Roberts ordered a new supply of Hudson's Bay point blankets from the British Indian Department for the upcoming winter to manufacture more winter coats.
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On July 17, 1812, during the War of 1812, Roberts and his men defeated Captain Porter Hanks and the 61 men of the 1st American Artillery Regiment during the siege of Fort Mackinac and then occupied Fort Mackinac located near present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan. Everyone was in agreement that the newly tailored greatcoats were of superior quality than the British Army standard issue greatcoats and helped to increase the morale of the King's soldiers.
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In response, Askin hired his spouse and eight to ten local Caucasian and Métis women to sew the forty greatcoats, which were completed and presented to Roberts within two weeks. To alleviate this health and safety concern, Captain Roberts acquired a supply of 3.5 point Hudson's Bay point blankets and requisitioned John Askin Jr., a Métis and keeper of the King's stores at the fort, to design and manufacture forty woollen greatcoats. “All hopes having now ceased of the arrival of the schooner Hunter or any other vessel from Amherstburg with the clothing of the detachment, I am this day obtaining, upon my requisition to the storekeeper of the Indian Department, a consignment of heavy blankets, for the purpose of making them great coats, a measure the severity of the climate strongly demands and one, I trust, the commander of the forces will not disapprove of when he is informed that not a remnant remains of the coats served out to them in the year 1807 and that they have received none since.” - Captain Charles Roberts The date was Novemand Captain Roberts, wrote a letter by candlelight to the then Captain Thomas Evans, adjutant general in Montreal, Quebec, making a requisition, written as follows: Roberts was unable to obtain military issued winter greatcoats from his general headquarters (G.H.Q.) located in Montreal, Quebec for the forty soldiers of the 10th Royal Veterans Battalion under his charge. The origin of the mackinaw jacket is owed to the British Army Captain Charles Roberts, while commanding Fort St. The British later shortened the word and changed the spelling to match the French pronunciation: Mackinaw (though the French spelling was used for Fort Mackinac when constructed in 1780–81). When French-Canadian fur traders transliterated the word, they spelled it as Michilimackinac but pronounced the final consonant as "aw" Rather than "c". The word "mackinaw" is derived from the Odawa Ojibwe language word "Mitchimakinak" meaning a large turtle.