The War of 1812 in Illinois Territory-- Part 3: Enter Thomas E. Craig

Meanwhile, Governor Edwards had reached the head of Peoria Lake (where Peoria is today) and now didn't meet up with Samuel Hopkins' Army, so returned to Fort Russell.

About that same time, Captain Thomas E. Craig led a party of two boats up the Illinois River to Peoria.  His boats, as he alleged, were fired upon  in the night by Indians who had been harbored and protected by the French citizens of Peoria.

He then burned the greater part of the French village and captured a number of its people.  He carried them downriver  and put them ashore in the early part of winter just below Alton.

--Brock-Perry

Francois Leclaire on the Actions of Thomas Craig and His Men

Francois Leclaire was of one of the French families in the former village at Peoria that Thomas Craig's men destroyed.  This is his account of what happened:

After the Indians were defeated by the forces of Governor Edwards at the head of Peoria Lake, they (the Indians) threatened to kill the French people and proceeded to  rob the houses and kill the oxen.

Then a party of men under Captain Thomas E. Craig arrived in two boats and took everything they could get their hands on.  Then they made the people prisoners.  While a prisoner he saw several structures burned by Craig's men.  he also saw articles belonging to the villagers on the boats.

In 1813, he went up to Sandy Creek on the Illinois River with Thomas Forsyth and others and heard from the Indians that they had burned the Kinzie and Forsyth house and bakehouse at Peoria.

These were the damages done by Craig and his men.

--Brock-Perry

Thomas E. Craig

From the "Alton" book by Cheryl Eichar Jett.

Several Native American attacks were recorded during the early settlement of Illinois years.

During the War of 1812. Captain Thomas E. Craig burned a Native American village in Northern Illinois (Peoria) capturing 77 French, French-Native American, Native American and American  individuals.

Historian James E. Davis said that Craig "shunted this assortment of humanity down  the Illinois River, abandoning them on a dreary November day south of modern Alton."

Illinois Territory Governor Ninian Edwards. embarrassed by the debacle, compensated those stranded in the Alton area.

--Brock-Perry

About That Captain Thomas E. Craig-- Part 4: 'A Wanton Act of Cruelty'

When the French villagers returned, Craig had forty of them arrested, claiming that someone had fired on them.  The French denied this.  Craig had his prisoners taken downriver to Alton where they were held for four days before being released.

In the meantime, Craig and his men killed all the village's cattle and burned part of the town.

Historians tend to look at Craig's actions as being misguided.  To John Reynolds, the destruction of French Peoria was "useless" and "a wanton act of  cruelty."  Historian Frank  Stevens denounced Craig's conduct  as "asinine and criminal."

He must Have Had a Really Big Hatred of the French (and Probably Indians as Well).  --Brock-Perry

About That Captain Thomas E. Craig-- Part 3: Destruction of the French Village at Peoria

Continued from August 4, 2021. 

In his book "Illinois in the War of 1812" author Gillum Ferguson said he wanted to be fair to the plight of the Illinois Indians.  "I wanted to give the Indians their fair due without romanticizing them," said Ferguson, who recounted a "possible" massacre of  Indians in the central Illinois area where U.S. troops reportedly wiped out Indian women and children in an encounter that took place in what is now Logan County.

But accounts on what took place vary.

What is a matter of record is the destruction of the French village in Peoria  by Captain Thomas Craig of Shawneetown.  

After finding the village deserted when he arrived, Craig allowed his men to ransack the unguarded cottages and storehouses.

--Brock-Perry

About That Captain Thomas E. Craig and What Happened to the French Village and Indians in What Is Today's PeoriaAbout That Captain

I couldn't help but believe that the Captain Thomas, who commanded a company of Illinois Territory Rangers might have been a bit too rough on the French settlers at what would one day be Peoria, Illinois.

Taking them prisoner and burning down their town as well as saying they were "damn lucky" not to have been scalped would not indicate a peace-maker in the situation.

**************************************

From the February 26, 2012, Peoria(Illinois) Journal Star  "Central Illinois home to several encounters during the War of 1812" by  Steve Tarter.

From a talk given by Gillum Ferguson, author of "Illinois in the War of 1812" gave a free program at Bradley University's  Cullom Davis Library.

The War of 1812 pitted Illinois Territory militiamen against various Indian tribes in the frontier territory of the United States.  One of the key areas of struggle in the territory revolved around the French village at what is now the site of downtown Peoria.

