Samuel C. Muir-- Part 2: Resigned From Army Over Order to Abandon His Wife

Some years later, an order from the U.S. Army required that officers abandon their Indian wives if they had one.  Muir refused to obey the order and resigned his commission.

Afterwards, he settle on a farm near the mouth of the Des Moines River, opposite of his old fort, Fort Edwards.  This is where the town of Keokuk, Iowa, stands today.

He died in 1832 of cholera, leaving his wife and five children destitute while his property was involved in litigation.

Keokuk was first known as Pirch-e-chut-tech and Dr. Muir was one of its first settlers as well as one of the first pioneers in the state of Iowa.

--Brock-Perry