1.
Davenport, Iowa
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Davenport was founded on May 14,1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk War stationed at nearby Fort Armstrong. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685, located approximately halfway between Chicago and Des Moines, Davenport is on the border of Iowa and Illinois. The city is prone to frequent flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River, there are two main universities, Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. Several annual music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, an internationally known 7-mile foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor league team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Davenport has 50 plus parks and facilities, as well as over 20 miles of paths for biking or walking. Four interstates and two major United States Highways serve the city, Davenport has seen steady population growth since its incorporation, with an exception being the 1980s, when the population decreased due to job loss. The Quad Cities was ranked as the most affordable metropolitan area in 2010 by Forbes, in 2007, Davenport, along with neighboring Rock Island, won the City Livability Award in the small-city category from the U. S. In 2012, Davenport as well as the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area was ranked among the areas in the nation in the growth of high-tech jobs. The current mayor of Davenport is Frank Klipsch, the land was originally owned by the Sauk people, Meskwaki, and Ho-Chunk – indigenous peoples of the Americas. In 1803 France sold it to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase, lieutenant Zebulon Pike was the first United States representative to officially visit the Upper Mississippi River area. On August 27,1805, Pike camped on the present day site of Davenport, in 1832, a group of Sauk, Meskwaki, and Kickapoo people were defeated by the United States in the Black Hawk War. The United States government then concluded the Black Hawk Purchase, sometimes called the Forty-Mile Strip or Scotts Purchase, the purchase was made for $640,000 on September 21,1832 and contained an area of some 6 million acres, at a price equivalent to 11 cents/acre. Although named after the defeated chief Black Hawk, he was being held prisoner at the time, the purchase was therefore agreed to by Sauk chief Keokuk, who had remained neutral in the war. It was made on the site of present-day Davenport, army General Winfield Scott and Governor of Illinois, John Reynolds, acted on behalf of the United States, with the future Davenport founder, half-Native, Antoine Le Claire serving as translator. Chief Keokuk gave a portion of land to Antoine Le Claires wife, Marguerite. Antoine built their home on the spot where the agreement was signed. Antoine did so, finishing the Treaty House in the spring of 1833, Davenport was established on May 14,1836 by Le Claire, and named after his friend Colonel George Davenport, who was stationed at Fort Armstrong during the war
2.
Scott County, Iowa
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Scott County is a county located in the U. S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 165,224, Scott County is included in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The first American settlement in the now known as Scott County was Clarks Ferry or Clarks Landing in 1833. Other early towns included Davenport and the town of Rockingham, the area was fully surveyed in 1837, and the county was established by the Wisconsin territorial legislature in that same year. Scott County is named for General Winfield Scott, who was the officer at the signing of the peace treaty ending the Black Hawk War. By 1900 the population of the county was 51,500, Scott County now comprises part of the Quad City region, which includes the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline. The present Scott County Courthouse was completed in 1955 and expanded along with the jail in 2007, the old section of the Scott County Jail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 468 square miles. The 2010 census recorded a population of 165,224 in the county, there were 71,835 housing units, of which 66,765 were occupied. As of the census of 2000, there were 158,668 people,62,334 households, the population density was 346 people per square mile. There were 65,649 housing units at a density of 143 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 88. 54% White,6. 11% Black or African American,0. 32% Native American,1. 58% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,1. 64% from other races, and 1. 80% from two or more races. 4. 06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,26. 90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the family size was 3.04. Age spread,26. 50% under the age of 18,9. 30% from 18 to 24,29. 40% from 25 to 44,23. 00% from 45 to 64, the median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,701, males had a median income of $38,985 versus $25,456 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,310, about 7. 70% of families and 10. 50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13. 70% of those under age 18 and 5. 80% of those age 65 or over
3.
Davenport Register of Historic Properties
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This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The historic preservation movement began in the city of Davenport in the mid-1970s with the renovation of historic structures. A comprehensive study of the neighborhoods, districts and architecture was begun in 1978. The study was conducted in three phases, the first two phases were carried out from 1979 to 1982 and the third phase from 1982 to 1983. The results were published in two volumes, davenport—Where the Mississippi Runs West reported on the first two phases and Davenport Architecture—Tradition and Transition reported on the third phase. A Multiple Resource nomination was submitted to the National Register of Historic Places that included 12 districts, by March 1985 all the districts and 249 properties were listed on the national register. The Historic Preservation Commission was established in 1992, and the historic preservation ordinance was passed the same year, Davenport became a Certified Local Government in the state of Iowa. It was now responsible to review local projects participating in state and it was also able to exercise some control over the modification and/or demolition of historic buildings in the city. The historic preservation ordinance also allowed the establishment of a register of historic properties. The first four properties were added in 1992, the list below contains properties on the Davenport Register of Historic Places in alphabetical order, National Register of Historic Places listings in Davenport, Iowa
4.