It was called La Ville de Maillet, New Village.  The French here lived on friendly terms with the local Indians, even intermarrying with them.  Indian villages surrounded them.

But, unfortunately for the French, American frontiersmen viewed the town as "the seditious village, a nursery of hostile Indians and traitorous British Indian traders."

It wasn't that the Indians were staunch allies of the British back then, but more focused on fending off the constant incursions from the Americans onto their land.

--Brock-Perry

Captain Thomas E. Craig

He commanded the company that reportedly was fired on by the French inhabitants of the French Peoria village and who retaliated by taking many prisoner and burning the place.

From Clintonilgenweb   Muster Rolls of 1812 

CAPTAIN THOMAS E. CRAIG'S COMPANY

A muster roll of Volunteer  riflemen raised in Illinois Territory, under the command of  Capt. Thomas E. Craig in the service of the United States, by the order of His Excellency, NINIAN EDWARDS, Governor of  said Territory.  From  the 5th  September to 2nd December 1812.

Craig, Thomas E.   Captain

Forrester, John    Lieutenant

Wilson, Harrison    Ensign

*****************************

SERGEANTS

Buckner, Phil

Hill , Charles

Skantlin,  Walker

Wilson, John G.

*****************************

CORPORALS

Gordan, Joseph

Lepan, Joseph

Preston, Robert

Wheeler, Willis

******************************

MUSICIANS

Ormsby, John   Drummer

Reeves, Nat    Fifer

******************************

53 Privates

--Brock-Perry

What Became of the French Settlers at Peoria?

When the French village in Peoria, known as  La Ville de Maillet, or New Village was destroyed  by American soldiers, the resulting dispute would drag on for decades until the Civil War.  One case even went all the way to the U.S Supreme Court.

After they were deported downriver in 1812, a  number of displaced French settlers petitioned Congress for the return of their land at Peoria.

Detailed  surveys of the French claims were made to assist in their settlement, but the legal process moved very slowly, which in turn slowed the development of downtown Peoria.

As a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln worked on some of these cases in the 1850s.

Eventually the displaced settlers were paid thousands of dollars in reparations for the loss of their homes.  The last case was settled in 1867.

--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

Early History of Peoria-- Part 1: Becoming the Illinois Territory

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

Just over 200 years ago, the small village of Lake  Pimiteoui, which would grow into today's City of Peoria, was gradually adjusting to life  as part of the new nation of the United States. 

On February 3, 1809, the U.S. Congress had established the territory of Illinois,  which included all of modern day Illinois, Wisconsin and the upper western peninsula of Michigan and northeastern Minnesota.  Ninian Edwards, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, was appointed  by President James Madison as the governor of the new territory, and he served in that position until Illinois was granted statehood eight years later.

In the 1810 federal census, just 12,181 white settlers lived in the Illinois Territory.  At that time, the village of Peoria was attached to St. Clair County, and the census put its population at 93.  Most of these early Peorians were of French descent, having arrived from Canada and were primarily trappers and traders.

--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

Fort Schlosser-- Part 2

Fort Schlosser replaced Fort Petite Niagara, a small fortification built by the French which was burned by them while retreating prior to the Siege of Fort  Niagara in 1759.

The old stone chimney from the French fort was incorporated into the new fort.

Fort Gray guarded the end of the portage in Lewiston, New York.

Fort Niagara guards the mouth of the Niagara River where it flows into Lake Ontario.

Fort Schlosser was occupied by American troops  at the start of the War of 1812, but was captured and burned in 1813.

It was located in present-day Niagara Falls, New York, near the current water intakes  of the New York Power Authority off the Robert Moses Parkway.

Today, all that remains of the fort is the Old Stone Chimney, which was moved  to near the intersection of Buffalo Avenue and the Robert Moses  Parkway traffic circle.

--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

The Earlier HMS Nimrod (1799)-- Part 2: A Former French Privateer

Even before commissioning as a British ship, the newly captured French ship took several Spanish ships on her way to Plymouth where, between May 21 and August 8, she was refitted and commissioned as the HMS Nimrod.

In November, the Nimrod captured two ships.  In November 1804, the Nimrod sailed for the Leeward Islands and recaptured a brig taken by a French privateer and in January 1805, an American ship, the Ardent which had also been captured by a French privateer.

In 1807, came the capture of a Spanish packet and then the French privateer schooner Nouvelle Enterprise which entered British service as the HMS Venturer.  It was renamed HMS Theodosia in 1808 and then sold in 1814.

