A fascinating account of the military posts and forts of the Great Lakes from the 1600s to the American Civil War. Full of engrossing information about the construction and history of these sentinels in the wilderness around which the historical currents of a fledgling United States swirled. Details the roles they played as hubs of trade, military activity, and social life at the edges of empire. Some twenty Great Lakes forts can still be seen, and the author clearly describes each as it is today and tells how history shaped it. Richly illustrated with photographs, rare drawings, prints and maps of these important sites of Great Lakes history.