Siege of Fort Harrison

From the October 29, 2022, Tribune-Star "Historical treasure:  Historic model reveals history of Fort Harrison" by Matthew Higgins.

Tecumseh, the leader of the Shawnee Confederacy, allied his nation with neighboring Indian nations  to resist white settlement as he watched his people's ancestral lands being stripped from their hands one treaty at a time.  William Henry Harrison,  Indiana's first territorial governor, was tasked with making the area safe for white settlement as thousands of settlers moved in sought a new life for the territory.

Tragically, these two opposing aspirations could not exist in harmony and thus, conflict was born.

In order to protect white settlements and facilitate trade along the Wabash River, Fort Harrison was constructed.  The primary conflict that took place there was the Siege of Fort Harrison in September 1812.  Warriors of Tecumseh's Confederacy attacked the fort on the night of September 4.

Harrison was not present at the attack and the fort was commanded by another future U.S. president, Zachary Taylor.  His soldiers fought well and were able to fend off the Indians who surrounded the fort and slaughtered livestock in an attempt to starve the fort's defenders into surrender.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 in Illinois Territory-- Part 4: Enter Zachary, Exit Zachary, British Offensive

Other desultory expeditions marked the campaigns of 1813 and 1814.

The Indians, meanwhile, gaining courage, began near continuous marauding raids on American settlements.

Later, in 1814,  an expedition led by Major (later U.S. president)  Zachary Taylor ascended the Mississippi River as far as  Rock Island, where he found a large force of Indians supported by British regulars with artillery.  Finding himself unable to cope with so formidable a foe, Major Taylor retreated down the river.

On the site of the present-day town of Warsaw, Illinois, he threw up fortifications which eh named Fort Edwards.  However, he was subsequently compelled to retreat.

The same year, the British with their Indian allies, descended from Mackinac and capture Prairie du Chien and burned Forts Madison and Johnston, after which they retired to Cap Au Gris.

The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, closed the war although no formal treaties were made  with the tribes until the following year.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Worth, Texas, Named for War of 1812 Hero-- Part 2: The USMA, Second Seminole War and Mexican War

Despite the injury, William Jenkins Worth was determined to continue serving in the U.S. Army.  He was appointed to Commandant of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1816 while he was a major.  

As commandant, Worth instilled the lessons of duty and honor into the aspiring young officers.  He taught the importance of never excusing a dishonorable act in another officer and the necessity of integrity in all matters, to keep one's word bio matter what.    His essays in honor are still required reading  for West Point cadets.

In 1838, he was promoted to colonel and given command of an infantry regiment.  he fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida as tribes and settlers clashed.  He was promoted to brigadier general afterward.

After Texas was admitted to the United States in 1845, Mexico threatened war over its former possession.  Worth was assigned to patrol the border between the two countries along with  General Zachary Taylor, and war erupted in 1846.

--Brock-Perry

U.S. Presidents Who Served in the War of 1812-- Part 2: Andrew Jackson and Others

As mentioned in the previous post, James Buchanan served in the War of 1812 as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division of the Pennsylvania Militia and participated in the defense of Baltimore.

As stated before, only two of the Founding Fathers served in the American Revolution, but a total of five were in the War of 1812.  Starting with Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) and then William Henry Harrison (1841), John Tyler (1841-1845), Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) and James Buchanan (1857-1861).

But, the War of 1812 is forever linked to Andrew Jackson who led American forces to victory at the Battle of New Orleans.  It was a battle where a ragtag American Army defeated a larger trained professional British Army in a battle that saved the Mississippi River from British control and was actually fought after the war was over, but due to slow communication no one knew it was over.

It should also be noted that Jackson's military career began when he was just thirteen.  as a teenager, he served as messenger for an American unit during the American Revolution.  But he was definitely not one of the Founding Fathers at that age.

Moreover, during his quite colorful life, Jackson took part in 103 duels -- however killing just one man.

--Brock-Perry

William Jenkins Worth-- Part 2: Second Seminole War and Mexican War

After the War of 1812, he became commandant of the military academy at West Point and was promoted to colonel.  After that, he was put in command of the newly-formed Eighth Infantry regiment stationed in Florida.  He gained victory there and was promoted to brigadier general in 1842.

Worth convinced Secretary of War John C. Spencer to allow  to allow the remaining Indians to stay in southwest Florida.  He also argued for an official end to the war in 1842.

Worth served under Zachary Taylor in Texas during the Mexican War.  Next, he commanded  the 2nd Regular Division Army of Occupation at the Battle of Monterrey in September 1846.  In 1847, he was transferred to  his old friend Winfield Scott army and placed in command of the First Division.

Worth died of cholera in 1849 in San Antonio, Texas.

The cities of Fort Worth and Lake Worth in Texas are named after him, as is Lake Worth in Florida.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 5: Honors and Reburial

Once the British and General Proctor were defeated at Fort Stephenson, he withdrew back to Fort Detroit, with the Americans under Gen. Harrison following closely.  Shortly after Fort Stephenson, Commodore Perry would defeat the British fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay.

