Fort Edwards in Warsaw, Illinois-- Part 2: An Interesting Story

Sometime before 1820, a beautiful Indian maid had a dream that a white warrior would paddle across the Mississippi and come to her lodge.    When she awoke, she went to Fort Edwards where she saw Dr. Samuel Muir, an army surgeon.  She believed him to be the man of her dreams.

She told her story to Dr. Muir and "due to her beauty, devotion and innocence,"  Muir agreed to marry her.

He called her Sophia and they had a baby.  Many of the other officers at Fort Edwards derided Muir for marrying an Indian girl and he became ashamed.  He was restationed to another fort in Missouri and abandoned her.

She then traveled one hundred miles with children and found him and Muir then swore that he would never leave her again.  The Army later banned marriages between officers and Indian women, whereupon Muir resigned his commission.

--Brock-Perry