Military Buttons War of 1812 Era Bois Blanc Island Straits of Mackinac, Michigan

Shown are LARGE images and information on 25 military uniform buttons. These buttons are on display at the Bois Blanc Island Historical Society Museum. One is very rare. Another is a Navy button, very rare in this area.

Most of Bois Blanc Island once was used as a military reservation for the use of the troops at Fort Mackinac. Details of soldiers, rowing or walking on ice, traveled to and from Bois Blanc. They toiled to obtain wood for lumber and fuel, gathered and burned limestone to make quicklime, and made maple sugar. Buttons were lost as they toiled. The 25 buttons shown represent only some of the many styles used around the time of the War of 1812.