three
o'clock in the morning of July
When the British landed on the west side of Mackinac Island at three o'clock in the morning of July 17,1812 , Canadians were ordered to transport the cannon . They had only a pair of six-pounders , but these had to be dragged across the long alluvial stretch to heights which would command the fortress , and sand , rock , bushes , trees , and fallen logs made it a dreadful portage . Voyageurs , however , were men to accomplish what regulars and Indians shirked . All but one of the hundred and sixty Canadians hauled with a good will on the cannon ropes .