The Americans now had complete control of Lake Erie and British prospects of supplies and reinforcements essentially ceased.

For his exploit, despite disobeying orders, George Croghan was brevetted to lieutenant colonel by the President of the United States.  In 1835, the U.S. Congress awarded him the Gold Medal.  later, he was made Inspector general with the rank of colonel.

During the Mexican War, he served with General Taylor.  Two years later, he died in New Orleans.  In 1906, he remains were disinterred from his family plot in Kentucky and  moved to Fremont, Ohio (site of Fort Stephenson) and placed in a special crypt at the base of the Soldiers' Monument honoring Fremont's veterans and specifically the Battle of Fort Stephenson, 1813.

--Brock-Perry

Henry A.S. Dearborn-- Part 3: Other Positions

He replaced his father as Collector of the Port of Boston from 1813 to 1829.  Other honors were membership in the American Antiquarian Society and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Then, he got into politics at Massachusetts state level as a representative  and senator.  Then he was a one-term U.S. representative as an Anti-Jacksonian.  Later he was the mayor of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

In 1847, he was selected as running mate for Zachary Taylor by the Native American Party (precursor of the Know-Nothing Party).  But the Whig Party nominated Taylor as their presidential candidate with Millard Fillmore as his running mate so that was it for Dearborn's vice presidential effort.

Henry A.S. Dearborn died July 29, 1851, and is buried  at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

--Brock-Perry

Looking For Fort Johnson-- Part 1: People Don't Know Much About the War in the Upper Mississippi Valley

From Illinois State Archaeology Survey "War of 1812 Forts Project."

During the summer of 2003, David Noka began an unsubsidized search for Fort Johnson and Cantonment Davis in Warsaw, Illinois.  They were assisted by others.

As far as the War of 1812 is concerned, some people in the country know a little about the war, mainly sea victories, Fort McHenry, Battle of New Orleans and the burning of Washington, D.C., but most would be hard-pressed to say much about the important aspect of the war in the Upper Mississippi region.

Brevet Major Zachary Taylor established Fort Johnson in September 1814.  It commanded the mouth of the Des Moines River and a series of rapids on the Mississippi River.

It was abandoned and destroyed less than eight weeks later when it became apparent that because of its remoteness, if would be too hard to supply during the winter.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Edwards Monument, Warsaw, Illinois

Built 1914 to honor 100th anniversary.  Barre granite monument.  Cost $7,390.  A three-day celebration was held, attracting crowd estimated to be at 10,000..

The monument has four bronze panels at the bottom of it.  The first three feature pictures of Fort Edwards, Ninian Edwards (Illinois Territorial Governor and namesake) and Zachary Taylor.

The fourth panel reads:  "Erected September, 1914 to commemorate the establishment of Fort Edwards built by Major Zachary Taylor 3rd U.S. Infantry September 1814.  Abandoned July 1824."

Evidently, for the fourth panel, they got a lot of this confused with Fort Johnson.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Johnson-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Built on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in modern-day Warsaw, Illinois.  Was established in 1814 by Major Zachary Taylor after retreating from the loss at the Battle of Credit Island.  The fort was able to hold a full company of troops. and had a commanding view of both the Mississippi River and the mouth of the Des Moines River.

Taylor and his men remained there into October 1814,when their supplies ran out.  They retreated from here to Cap au Gris, near St. Louis.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Cap au Gris-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Also called Capo Gray.  A temporary fort near Troy, Missouri, built by Missouri Rangers (U.S. Mounted Rangers) under the direction of Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone.

After his defeat at Fort Johnson, Zachary Taylor (later U.S. president) and his soldiers returned to Cap au Gris in October 1814.

The Battle of Sink Hole was fought nearby on May 24, 1815.

The unincorporated community of Cap au Gris occupies the site of the fort.

--Brock-Perry

Woods Fort, Missouri: Built By Nathan Boone and His Men

From the Great River Road.com.

Captain Nathan Boone's (youngest son of Nathaniel Boone) company of U.S. Mounted Rangers built a series of forts to protect Missouri from Indian attacks.

Woods Fort was built at the Cottle/Woods settlement and was an almost square stockade made of strong oak timbers set perpendicular in the ground and extending to a height to afford protection from attack.

Woods Fort was the most extensive fort in the region near St. Louis and enclosed the spring, cabins, Woods Tavern and Inn and Deacon Cottle's Universal Church.  During the War of 1812, the fort served as the headquarters for Lieutenant Zachary Taylor, later the 12th U.S. president.

The settlement around Woods Fort eventually became Troy,  Missouri.

The Sac/Fox Treaty of 1815-1816 ended hostilities with the Indians.

--Brock-Perry

Woods Fort, Missouri-- Part 2: Forts and the Battle of Sink Hole

To defend themselves against Indian attack, pioneers of the area (now Lincoln County) built several forts in the area, including Woods Fort, Fort Howard, Fort Stout, Fort Clark and Fort Cap au Gris.