War of 1812
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Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, the primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies, the war was fought in three theatres. Second, land and naval battles were fought on the U. S. –Canadian frontier, Third, large-scale battles were fought in the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, early victories over poorly-led U. S. armies demonstrated that the conquest of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the U. S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britains Native American allies, both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. This brought an Era of Good Feelings in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened American nationalism, the war was also a major turning point in the development of the U. S. military, with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U. S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spains Mobile District, the government of Canada declared a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812 in 2012, intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border. At the conclusion of the commemorations in 2014, a new national War of 1812 Monument was unveiled in Ottawa. The war is remembered in Britain primarily as a footnote in the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe, historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarizes several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States, as Risjord notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also vindication of American identity. Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States Second War of Independence, in 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law, the American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U. S. cotton, the British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States view was that Britains restrictions violated its right to trade with others, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy expanded to 176 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become U. S. citizens and this meant that in addition to recovering naval deserters, it considered any United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalization papers and it was estimated by the Admiralty that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805
5.
Fort Madison, Iowa
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Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowas 99 counties, Lee County is the one with two county seats. The population was 11,051 at the 2010 census, located along the Mississippi River in the states southeast corner, it lies between small bluffs along one of the widest portions of the river. Fort Madison was founded at the location of the first U. S. military fort in the upper Mississippi region, a replica of the fort stands along the river. Sheaffer Pens were developed and made in Fort Madison for many years, the city is the location of the Iowa State Penitentiary—the states maximum security prison for men. Fort Madison is the Mississippi river crossing and station stop for Amtraks Southwest Chief, Fort Madison has the last remaining double swing-span bridge on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge. It has a top level for cars and a level for trains. The Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District is a collection of well-preserved historic storefronts from the late 19th century, the city of Fort Madison was established around the site of the historic Fort Madison, which was the first permanent U. S. military fortification on the Upper Mississippi. Fort Madison was the site of Black Hawks first battle against U. S. troops and it was also the location of the first U. S. military cemetery in the upper Midwest. The fort was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States, Fort Madison was one of three posts established by the U. S. Army to establish control over the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase territories. Fort Madison was built to control trade and pacify Native Americans in the Upper Mississippi River region, a disputed 1804 treaty with the Sauk and affiliated tribes led to the U. S. claim of control over western Illinois and parts of what is now Iowa. To establish control, the U. S. Army set out to construct a post near the mouth of the Des Moines River, again, this land was not considered suitable for a fort. The Army settled on a several miles upstream at what is now the city of Fort Madison. First called Fort Belleview, this post was soon deemed inadequate and it was poorly situated at the base of a bluff next to a deep ravine, areas from which enemies could safely fire at the fort. Black Hawk lamented over the new fort, and disparaged its construction in his autobiography, A number of people went down to see what was going on. On our arrival we found that they were building a fort, the soldiers were busily engaged in cutting timber, and I observed that they took their arms with them when they went to the woods. The whole party acted as they would do in an enemys country and we were pleased at this information and hoped that it was all true, but we were not so credulous as to believe that all these buildings were intended merely for the accommodation of a trader. Being distrustful of their intentions, we were anxious for them to leave off building, —Black Hawk, Autobiography Almost from the beginning, the fort was attacked by Sauk and other tribes
6.
American Indian Wars
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These conflicts occurred in the current boundaries of the United States from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924. In many cases, wars resulted from competition for resources and land ownership as Europeans, Warfare and raiding also took place as a result of conflicts between European governments and later the United States. These governments enlisted Native Americans tribes to help them conduct warfare against each others settlements, after 1776, many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. In the 1800s, conflicts were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, in the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 there were many armed conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. Prior to the Act of 1830, some conflicts were resolved through sale or exchange of territory through treaties between the government and specific tribes. The 1830 act authorized the removal of indigenous peoples who lived East of the Mississippi River to the West. As United States citizens continued to settle areas towards the Pacific, the policy of removal was refined to move some indigenous peoples to very specific reservations. The 2010 census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being Native American, no consensus exists on how many native people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, but extensive research has been and continues to be conducted. Estimates on the population of pre-Colombus North America range from a low of 2.1 million to 7 million people to 18 million, scholars believe that the overwhelming main causes were new infectious diseases carried by European explorers and traders. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to diseases, which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for over five centuries. For instance, some estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–98% in Native American populations during smallpox epidemics. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, the actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given. Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate, from about 1600 onwards, the process of European colonization of North America by the English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish was contested by various indigenous tribes. Similarly, in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the British planned to set up an Indian nation in what is now the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion. The U. S. protested and finally, in 1812, most Indian tribes, especially those allied with Tecumseh, supported the British and were ultimately defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The latter were defeated by General Andrew Jackson, during and after such warfare, many refugees from defeated tribes went over the border to Canada, those in the South went to Florida while it was under Spanish control. During the early 19th century, the government was under pressure by settlers in many regions to expel Native Americans from their areas. Some resisted fiercely, most notably the Seminoles in a series of wars in Florida and they were never finally defeated, although some Seminole did remove to Indian Territory
7.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
8.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
10.
