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

The Treaty of Spring Wells-- Part 2: What Did It Mean and Who Signed It

Then object of the treaty was to absolve the Indians for supporting Britain during the War of 1812 and secure their future allegiance to the United States.  The treaty officially ended all hostilities between the United States  and the Indians and reaffirmed  the 1795 Treaty of Greenville.

The U.S. agreed to restore to the Indians all of their possessions, rights and privileges as of 1811.  In return, the Indians agreed to place themselves under the protection of the U.S. government and repudiate all ties with Britain.

Furthermore, the U.S.  also "agree[d] to pardon such of the chiefs and  and warriors of said tribes as may have continued hostilities against them  until the close of the war with Great Britain."

The negotiations for the United States were conducted by treaty commissioners William Henry Harrison, Duncan McArthur and John Graham.  Native leaders who signed the treaty were Tarhe (Wyandot), Pacanne (Miami) and Black Hoof (Shawnee).

--Brock-Perry

Detroit's Fort Wayne-- Part 9: The Treaty of Spring Wells

From Wikipedia.

Even though Fort Wayne was not there yet, it did have a role at the beginning and end of the War of 1812.

Early in the war. this is where General Isaac Brock crossed his army over from Canada to attack Fort Detroit.  And, after the Treaty of Ghent, the future site of the fort was where the Treaty of Spring Wells (which is the name of the area the fort is located) was signed there. 

Well, next question is, what was the Treaty of Spring Wells?

It was an agreement between the United States and the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawnee, Miami, Chippewa, Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians, ending the conflict between the two groups.  It was signed on September 8, 1815, at the present site of Fort Wayne in Detroit. Michigan.

The signing of the Treaty of Ghent had ended the war between Britain and the United States, but not the Indians and the United States.  These tribes had fought on the British side against the Americans.

--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

What Tecumseh Fought For-- Part 4: The Impact of the Death of Tecumseh and Aftermath

Somewhere in the smoke and fury, Tecumseh went down.  Col. Richard Mentor Johnson, severely wounded himself, recounted pulling out his pistols and shooting an Indian -- maybe Tecumseh?  In later years, Johnson built his political career on the claim that he had slain the mighty Tecumseh himself.

Tecumseh's death put in motion a series of events and consequences.    Furious about the British failure, many of Tecumseh's allies quickly signed an armistice with Harrison, who then sought  o enlist them to fight the British.

Even as many American settlers  spoke explicitly   about the "extermination" of  Indian people, their leaders  negotiated a series of treaties with confederacy tribes.  The British confirmed their faithlessness in the 1814 Treaty of Ghent, which  ended the war, but sold out their Indian allies.

Without Tecumseh, his brother, Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, floundered, and he eventually helped the Americans to persuade the Shawnees to leave their lands and relocate in Kansas.  There, in 1828, he set up a sad little Prophetstown of four remote cabins, where he faded away to a lonely death less than a decade later.

--Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks, Canada-- Part 1: Used for Indian Negotiations, Destroyed in War of 1812

From Friends of Fort George.

BUTLER'S BARRACKS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Prior to the War of 1812, the area to the west of Fort George was used by the British Indian Department.  It was a branch of the British Crown and functioned as an embassy to the Indians in the region.  Treaties and military alliances were  negotiated, concerns raised and issues resolved.

The Indian Council House, residences and storage facilities stood here until they were destroyed in the War of 1812.  They were rebuilt and used until 1822.

Following the war, the British began work on new barracks and storehouses, making sure they were out of range of American guns.

--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

The Encampment Called Greene Ville-- Part 4: Covered by Greenville, Ohio

Today the site of Encampment Greene Ville is covered by much of downtown Greenville, Ohio.

There is a bronze tablet in front of the City Hall of Greenville.

It reads:

"Site of Fort Greene Ville.  The largest pioneer fort in Ohio built in 1793 by General Anthony Wayne.  Here August 5, 1795, the Treaty was signed by which much of present Ohio was opened to White settlement."

--Brock-Perry

Trouble On the High Seas-- Part 1: Make Treaties But Stay Out of European Wars

From the textbook "Adventures in American History"

Of interest to see how textbooks have covered the War of 1812.  This is one of the textbooks I used while teaching.

When Washington was President, his plan was to keep out of European troubles.  His policy was to make friendly treaties with the foreign countries but do nothing that might get the  United States into European wars.  That was John Adams' foreign policy, and it was Jefferson's too.

But after James Madison became President, war finally broke out between the United States and England.  It was the War of 1812.  This part of Chapter 11 is about the troubles between England and the United States that led to war between the two nations.

--Brock-Perry

The Frontier in Flames-- Part 25: The Aftermath of the Battle of the Thames

The Americans captured a considerable amount of war supplies, including a cannon used against the British at Saratoga in 1777, which had been taken from Fort Detroit when Hull surrendered in 1812.

More important, Tecumseh's death broke the American Indian coalition's back-- in fact, some of the northwestern tribes signed treaties that obligated them to fight against their old ally, Great Britain.

Though the War of 1812 was far from over, the Battle of the Thames turned the tide in the West and had secured the whole region for the United States.

For the Indians, it was a double disaster.

--Brock-Perry

Nantucket Island Declares Its Neutrality

AUGUST 28TH, 1814:  Nantucket declares its neutrality. New England opposed the War of 1812 and there was even talk of secession because of it.  That never happened, but the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts did take the action of signing a peace treaty with the English Navy.

On this date, representatives of the island and British naval officers signed an agreement whereby Nantucket renounced all support for the United States for the duration of the war.

Part of the problem with Nantucket was its complete dependence on the sea and the British blockade which caused a great deal of hunger and bad times for its inhabitants.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Second Treaty of Greenville

JULY 22ND, 1814:  The Second Treaty of Greenville, Ohio, reestablished peace between the United States and the Wyandot, Lenape (Delaware), Shawnee, Seneca and Miami Nations.

I am not sure about what happened to the first treaty?

--Brock-Perry