Major Zachary Taylor's command rendezvoused at Woods Fort in September 1814.  Five months later thy did the same at Fort Howard.  Black Hawk's band on Indians skirmished with settlers and the U.S. Mounted Rangers at the Battle of Sink Hole.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Wildcat Creek (Spur's Defeat)-- Part 3: To Tippecanoe Again

Samuel Hopkins withdrew to Vincennes in Indiana Territory where he angrily discharged his Kentucky militia and raised a new army, consisting of three regiments of Kentucky infantry and one company of the 7th United States Infantry under Major Zachary Taylor and several other groups.

He left Vincennes on November 11, 1812, in search of Indians.  Reaching the site of the Tippecanoe battlefield, he burned an Indian village and a Winnebago village was found at the nearby Wildcat Creek and Hopkins decided to attack it.


--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 31: Zadock Woods

ZADOCK WOODS  September 18, 1773-September 18, 1842

Buried at Monument Hill Cemetery, LaGrange, Texas.

Born in Brookfield, Massachusetts.  Married Minerva Cottle.  Moved to Missouri about 1802 and established a "fort" at Woodville, near Troy, Missouri.

During the War of 1812, Zachary Taylor garrisoned at Woods Fort and Zadock Woods later served with Jackson at New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry

George Croghan, Tragic Hero of Fort Stephenson-- Part 2: Mexican War

When Andrew Jackson became president, he appointed George Croghan as inspector general of the army, which post he held from 1829 to his death twenty years later.  He was much respected but drank very heavily.  His wife got a legal separation from him to keep him from selling her possessions.  But Jackson continued to support Croghan.

In 1846, at the age of  54, George Croghan was called to serve on the staff of General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War.  Taylor had grown up next door to Croghan in Louisville at Locust Grove.

While in Mexico, like many soldiers, George Croghan got dysentery  and his weight dropped from 168 to 145 pounds.

At the Battle of Monterrey, the soldiers of a Tennessee regiment recalled Croghan riding ahead of them at the enemy, with his gray hair tossing in the wind and yelling:  "Men of Tennessee, your fathers conquered with Jackson at New Orleans-- Follow Me!"

He was never able to shake his illness and died at New Orleans on January 8, 1849, the 35th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry

George Croghan-- Part 9: Service in the Mexican War and Death

George Croghan was on the staff of general Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War.  At the Battle of Monterrey, he led his Tennessee regiment right in front.

During his years of military service, George Croghan met three future U.S. presidents: Harrison, Jackson and Taylor.

On January 8, 1849, George Croghan died in New Orleans in a cholera epidemic, the same one that killed former President James K. Polk.

--Brock-Perry

Battlefield Tour of Iowa's Credit Island Offered in 2013-- Part 2

Among the participants at the Battle of Credit Island was future president of the United States Zachary Taylor and Sauk Warrior Black Hawk.

Zachary Taylor led the Americans from St. Louis and had the objective of destroying Sauk and Fox Indian villages, who were aiding the British.  Badly outnumbered, Taylor was forced to withdraw.

The battlefield tour will be at 3 p.m..

Commonwealth Cultural resources Group, Inc. is doing archaeological research and military terrain analysis on Credit Island.

In 2012, the City of Davenport received a $47,105 grant from the Department of the Interior's National Park Service for the study.

--Brock-Perry

Illinois' Fort Johnson and Cantonment Davis

From the Sept. 15, 2012 Quincy (Il) Herald-Whig "Warsaw fort highlighted during Archaeology Awareness Month."

For years, archaeologists have been looking to find the long lost sites of Fort Johnson and Cantonment Davis, both established by future president Zachary Taylor when he was in Warsaw.  However, an Illinois State Archaeological Survey recently located both and found 318 military buttons, gun flints, musket balls and cooking items.

The fort was built starting around September 7, 1814, but was burned to the ground the same year when Taylor and troops ran out of provisions and moved to St. Louis.  While at the fort, the Americans had been continually harassed by the Sauk Indians and the British.

About 1500 troops returned in 1815 and built Cantonment Davis, which housed soldiers who built a series of military trading posts, including Fort Edward in Warsaw.

The Fort Johnson site was first sought in 1983.

Stuff I Didn't Know.  Well, Actually, Most War of 1812 Stuff I Didn't Know About, But I'm Learning.  --Brock-Perry

Fort Knox I and II At Vincennes, Indiana-- Part 2

FORT KNOX I

A new fort was built a few blocks north of St. Patrick and named after the U.S. Secretary of War William Knox, at the intersection of present-day First and Buntin streets.  From 1787 to 1803, it was the western-most military post of the country.  However, the garrison and townspeople did not get along.

Territory Governor William Henry Harrison petition Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to build a new fort and in 1803, the federal government authorized $200 to build a new fort three miles north of town at Petit Rocher.

FORT KNOX II

It too was named Fort Knox, but generally referred to as Fort Knox II.  The fort had no better luck than the original and became known for duels and desertions.  In 1811, Captain Zachary Taylor (later president) was put in charge with Indian problems rising.

The fort was used as a muster point for the US Army and militia during the Indian Wars and War of 1812.

Today, it is a state historic site and the outlines of the fort have been marked with short posts.

Back to I.  --Brock-Perry