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Michigan Military Figures: THE ANSWERS EDITION

June 2, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

After days! of suspense! Here are the answers to our special Memorial Day Michigan military figures trivia game. We might do this again sometime. We might not. It was a little silly, but we had fun.

#1

The one & only … General Mad Anthony Wayne.

#2

Colonel Jean-Francois Hamtramck. When Mad Anthony was struck with gout and returned to Pennsylvania (where he died), Hamtramck raised the flag over Fort Lernoult on July 11, 1796. He remained in Detroit until his death in 1803. He’s buried at Mt. Elliott.

#3

Alpheus Starkey Williams, a Union General in the Civil War and the subject of a huge, striking equestrian statue on Belle Isle. Williams served as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Michigan from 1875 until his death in the U.S. Capitol building in 1878. He’s buried at Elmwood. Curious? There’s tons more to know and love about Alpheus Starkey Williams here.

#4

General George Custer.

“We all know Custer died at Little Big Horn. What this book supposes is … maybe he didn’t?”

#5

General (and Governor of the Michigan Territory) William Hull. Hull’s infamy was a result of his flabbergasting surrender of Detroit to the British during the War of 1812. Even the British were surprised. Wrote President Madison’s comptroller Richard Rush: “The nation has been deceived by a gasconading booby.” Hull was tried by court martial and sentenced to death for his blunder. Madison pardoned him. His successor, Territorial Governor Lewis Cass, likely wanted to see him shot.

#6

General Montgomery C. Meigs was Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during the Civil War. An early assignment for Meigs? He supervised plans and construction for Detroit’s Fort Wayne. Meigs’s later, more famous projects include the Washington Aqueduct and Arlington National Cemetery.

#7

Sarah Emma Edmonds was a Canadian teenage runaway who, disguised as a man, joined the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry. She served as a nurse, a mail carrier and, most alluringly, an intelligence officer across enemy lines. Learn more about her amazing story here.

#8

Ulysses S. Grant was a Lieutenant at Fort Wayne from 1849 – 1851. He lived in a house near Livernois and Fort. Today, Grant’s house is on the State Fairgrounds. More at detroit1701.org.

#9

Defamed General Justus McKinstry, son of Michigan’s amusement king Colonel David McKinstry.

#10

Russell A. Alger, whose former home in Gross Pointe is now the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and whose commemorative fountain in Grand Circus Park was designed by Daniel Chester French. Alger enlisted as a private solider in the Union Army and left the war a brevetted Major General. Later he became Governor of Michigan.

#11

It’s GENERAL FRIEND PALMER! While I was preparing for this post, I learned that the General was the Quartermaster General of Michigan during the Civil War.

#12

General Alexander Macomb, whose family once owned a sizable chunk of land on Belle Isle. After heroism during the War of 1812, Macomb  served as the commanding general of the U.S. Army from 1828 to 1841. His statue is on Washington Boulevard, across the street from the Book Cadillac hotel.

That’s it! Hope you learned something. I did!

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Fridays with General Friend Palmer: “Convenience itself”

February 5, 2010 in Books, History | 5 comments

IN the earlier days the streets of Detroit in the absence pavements were very bad in the fall and spring seemed to predominate Cabs and public hacks were in a very lim ted number Peter Cooper colored Jackson a colored barber and George lierron an English barber were about the only persons owning and operating public conveyances and t heir services as may be supposed were taxed to the limit Men wore their heavy boots pants tucked inside and in the outskirts of the city a few boards and planks were laid down lengthwise so that people could manage with difficulty to get along In such a state of things the single two wheeled horsecart was very much in evidence and was a most important institution It was an invention of the old French habitants of the country They were used by all classes and were convenience itself A buffalo robe or blanket was spread on the bottom of the cart two or three ottomans or stools were put in in the absence of other covering for the bottom or floor of the cart hay or straw was used and the horse understanding his business as well as his master off he plodded ofttimes half leg deep in mud to church shopping or to make fashionable calls The carts were mighty enjoyable as I can testify having time and again been the driver on many many occasions sitting perched up in front and the ladies enjoying the bottom of the vehicle protected from the rough boards by soft buffalo robes or other means occasionally the lynch pin that apparently held the cart together would get out of place and the occupants be dumped in the mud!
When General Macomb visited Detroit Mrs Hester Scott took him around the city in one of these French horse carts borrowed for the purpose from Mr HD Harrison the Jefferson Avenue dry goods merchant and it was said that the general enjoyed it hugely Mrs Scott and her three daughters are no doubt well 646
These French carts were very enjoyable also in fine weather on short excursions with the girls into the surrounding woods particularly in October when they had put on their gay autumn attire and the hickory nuts and hazel nuts were plentiful How full of pleasure those trips were The distance to the woods was not great they came down to Elizabeth Street on the west side of Woodward Avenue and down to about Hancock Avenue on the east side and out on Grand River Avenue on the Jones farm not far from Perkins’s tavern and out on Michigan Avenue they came down to where is the hay market once Woodbridge grove and just in the rear of this grove was an immense field of hazelnut bushes which in the season were loaded down with nuts Out Woodward Avenue about where is Farnsworth Street were many acres of blackberry bushes loaded with their delicious fruit in the season And then the excursions in these carts down to that lovely driveway Lovers Lane in the vicinity of what is now Fort Wayne The lane came into the River road about where Winterhalter’s beer garden was and extended out quite a distance toward the Dix settlement My friend Ross in one of his articles in relation to early Detroit says of this lane and as the incident he relates to it is true I copy it

horse drawn cart

[Source]

Welcome back to Fridays with General Friend Palmer! So far it hasn’t been a complete disaster, so let’s continue! This week, General Palmer wistfully recalls Detroit’s bygone horse cart days. Maybe the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit at Detroit Historical Museum should explore incorporating an unpaved thoroughfare or two. It will be immersive! Wear boots!

