War of 1812 in Peoria-- Part 6: End of War, Illinois Statehood and Peoria's First American Settlers

The War of 1812 was finally settled by the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814.  However, this treaty did not stop the British from encouraging and supporting the Indians in their raids into the Illinois Territory.  The settlement at Lake Pimiteoui remained unoccupied, save for troops occasionally garrisoning the fort as did trappers and Indians when the troops weren't there.

Indians apparently set fire to the fort and burned most of the structure in 1818.

The first group of American settlers to come to the Fort Clark location after Illinois became a state in 1818 arrived in April 1819.  These settlers were Abner Eads, Josiah Fulton,  and his brother Seth Fulton from Virginia; Joseph Hersey of New York; and S. Daugherty, J. Davis, and T. Russell of Kentucky.

Eads and Hersey arrived with pack horses and the rest arrived on keel boats, apparently poled upriver.

Upon their arrival, they reportedly found the walls of two deserted cabins standing close to the river.  It is possible that the soldiers garrisoned here  when Fort Clark was built six years earlier had erected these cabins.  They were made suitable for use and became the first two residences of Peoria.

The settlers also found enough of the remains of Fort Clark to determine that it had indeed been a fort.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 in Peoria-- Part 5: Building Fort Clark

With over 1,000 men to assist, the construction of the new fort at what is today  Peoria was completed quickly by September 23, 1813.  A brass six-pound cannon was mounted in the fort and fired in celebration of the accomplishment.  The fort was named Fort Clark in honor of  General George Rogers Clark, the celebrated hero of the American Revolution who had victories against the British at  Vincennes and Kaskaskia.

General Howard sent a force in two boats under Major William Christy to pursue the Indians on the upper Illinois River.  Another force under  Major Nathan Boone (was this Garner's unit?), followed the course of the Spoon River for fifty miles.  

Upon their return to Fort Clark, both officers reported that their troops had been unable to overtake the fleeing Indians.  The rangers were relieved of their duty at Fort Clark in mid-October, and returned to their   home stations, leaving the regular U.S. troops to garrison the post.

--Brock-Perry

Early History of Peoria Illinois-- Part 3: 'The Damned Rascals May Think Themselves Well Off That They Were Not Scalped'

After the raid, Captain Thomas E. Craig of Shawneetown and a company of troops boarded boats that were anchored just offshore of the French village.  Sometime during the evening, shots were fired at their vessels.  The troops stormed ashore to loot and burn the village.  Craig then arrested the inhabitants; forced 41 men, women and children to board the two vessels; and brought them to Savage's  Ferry, near present day Alton.

After the prisoners had been held for four days,  Governor Edwards ordered their release.  Captain Craig later reported to Edwards, "I burnt down about half the town.  The damned rascals may think themselves well off that they were not scalped."

This episode marked the end of the French settlement at Peoria.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Clark, Peoria in 1831

Charles Ballance described Fort Clark when he arrived at Peoria in 1831:

"When I came to the country in November 1831, there was no vestige of it remaining.  In fact, at that time there was so little to show that there had ever been a fortification there, except some burnt posts along the west side, and a square of some  10 or 12 feet at the south corner, and a ditch nearly filled up, on two sides of the square and  on the west side of the fort.

"The fort had been burnt down to the embankment of this square and on the west side,  after which the embankments had been mostly worn away by the rains and other means, until that part of the logs that was underground had become charred posts.

"Some of them, however, had become  entirely decayed and were gone.  On the other sides there was but little to be seen of logs and embankment"

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Today, the site of Fort Clark, at the foot of Liberty Street on the shore of the Illinois River in downtown Peoria, is commemorated by a pavilion in Liberty Park.

But It Was Home Safe Home for Awhile.  --Brock-Perry

A Description of Fort Clark in Peoria, Illinois

From January 2011 Peoria Magazine  "Fort Clark constructed in Peoria in 1813" by Mark L. Johnson.

Charles Ballance, in his 1870 book "The History of Peoria" described the fort as :

"This fort was a simple stockade, constructed by planting two rows of logs firmly in the ground, near each other and filling the space in between with earth.  This, of course, was nit intended as a defense against artillery, of which the Indians had none.

This fort was about a hundred feet square, with a ditch along each side.  It did not stand with a side to the lake, but with a corner toward it.  The corner farthest from the lake was on the upper side of Water Street, near the intersection of the upper side of Water and Liberty streets, at the lower corner of Liberty and Water streets.

What was at this corner was what I suppose military men call a bastion; that is, there was a projecting corner made in the same manner as the side walls, and so constructed, as I imagine,  as to accommodate a small cannon to command the ditches.

And the same had no doubt been at the opposite corner."

Well, now that you and I are completely baffled, but there you go.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Clark in Peoria-- Part 2

In October 1812, Ninian Edwards, Illinois Territory governor, launched a three-pronged attack on Indian villages at Peoria Lake (where Peoria is now located and a wide place in the Illinois River).  He believed the villages harbored warriors who had attacked American settlements.  Edwards led a horse-mounted force and destroyed Black  Partidge's village on the east side of the lake.

On November 5, 1812,  Captain Thomas Craig arrived by  boat at Peoria.  Unknown to Craig, William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs (yes, that William Clark as in Lewis & Clark Expedition) and Ninian Edwards had retained the services of Thomas Forsyth to monitor Indian movements at Peoria Lake.  

Despite Forsyth's protest that the community was not involved, Craig arrested a few dozen of the village's inhabitants, burned part f the community, and transported those he detained downriver to Alton.

To assert American authority over the Peoria Lake area, in 1813, a force of about 1,400 men under  the command of Brigadier General  Benjamin Howard returned to The area to erect Fort Clark.  In addition they destroyed  what remained of Gomo's and Black Partridge's  abandoned villages.  William Garner Sr. was a member of this force.

In retaliation, Indians under Black Partridge attacked Fort Clark, but were repulsed and later signed a treaty of peace.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Clark Constructed in Peoria in 1813-- Part 1: Peoria a Largely French Settlement At the Time

In my July 12 post, I wrote that William Garner was a member of the Illinois Territory Rangers and that he had gone to Peoria to build forts.  I could only find one War of 1812 fort built in Peoria, and that was Fort Clark.  So, this must have been the fort he helped build.

From the Illinois River Road site.

In 1813,  a force of about 1,400 men  under the command of Brigadier General Benjamin Howard constructed Fort Clark   on the river front of the largely French community in Peoria.

No remains are left and its approximate site is in Liberty Park on the Illinois River.

--Brock-Perry

Illinois' 200th-- Part 3: The War of 1812

In September 1813, Americans built Fort  Clark in Peoria.  In June 1814,  William Clark built Fort Shelby  at Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin Territory.  This was the William Clark who was in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The British captured Fort Shelby in July and renamed it Fort McKay.  Two American attempts to recapture it were turned back at Rock Island Rapids and Credit Island, which I have written about before.  Click on the labels.  These were the final actions of the War of 1812 in this area.

Hostilities between Indians and Americans would continue, reigniting in the Winnebago War of 1827 and the Black Hawk War of 1832.

Five million acres of land in the Illinois Territory between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, below Rock Island were set aside as the Military Tract of 1812 to pay soldiers land grants for their War of 1812 service.This is over one-eighth of the land in present-day Illinois and some of it was in Indian occupied area, causing many to side with Black Hawk in the forthcoming hostilities.

--Brock-Perry

Benjamin Howard (Missouri)-- Part 2: Attack on Peoria

The Louisiana Territory for which Benjamin Howard was governor was renamed the Missouri Territory in June 1812.

He resigned his post as governor in the War of 1812 and became a brigadier general in the 8th Military Department.  He and Nathan Boone (Daniel Boone's youngest son) attacked Sac and Fox villages in Illinois and established Fort Clark by Peoria.

--Brock-Perry