirley -
The number of men is small he writes and the ground in the vicinity
of the fort is advantageous for a surprise. The supplies here intended
for Fort Halifax will induce the enemy to attack us.
We have no colors for the fort.

• During the French & Indian war, Captain Howard's son, John, performed a heroic deed by carrying dispatches from Fort Western to General Wolfe in Quebec when a weary dispatcher arrived at the fort's doors unable to continue his trek through the unbroken wilderness of Maine, where the Indian foe often laid in ambush, to the to French stronghold. 
• Cushnoc, now Augusta, held its first town meeting and religious services at Fort Western. The first marriage was held under the roof of the Old Fort in 1763. Captain Howard's daughter, Margaret, who wed the gallant Captain Samuel Patterson. The bride's father married the couple as Captain Howard was justice of the peace and the only person in the settlement qualified to perform the nuptials. A few years later, Captain Samuel Howard brought his bride, the beautiful Sarah Lithgow, from Fort Halifax.

• In the days of the Revolution there must have been many hot discussions held around the hearth at the Old Fort. Some of the members of the Plymouth Company were Tories while Captain Howard and his two sons were staunch patriots who served on the Committee of Safety who formed a military company of which William Howard was leader. William and his brother, Samuel, both saw active service during the war for Independence. Incidentally, William resided at the fort with his family until 1810 and Howard women lived there until the mid-19th century. 

From the diary of Capt. Henry Dearborn, Sept 24th, 1775 - We lay at Fort Western
preparing for our march. Fort Western stands on the East side of the River and
consists of two Block Houses and a Large House 100 Feet Long which are
Inclosed only with Picquets. This House is now the property of one
Howard Esqr where we were well entertained.

• In 1775 Benedict Arnold and his 1,100 troops used it as a staging point for his ill-fated assault on Quebec during the American Revolution when their journey took them through the Maine wilderness up the Kennebec River to their Canadian destination. While Arnold and some of his officers stayed at Captain Howard's great house that he had built nearby, the army was lodged and entertained at the fort, the residence of his son Colonel William Howard. There is a story of a grand feast that was held with pumpkin pies and bear on the menu. One of the officers, the young Arron Burr, who later became president, was present with a young Abenaki woman named Jacataqua who followed him to Canada. Also present were two camp followers, wives of Pennsylvania Riflemen. One was Jemima Warner, the teenage bride of a private, who after burrying her husband, took his place in the company. She was captured in Quebec when she carried a proposal for surrender to the British from Brig. Later released, she was killed in combat and is renowned for being the first woman to die in military service in our country.

• In 1779, three years after the American Patriots had declared independence from Britain, a British naval and military force landed troops at Castine, Maine to established the colony of New Ireland. Massachusetts raised a force to drive the British out with Col. Paul Revere in charge. The so-called Penobscot Expedition was mismanaged and Fort Western once again opened its doors to weary soldiers from Revere's artillery on their way back to Boston.

From the diary of Martha Ballard, Aug 4th, 1787 - Clear morn. I pulld flax till
noon. a very Severe Shower of hail with thunder and Litning began at half
after one, Continud near 1 hour. I hear it broke 130 pains of Glass in fort western.
Colon Howard made me a prest of 1 Gal w Rhum & 2 lb Sugar on acount of my
atendance of his famely in Sickness.

• More true stories include the famed midwife and healer, Martha Ballard, whose husband was a surveyor for the Kennebec Proprietors, served many families along the Kennebec River. In 1780's she spent time at the Old Fort nursing several members of the Howard family from diseases such as bilious fever (gastrointestinal illness) and canker rash (scarlet fever). She saw this family through times of illness and death and most certainly times when they welcomed new life at the Old Fort. Martha Ballard frequently visited Fort Western to purchase goods from the Howard's store.

In 2011 I shared about my experience of Observing Independence Day at Fort Halifax. I also featured highlights about how the 4th of July was first celebrated in our country. This year I will be celebrating at Old Fort Western with my husband. We will observe the tradition which first began in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read there and has now been reenacted for the past 50 years. The ceremony includes the changing the colors from the British flag to the "new" flag, and a 13-gun salute by cannon. We will watch fireworks in the night sky over the Kennebec River. And of course, I hope to hear more about the true stories that took place long ago within the palisade walls, even as I make my own memories.

How are you celebrating Independence Day? Have you ever spent the 4th of July at an historical location?

GIVEAWAY:  For those who comment on this post and/or our post on July 3th (two chances to win), you will be eligible to win a copy of my book Colonial Courtships that features my novella Carving a Future, which is set in the same time period that Old Fort Western was built.

DON'T MISS THE SLIDESHOW FOR AN INSIDE VIEW OF OLD FORT WESTERN!

Enjoy your day celebrating the freedoms for which many have fought for through the centuries!

GOD BLESS AMERICA! 

 

A Romantic Independence Day: Inside Old Fort Western - Part 1

Fort Western, Augusta, Maine
Oldest standing colonial fort in America, circa 1754.

ro·man·tic

Marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized.

Carla & Brad in the window seat of
the dining room at Fort Western.

Is there anything more romantic than a colonial fort? This author of historical romances thinks not, at least when I'm thinking of Independence Day or reading our friend Laura Frantz's novel The Colonel's Lady. Last month on our wedding anniversary my husband and I took trip to nearby Augusta, Maine to visit  Old Fort Western. It also happened to be their Memorial Day weekend season opening so admission was free and we were greeted by many cheerful reenactors. I understand that two of them recently said their wedding vows at the fort!