I like when he casually mentions that sometimes the carts just fell apart.

In the earlier days the streets of Detroit, in the absence of pavements, were very bad in the fall and spring; mud seemed to predominate … Men wore their heavy boots, pants tucked inside, and in the outskirts of the city, a few boards and planks were laid down lengthwise so that people could manage, with difficulty, to get along.

In such a state of things, the single two wheeled horsecart was very much in evidence and was a most important institution. It was an invention of the old French habitants of the country. They were used by all classes and were convenience itself. A buffalo robe or blanket was spread on the bottom of the cart, two or three ottomans or stools were put in (in the absence of other covering for the bottom or floor of the cart, hay or straw was used), and the horse … off he plodded, ofttimes half leg deep in mud, to church, shopping, or to make fashionable calls. The carts were mighty enjoyable, as I can testify, having time and again been the driver on many, many occasions, sitting perched up in front and the ladies enjoying the bottom of the vehicle, protected from the rough boards by soft buffalo robes or other means; occasionally the lynch pin that apparently held the cart together would get out of place and the occupants be dumped in the mud.

Even famous people thought they were kinda fun!

… When General Macomb visited Detroit, Mrs. Hester Scott took him around the city in one of these French horse carts, borrowed for the purpose from Mr H.D. Harrison, the Jefferson Avenue dry goods merchant, and it was said that the general enjoyed it hugely.

And they were even a little flirty in the fairer seasons:

These French carts were very enjoyable also in fine weather on short excursions with the girls into the surrounding woods, particularly in October when they had put on their gay autumn attire and the hickory nuts and hazel nuts were plentiful. How full of pleasure those trips were! The distance to the woods was not great … out on Michigan Avenue, they came down to where is the hay market (once Woodbridge grove) and just in the rear of this grove was an immense field of hazelnut bushes which in the season were loaded down with nuts. Out Woodward Avenue, about where is Farnsworth Street, were many acres of blackberry bushes loaded with their delicious fruit in the season. And then the excursions in these carts down to that lovely driveway, “Lovers Lane,” in the vicinity of what is now Fort Wayne. The lane came into the River road, about where Winterhalter’s beer garden was, and extended out quite a distance toward the Dix settlement.

Sigh. The good old days!

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Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company

January 6, 2010 in History | No comments

Have you ever seen those old postcards — I tend to find them crammed in shoeboxes at antique stores — with luridly hued landscapes or blush-tinted street scenes and historical landmarks — photographs that almost look like rigid little paintings?

amsterdam

Dam Square, Amsterdam. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1900

There’s a good chance they were made in Detroit.

In 1896, The Detroit Publishing Company acquired the exclusive American rights to PHOTOCHROM (uh, caps lock emphasis mine, because it is my new favorite name of a thing), a Swiss-patented process for making color lithographs from black-and-white photo negatives. Before PHOTOCHROM, photographs were colored by hand; color lithography was faster and produced more consistent results than hand-coloring or early color film. And it was so much sexier than black and white!

In a stroke of great serendipity for the partners of the Detroit Publishing Company, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act in 1898, which allowed private publishers to produce their own postcards. They were so cheap and so beautiful, and business boomed for the Detroit Publishing Company, which sent its photographers and dealers around the world by rail and sea to take photographs and buy negatives from other photographers willing to sell their wares.

niagra in winter

Niagra in Winter, American Falls, New York. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1906

Photography, of course, was revolutionary, but I’d never really thought of postcards as a milestone in publishing until working on this post. It makes so much sense, though: a penny or two, and you’ve got a tiny — but resplendent — work of art in your hands. Photography was the window on the world; the postcard brought the world to your mailbox.

atlantic city

Looping the Loop, Atlantic City. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1901.

Because I still haven’t bought a decent pair of winter boots, and because I don’t really like going outside in the cold, I spent a few hours in a substantive virtual exhibition on the Detroit Publishing Company presented by The Henry Ford. It’s a little dated as digital exhibitions go, but it’s still a delightful and comprehensive introduction to the history of the business, and naturally it’s full of more than a hundred great photographs and lithographs of street life, nature, architecture, transportation and pretty things from all over the world at the turn of the 20th century.

moonlight constantinople

Moonlight Over Constantinople, Turkey. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1905

Most of the Detroit Publishing Company’s original negatives belong to the Library of Congress (which also maintains a DPC digital collection, if you have yet more time, nowhere in particular to be, and become infatuated with these works the way I did this week). The Henry Ford retains tens of thousands of DPC prints and postcards. And the fabulously redesigned Buildings of Detroit has a nice gallery of vintage postcards, sent from Detroit, that includes some great Detroit Publishing Company pieces.

In fact, I thought to myself whilst compiling this post, what about that BoD.com postcard I just bought from City Bird?

Sure enough:

macomb postcard

That’s General Alexander Macomb on Washington Boulevard, by the way. I bought it to remember how much I love General Alexander Macomb, and this statue of General Alexander Macomb, but now, quite surprisingly, it’s a remembrance of another really stunning slice of city history that I didn’t even know about until this week.

So many lizards under so many unsuspecting stones. I tell you.

winter canfield avenue

Winter Morning – Corner of Canfield and Second, Detroit. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1905

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