Porter Hanks

Lieutenant Porter Hanks ( – August 16, 1812) was a United States Army officer who served in the War of 1812. He is best known for commanding Fort Mackinac, situated on the Strait of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Hanks surrendered the fort to British forces on July 17, 1812, in one of the opening engagements of the war.

Commander

Hanks, who joined the army as an artillery lieutenant in 1805, was the commander at Mackinac Island in the spring of 1812. Fort Mackinac was a highly strategic location during the opening weeks of the War of 1812, being the westernmost U.S. military post on the Upper Great Lakes. Its location, however, made communications between the U.S. War Department and the fort difficult. Although the United States had declared war against the British Empire on June 18, 1812, as of mid-July no news of the conflict had been transmitted to northern Michigan.

Surrender

Hanks had to sign terms of surrender. His men were granted the "honors of war" as they marched out of the surrendered fort, with right of passage off Mackinac Island. Hanks signed these terms even though he knew that he might face a court martial for surrendering his command, and (even behind American lines again) he and his men would be legally barred from active service in an American uniform until distance-exchanged; these pre-prisoner of war conditions were part of what was then a code of honor observed by army officers in the English-speaking world.