The future Macdonough County was part of the Military Tract of 1812 that Congress set aside as payment to soldiers in the War of 1812. This was an attempt to get families moving to the frontier. Many of them and their heirs were unwilling to relocate and sold their land warrants to speculators.
Nearby to Macomb is Old Fort Madison which was attacked by Indians allied with the British during the War of 1812. The original fort was abandoned and burned by the U.S. Army in 1813 when they ran out of food due to a contractor sending them unsafe food. A reproduction of the fort has been built in Riverview Park in Ft. Madison, Iowa.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
Showing posts with label Land Warrants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Land Warrants. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Saturday, March 16, 2013
The Military Tract of 1812
From Wikipedia.
This is a follow up to my Feb. 18, 2013 entry about War of 1812 genealogy with some of the sources coming from bounty land warrants, which I had never heard of before. So, I had to do some more research.
On May 6, 1812 (six weeks before the declaration of war), an Act of Congress set aside land as payment to volunteer soldiers for the upcoming war (they definitely must have been expecting it). Land in the west that eventually became the states of Arkansas, Michigan and Illinois. Missouri land was added after the land in Michigan was determined to be undesirable.
Land was given as partial compensation by states and later the federal government. This had also been done during the American Revolution, but most of that land was in western Virginia.
Shoot Gun, Get Land. --Brock-Perry
This is a follow up to my Feb. 18, 2013 entry about War of 1812 genealogy with some of the sources coming from bounty land warrants, which I had never heard of before. So, I had to do some more research.
On May 6, 1812 (six weeks before the declaration of war), an Act of Congress set aside land as payment to volunteer soldiers for the upcoming war (they definitely must have been expecting it). Land in the west that eventually became the states of Arkansas, Michigan and Illinois. Missouri land was added after the land in Michigan was determined to be undesirable.
Land was given as partial compensation by states and later the federal government. This had also been done during the American Revolution, but most of that land was in western Virginia.
Shoot Gun, Get Land. --Brock-Perry
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