Kind of Confusing Whose On Whose Side Back Then.  --Brock-Perry

George Ronan-- Part 5: Ronan and His Commander Did Not Get Along

Although he didn't know it at the time, George Ronan had been posted to one of the hottest spots on the frontier.

Ronan was described by survivors of the massacre as a high-spirited young man who did not get along well with the fort's commander, Captain Nathaniel Heald.  It is thought this was the reason Heald kept assigning Ronan increasingly dangerous operations outside the fort's walls.

One of the things Ronan was to do was to try to knit the diverse inhabitants of the area into a group, but some were French-speaking, others English-speaking and still others  were Indians.

When war broke out, Nathaniel Heald received orders to evacuate the post and move to Fort Wayne, Indiana.  News of this evacuation, scheduled for August 15, 1812,  emboldened the Chicago "British" band of Potawatomi who took a position two miles south of the fort along the shore of Lake Michigan where they planned to attack  the Americans.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Swiftsure (1785): From British, to French and Back to British

From Wikipedia.

74-gun third rate ship of the line, 168 feet long, 46 foot beam.

Served in both the Royal Navy then french navy after her capture in 1801.

As a British ship fought in several famous engagements during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars including the battle of the Nile with the British and the Battle of Trafalgar with the French.  It was recaptured by the British at this battle.

Though badly damaged, it was repaired, taken back into service, laid up, recommissioned in 1808, renamed HMS Irresistible and became a prison ship at Chatham until 1816 when it was broken up.  It is likely that American prisoners were held on her.

--Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church, England

French prisoners started construction of the church and it was finished by Americans as the Napoleonic Wars were over.  The first service was held in the church 2 January 1814.  Essentially, a lot of the reason the church was built was to provide the prisoners with something to do.

The last American prisoners left Dartmoor 10 February 1816 and the church was closed and locked.

During the time it was open, nearly 1,500 French and 218 Americans died at Dartmoor Prison.

In 1831, the local villagers reopened the church and services were held until 1994 when it was closed and offered for sale, but there were no buyers.  The Church of England's Historic Buildings Trust took it over and the steeple was restored and the structure waterproofed.  Work has also been done on the exterior.

At least it won't be lost.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison and St. Michael Church-- Part 1: French, Then American Prisoners

From the Changes of Longitude: Just Go Already Blog.

Two Americans, Larissa and Michael, were visiting Dartmoor Prison on southern England.

Dartmoor is the only English prison museum.  They were told Americans were held there.  They figured perhaps during World War II and were greatly shocked when they heard they were imprisoned there in the War of 1812.  (I had never heard of it until I came across it in an earlier blog entry.)

Dartmoor was built in 1806, in part to get prisoners off the horrific prison ships.  The first prisoners were French from the Napoleonic Wars.  Later, they were Americans from the War of 1812.  The Americans were still considered to be traitors because  of the American Revolution and as such, French prisoners received  far better treatment.

So, this is the connection of the church and prison.

--Brock-Perry

USMA Class of 1806: Louis Loramier-- Part 3: A Political Appointment by Jefferson

From Thayer's Note on Louis Loramier.

He was appointed to the USMA by Thomas Jefferson "to be of usefulness of winning over key Creoles in the just acquired Louisiana Territory.."

So, his appointment was essentially a political one.  Have a son of a Creole serving in the U.S. Army would only approve relations and make the French Canadians feel more like a part of their new country.

Louis' father was born in Canada and is considered the first European settler in the Cape Girardeau area.  The father played a key role in the rapid switch of the area from Spain to France to the United States during the Louisiana Purchase.

Louis retired to be a farmer and died in Cape Girardeau.

--Brock-Perry

The War's Impact on Illinois-- Part 1

From the June 30, 2012, Canton (Il) Daily Ledger "War of 1812 had impact on local area" by Larry Eskridge.

Information from"Illinois in War of 1812" by Gillum Ferguson.

First off, Illinois was not yet a state, still a territory.

Peoria found itself at the forefront of the struggle between the United States and Indians fighting for Britain.

An early French settlement had been established on Lake Peoria, but in the 1790s had moved one and a half miles upstream to New Village. (La Ville de Maillet).  Most of its inhabitants were French hunters and traders whom the Americans viewed as working for the British.

In August and September 1812, the Illinois Territorial Governor, Ninian Edwards, organized an offensive against hostile Indians.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry