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Daniel Robertson (British Army officer)

British military officer in Canada

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 14, 2025
Entity authorityQ56281099 ↗
Source-derived summary

Colonel Daniel Robertson (c. 1733 – 5 April 1810) was an officer in the British Army in North America, commandant of the British post at Michilimackinac, and a landowner in Chatham Township, Canada. Born in Scotland, he first joined the 42nd Regiment of Foot, also known as the "Black Watch," and was present at the British capture of Montreal in 1760, as well as the invasion of Martinique in 1762. During the American Revolutionary War, he was an officer in the 84th Regiment of Foot, another regiment of Scots known as the Royal Highland Emigrants. In 1779, he was appointed commandant of Fort Osgewatchie and oversaw Native American raids on American settlements on the Mohawk River.

From 1782, Robertson served as commandant of Fort Michilimackinac (later known as Fort Mackinac). He freed his black slaves, Jean Bonga and Marie-Jeanne Bonga, before leaving Mackinac Island for Montreal in 1787. "Robinson's Folly" at Mission Point on Mackinac Island was originally called "Robertson's Folly" after Captain Robertson.

Early military career

Daniel Robertson was born in Dunkeld, Scotland. In April 1754, he was appointed as a surgeon's mate in the 42nd Regiment of Foot.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Daniel Robertson (British Army officer)” is british military officer in Canada. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Daniel, Robertson and British, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1733, 1810, 1760, 1762—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1735. For this dossier, Daniel, Robertson and British is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “british military officer in Canada” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 14, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q56281099. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1733, 1810, 1760 and 1762.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Daniel Robertson (British Army officer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.