Built in 1754, during the French & Indian War, as a fortified storehouse to support Fort Halifax, 17 miles to the north and to protect its own region, Old Fort Western is the nation’s oldest surviving wooden fort. On the banks of the picturesque Kennebec River, the impressive fort with two large and two smaller blockhouses and a 100 x 32 foot main building that was built from the great pine forests surrounding the area. Hundreds of hand hewn 12 x 12 beams support the fort. The Fort was built by the Kennebec Proprietors, a Boston-based land company seeking to settle the lands along central Maine's Kennebec River that had been granted to the Pilgrims more than a century earlier when my Pilgrim ancestor, John Howland, commanded the trading post at this site. The company and the Province of Massachusetts were interested in expanding their influence in the area as part of an effort by Britain and her colonies to take final political control of North America and to sever the ties between the Abenaki Indians and the French in Canada. One of the Kennebec Proprietors, Captain James Howard, garrisoned the fort with a provincial military unit made up of his sons and 16 other men and four cannons sent by Governor Shirley as a defense against the Indians.

Captain Howard purchased the fort for $500 to be used as his residence (becoming the first permanent settler) and opened a store in what had been the military storehouse section of the main house. For the next 50 years, this store was a center of trade between the new settlers on the Kennebec and Boston, New Foundland and the West Indies. In the 19th century, the fort was transformed into a tenement house sheltering immigrants fleeing the Irish potato famine. Falling into demise, the fort was rescued by a descendant of  the Howard's and Old Fort Western was opened as a museum in 1922. 

Today, the story of the "Old Fort" is told through living history programs that emulate daily life at the fort during the 18th century. Like the stories we told in our serial A Forted Frontier Holiday, I'm certain that there are many tales that could be told about life in this fort, only these stories are true.

Here's a glimpse inside Old Fort Western from my visit there on Memorial Day. I'm looking forward to returning on the 4th of July! Please join me on Wednesday, July 3rd, for Part 2 of A Romantic Independence Day when I share some of the stories from inside Old Fort Western.


CLICK HERE FOR A FULL SIZE SLIDESHOW

Do you have a favorite historical romance about the French & Indian War or the American Revolution? Have you ever read a novel that takes place in a fort? Have you ever visited a fort?



GIVEAWAY:  For those who comment on this post and/or our post on July 3th (two chances to win), you will be eligible to win a copy of my book Colonial Courtships that features my novella Carving a Future, which is set in the same time period that Old Fort Western was built.

Colonial Fort Michilimackinac by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Fort Michilimackinac

Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, Michigan, was where I conducted on site research this past summer. Situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, where Lake Huron meets it in the straits of Mackinac, this National Historic Landmark features reenactments from British 1770’s occupation and the American Revolution.  Surrounded by a stockade wall, this treasure has continued to expand with more exhibits each time I have visited. (I am originally from upper Michigan.) 

Location: Mackinaw City sits at the middle of the top of the “mitten” of lower Michigan. Northeast is Mackinac Island, round island and east is Bois Blanc Island. 

Bark teepee outside Fort Michilimackinac

Outside the fort, native peoples would have had their encampments, particularly during the summer seasons when trading was done. The men trapped and hunted and the women skinned the animals.  Note the otter skins hanging to the right of the teepee and left of the birch trees.  By the way, beautiful silver birch trees grow up north and birch wood was often used to make canoes.  

French Métis  re-enactor and Carrie Fancett Pagels 

On my visit to Fort Michilimackinac, I was able to speak with Susan, a former librarian and wonderful fellow history fanatic, who portrayed a French Métis woman of French-Chippewa heritage.  She had beaded most of her clothing herself and had also created her own Ojibway jewelry.  

Below is a picture of the amazing beadwork on her moccasins.

She showed me (I’m a fellow beader) how the porcupine quills were used in necklaces, forming kind of a hollow tube, through which string can be run. I had not realized porcupine quills were hollow.  To be used, the ends have to be cut. 

The fort was reconstructed to preserve the area’s history and depicts life in the early years of Mackinac City under European influence.  

The French courier du bois and voyageurs  met in this area for fur trading with the native Americans, several tribes being predominant in the area, e.g., Ojibway and Hurons. Traders would travel all the way from Montreal to the straits of Mackinac each summer.

Commander DePeyster's house.

Inside the fort are many buildings to be investigated, such as the British commander's house, portrayed at the left. The fort was under the occupation of the French for a long time and there is a building set up to serve as the priest’s quarters.  This was one of my favorite buildings because it held copies of baptismal records, and from those records I got kernels to start some new stories growing. 

All of this area was under the control of the French until after the French-Indian War. The British then took control of Fort Detroit and Fort Michilimackinac.   The British operated very differently than the French as far as interacting with the Indian tribes. Their callous disregard for following native customs resulted in problems, including Pontiac’s Rebellion, which I will be posting about this winter. British soldiers had reason to be wary of their new post!

In letters written home, the British soldiers complained greatly of the cold and deprivation.  But they played games, told stories, wrote letters, and participated in religious services like soldiers do today. However, unlike the French, who often blended into the communities, intermarrying with the Ojibway women, the English were more or less occupiers rather than integrators. 

One of the treats those early settlers had, that we still enjoy today, was of viewing the gorgeous sunsets.  The skies around the straits are bluer than anywhere I have been. So do yourself a favor--if you are in Michigan, head up to this National Treasure and enjoy all that Fort Michilimackinac has to offer! And expect some more posts from me in the coming year about Colonial Michilimackinac and nearby Mackinac Island, where American troops captured the British fort during the American Revolution.