Talk Tonight About Battle of Rock Island Rapids-- Part 2

Campbell's Island (near East Moline) was the site of the Battle of Rock Island Rapids, one of the western-most battles of the War of 1812.  (The Battle is also called the Battle of Campbell's Island.)

A band of approximately 500  Sauk warriors, allied with the British Army, clashed on July  19, 1814, with an American force let by Lieutenant John Campbell of the 1st United States Regiment of Infantry.

Campbell was leading three small gunboats along the Mississippi River to carry military supplies to Fort Shelby, located at the present-day site of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, when they were ambushed by Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo Indians led by  Chief Black Hawk.

There were some 400 Indians versus 33 U.S. Regulars and  65 Illinois Rangers.  This was an American loss.

Losses for the Indians put at more than two killed.  For the Americans 14 killed and 37 total casualties.

--Brock-Perry

About That Fort Detroit, Shelby and Wayne in Detroit-- Part 3: So, Which Fort Was the War of 1812 Fort?

Actually, the War of 1812 fort was not Fort Wayne, which still stands and was constructed after the war.  The fort that William Hull surrendered in 1812 was Fort Detroit which was renamed Fort Shelby in 1813.

Fort Shelby was occupied by the British for awhile and when they pulled out, American troops reoccupied it.

In 1815, the site of the future Fort Wayne was where American government officials and Indian leaders  met to sign the Treaty of Spring Wells.  This marked the end of hostilities between tribes that had Britain during the war and the United States.  Among those present at the signing were Michigan Territorial Governor Lewis Cass and William Henry Harrison.

In the late 1830s, there were a series of rebellions in Canada with led to a series of American militia attacks across the river in what is known as the Patriot War.  At the time, the U.S. government realized that the whole northern border of the country lacked fortifications to stop a British attack.  In particular, British Fort Malden, located near Detroit in Amherstburg was a potential threat.

In 1841, Congress appropriated funds to build a string of fortifications from the east coast to Minnesota, including one at Detroit.

--Brock-Perry

About That Fort Detroit, Shelby and Wayne in Detroit-- Part 2: Fort Wayne Was Not the War of 1812 Fort, But Did Play a Role in the War

So, Fort Wayne was not the fort that existed and played such a part in the War of 1812.  It was built after the war.  But, its site did play a role.

The one from the War of 1812 was known as Fort Detroit and later its name was changed to Fort Shelby.

The site of Fort Wayne consisted of a high sand mound with freshwater springs along the marshy waterfront of the Detroit River.

The opening shots of the War of 1812, however, were fired in the vicinity of the future Fort Wayne.  Although war had not yet been declared, Michigan militiamen bombarded the town of Sandwich, Upper Canada (later annexed to Windsor).

Later in the war, British General Isaac Brock crossed the narrowest part of the Detroit River with troops and landed on the future Fort Wayne site before marching on Detroit.  In the ensuing Siege of Detroit, American General William Hull, believing himself completely surrounded and outnumbered, surrendered Fort Detroit  to the British without offering much resistance.

A Sad Military Event in American History.  --Brock-Perry

About That Fort Detroit, Fort Wayne, Fort Shelby in Detroit

I saw an article in the Detroit News about the historic Fort Wayne in that city, but was unable to read it.  I knew there was a Fort Detroit there which played a huge role in the War of 1812, so decided to turn to good ol' Wikipedia for some background on it.

From Wikipedia.

Fort Wayne is located in downtown Detroit on the Detroit River.  The original limestone barracks still stands as does the 1845 fort.

Fort Wayne is Detroit's third fort.

The first was Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit built be the French in 1701 near the current day Hart Plaza.  This fort was manned by the French until they surrendered to the British in 1760 during the French and Indian War.

The British constructed the second fort, Fort Lernoult a few years later about where Fort and Shelby streets come together today. They manned the fort until 1796 when the United States assumed the site and renamed it Fort Shelby.

Following the end of the War of 1812, Fort Shelby fell into disrepair and in 1826, the City of Detroit purchased and demolished it.

--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

Defenses and Battles in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois Territories-- Part 2

4.  Fort Shelby, defeated 1814. Where the Wisconsin River flows into the Mississippi River at present-day Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

5.  Battle of Rock Island Rapids, July 1814 and the Battle of Credit Island, September 1814, by the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois.

6.  Fort Johnson, abandoned 1814.  Where the Des Moines Rover joins the Mississippi River.

7.  Fort Cap au Gris and the Battle of Sinkhole, May 1815.  On the Mississippi River, a short distance above St. Louis.

--Brock-Perry

Campbell's Island-- Part 2: An American Defeat

Three American gunboats were heading up the Mississippi River with military supplies for Fort Shelby at present day Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.  One of the boats had 42 people in it, including soldiers of the 1st U.S. Infantry regiment and their families.  The other two had 66 United States Rangers.

The Indians attacked and forced the Americans to turn back.  The Americans lost eight killed in the 1st U.S. Infantry and sixteen wounded.  Four Rangers were killed and eight wounded.

This defeat helped the Sauk Indians to maintain control over the Quad City area (Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois) for almost twenty more years.

The Campbell's Island State Memorial was dedicated in 1908.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Rock Island Rapids-- Part 1: Ambushed by Black Hawk

From the March 5, 2017, Quad-City Dispatch-Argus "Campbell's Island 1814 battle recalled by 'survivor' by Jonathan Turner.

Susan McPeters, portraying the wife of one of the soldiers at the battle, put on a one-woman show in period dress.

On July 19, 1814, 500 Sauk Indians, led by the famous warrior Black Hawk attacked U.S. soldiers in boats in an expedition led by Lieutenant John Campbell in one of the westernmost battles of the war.

Lt. Campbell had command of three gunboats and was carrying military supplies north from St. Louis along the Mississippi River to Fort Shelby, at the present-day site of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Prairie du Chien to Be Commemorated-- Part 2

The Battle of Prairie du Chien began July 17, 1814, when a British force under Col. William McKay attacked American Fort Shelby at Prairie du Chien.

Many Prairie du Chien and Green Bay residents joined the British and more than 300 Indians did as well.  After a three-day siege, Lt. Joseph Perkins surrendered the fort.

There were no casualties except 3 British and 7 Americans wounded as well as the fort's 53-man garrison which was captured.

The British renamed the place Fort McKay and they remained in Prairie du Chien until the spring of 1815 when word of the Treaty of Ghent arrived at which time the British withdrew after setting the fort on fire.  The U.S. constructed Fort Crawford on the site in 1816 which is when all the important military persons served.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: British Recapture Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Territory

JULY 18TH, 1814:

British and First Nation allies capture Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin territory.

Prairie du Chien was a small fur trading post at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers and was occupied by French-Canadians and managed by British merchants.

On June 2, 1814, the governor of Missouri Territory, William Clark, afraid that the British would use the post to launch an expedition down the Mississippi River, seized control of the post without incident and built Fort Shelby.

Under prominent fur trader William McKay, a force of about 120 voyageurs, Michigan Fencibles, and officers of the British Indian department and over 500 fighters from nations including the Ho-chunk (Winnebago), Menominee and Arishnabe (Ojibwe) set out to retake it.

With little ammunition and only 60 regulars to defend the post, the Americans surrendered after a short siege and returned home on parole.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Shelby in Wisconsin

From Wikipedia.

I have recently mentioned this fort as being built 200 years ago this month in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Territory.

Built 1814 at Prairie du Chien.  Named for Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War soldier and first governor of Kentucky.  It was a wooden palisade fort built on a mound with a blockhouse.

Captured by the British at the Siege of Prairie du Chien in July 1814 and renamed Fort McKay after Major William McKay, commander of the British force and remained under their control until the end of the war.  It was destroyed when they left.

American Fort Crawford built on the same site in 1816.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline: June 1814: Fort Shelby, District of Maine and the Chesapeake Campaign

JUNE 6, 1814:  U.S. General William Clark establishes Fort Shelby at Praiie du Chien, Wisconsin territory.

JUNE 6TH, 1814:  The British Secretary of War, the Earl of Bathurst, orders Lt. Governor Sir John Coape Sherbrooke to occupy the part of the District of Maine "which at present intercepts the communication between Halifax and Quebec."

The marches of the 104th Regiment and others had opened British eyes wide to the strategic importance of the Saint John River as a conduit for reinforcements during winter.  The invasion of eastern Maine to secure that route was seen as part of a major offensive that would include escalation of the Chesapeake Campaign and the invasion of Upper New York via Lake Champlain.

The British captured Moose Island, Passamquoddy Bay on 11 July, and in early September an army-navy contingent of 2,500 men took possession of the entire Maine coast between Penobscot and St. Croix rivers.  This guaranteed that troops who might have to march up the frozen Saint John River would not have to worry about the enemy along the way.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline: June 1814

JUNE 1814:  Upon receiving news that Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin territory, had fallen to American forces, the Mississippi Volunteers, a British unit formed primarily of voyageurs and fur trappers, is raised at Fort Mackinac to help recapture the lost post.

JUNE 1, 1814:  British raids on Cedar Point and St. Jerome's Point in Maryland.

JUNE 2-5, 1814:  Americans take possession of Priarie du Chien, Wisconsin Territory, and start construction of Fort Shelby.

JUNE 3, 1814:  The British Secretary of War, the Earl of Bathurst, orders Governor General Sir George Prevost to take offensive action against the Americans with the reinforcement of 13,000 regulars that will soon arrive from Europe.  Prevost will allocate the majority of these troops to the September 1814 campaign in northern New York near Plattsburg and Lake Champlain.

--Brock-Perry