MEMORIAL DAY–– HEROES ARE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

 

Image from: http://detroit1701.org/

As the United States honors our fallen heroes this Memorial Day, most of us will think of the courageous men and women who fell in our most recent wars–Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, and of course, World War II and World War I. These wars are and were distant conflicts, far from our shores.

Fortunately, and perhaps because of those distant wars, the US has not seen a battlefield on it's own land since the Civil War ended in 1865.

But our country was founded by hundreds of years of struggle, and defended by thousands of men and women during it's 236 year history, in battlefields we might call our backyard today. As Americans walk the streets of our cities and towns, as they drive past cemeteries, old homes and buildings, how many stop to read those large green and bronze plaques called historical markers.

The Michigan Historical Marker Website lists all the markers in Michigan. I've linked to a few below. Why not check it out for yourself. There's a google map with each marker and you might discover more heroism and history in your own neighborhood than you ever dreamed.

Located in Grosse Pointe
Fox Indian Massacre 1712




Battle of Bloody Run 1763

Located in Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery

War of 1812 Battle of Monguagon
Between Detroit and Monroe Michigan

War of 1812 Dead
Located downtown Detroit

If you'd like to honor some Civil War and yes, Revolutionary War veterans, look in the Newburg Cemetery, located in Livonia Michigan.

1778 Livonia Revolutionary War Veterans
Civil War Veterans Newburg Cemetery

Viv
http://amzn.to/zVsVDZ

THE HEART OF FRENCH DETROIT

Founded July 26, 1701, Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church was one of the first structures ever built in Detroit. Those who followed Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac to settle on the banks of the Detroit River started work on their log church only two days after they arrived.


Ste. Anne's current church, built in 1886, is nestled between the Detroit River and the Ambassador Bridge. Though it is the eighth structure to carry that name, and these days a Mass is said in Spanish, this church remains the heart of old French Detroit.


The second oldest Catholic parish in the United States, Detroit's first settlers were baptized married and buried in this parish, and Ste. Anne de Detroit is keeper of the longest continuous church records in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ste._Anne_de_Detroit_Catholic_Church

I found this information on the Ste. Anne de Detroit website, a treasure of Detroit history.  http://www.ste-anne.org/history.html

Vivian
http://amzn.to/zVsVDZ

DETROIT MICHIGAN AND WINDSOR ONTARIO AT WAR?

Hard to imagine today, but yes it's true. Ever hear of the War of 1812?

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMDVEN_Capture_of_Detroit_Windsor_ON

And, here's a great history book about the Detroit River region during the War of 1812. It covers the peoples, politics, and culture, as well as historical events.

A Wampum Denied: Procter's War of 1812 by Sandy Antal.

http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Wampum_Denied.html?id=2xOQ7RrIPaUC

I've added it to my reading list at Goodreads.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5774053.Vivian_LeMay