From Free Pages Roots Web."
Upon the declaration of war in June 1812, the Potawatomies and most other Indian tribes in the Illinois Territory strongly sympathized with the British, whom they saw as valuable allies in keeping the intruding American settlers from taking their land.ar of 1812."
They had been hostile and restless for some time previous and blockhouses and small family forts were the order of the day for American settlers who were mostly in the southern part of the future state. There were often Indian attacks on them.
Territorial Governor Ninian Edwards, becoming apprehensive of an outbreak of Indian hostility as the situation between the United States and Britain worsened, constructed Fort Russel a few miles from the present-day city of Edwardsville (named for him). Sadly, the exact location of this fort is not known today (probably north of the city).
Taking the field in person, he made Fort Russell his personal headquarters and collected a force of 250 mounted volunteers who were later reinforced by two companies of rangers, under Col. William Russell, numbering about 100 men.
--Brock-Perry
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