Battle of Tippecanoe
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Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were leaders of a confederacy of Native Americans from various tribes that opposed US expansion into Native territory. Tecumseh, not yet ready to oppose the United States by force, was away recruiting allies when Harrisons army arrived, Tenskwatawa, a spiritual leader but not a military man, was in charge. Harrison camped near Prophetstown on November 6 and arranged to meet with Tenskwatawa the following day, early the next morning, however, warriors from Prophetstown attacked Harrisons army. Although the outnumbered attackers took Harrisons army by surprise, Harrison, the Native Americans were ultimately repulsed when their ammunition ran low. After the battle, they abandoned Prophetstown and Harrisons men burned it to the ground, destroying the supplies stored for the winter. Harrison, having accomplished his goal of destroying Prophetstown, proclaimed he had won a decisive victory and he gained the nickname Tippecanoe, which was popularized in the campaign song Tippecanoe and Tyler too during the election of 1840, which Harrison won and became president. The defeat was a setback for Tecumsehs confederacy from which it never fully recovered, public opinion blamed the violence on British interference in American affairs through financial and munitions support for the Indians. This led to a deterioration of relations with Britain and was a catalyst of the War of 1812. By the time the US declared war on the United Kingdom in June 1812, in preparation, the Natives soon rebuilt Prophetstown, and frontier violence increased after the battle until Tecumseh was finally killed in 1813 during the Battle of the Thames. Tenskwatawa, known as the Prophet, had been leading a movement among the northwestern tribes. His brother, Tecumseh, was outraged by the Treaty of Fort Wayne, not yet ready to confront the United States directly, Tecumsehs primary adversaries were initially the Native American leaders who had signed the treaty. He began by intimidating them and threatening to kill anyone and their followers who carried out the terms of the treaty, Tecumseh began to travel widely, urging warriors to abandon the accommodationist chiefs and to join the resistance at Prophetstown. Tecumseh insisted that the Fort Wayne treaty was illegitimate, in an 1810 meeting with Harrison, he demanded that Harrison nullify the treaty and warned that settlers should not attempt to settle the lands sold in the treaty. Harrison rejected his demands and insisted that the tribes could have relations with the United States. In the meeting Tecumseh warned Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if hostilities broke out, tensions between the United States and Britain had been high for several months as a result of British interference in U. S. commerce with France. In August 1811, Tecumseh again met with Harrison at Vincennes, Tecumseh then traveled to the south on a mission to recruit allies among the Five Civilized Tribes. Harrison left the territory for business in Kentucky shortly after the meeting with Tecumseh, by mid-September, most of the militia regiments had formed. By then, Harrison had returned, accompanied by a force of army regulars
11.
Battle of Fort Dearborn
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The battle, which occurred during the War of 1812, followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by William Hull, commander of the United States Army of the Northwest. The battle lasted about 15 minutes and resulted in a victory for the Native Americans. Fort Dearborn was burned down and those soldiers and settlers who survived were taken captive, Fort Dearborn was constructed by United States troops under the command of Captain John Whistler in 1803. It was located on the bank of the main stem of the Chicago River in what is now the Loop community area of downtown Chicago. At the time, the area was seen as wilderness, in the view of later commander, Heald, the fort was named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. It had been commissioned following the Northwest Indian War of 1785–1795, the British Empire had ceded the Northwest Territory—comprising the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin—to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. However the area had been the subject of dispute between the Native American nations and the United States since the passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, the Indian Nations followed Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee prophet and the brother of Tecumseh. Tenskwatawa had a vision of purifying his society by expelling the children of the Evil Spirit, Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh formed a confederation of numerous tribes to block American expansion. The British saw the Native American nations as valuable allies and a buffer to its Canadian colonies, attacks on American settlers in the Northwest further aggravated tensions between Britain and the United States. The Confederations raids hindered American access to potentially valuable farmlands, mineral deposits, in 1810, as a result of a long running feud, Captain Whistler and other senior officers at Fort Dearborn were removed. Whistler was replaced by Captain Nathan Heald, who had stationed at Fort Wayne. Heald was dissatisfied with his new posting and immediately applied for a leave of absence to spend the winter in Massachusetts. On his return journey to Chicago, he visited Kentucky, where he married Rebekah Wells, the daughter of Samuel Wells, as the United States and Britain moved towards war, antipathy between the settlers and Native Americans in the Chicago area increased. In the summer of 1811, British emissaries tried to enlist the support of Native Americans in the region, on April 6,1812, a band of Winnebago Indians murdered Liberty White, an American, and John B. Cardin, a French Canadian, at a farm called Hardscrabble that was located on the branch of the Chicago River. News of the murder was carried to Fort Dearborn by a soldier of the garrison named John Kelso, following the murder, some residents of Chicago moved into the fort while the rest fortified themselves in a house that had belonged to Charles Jouett, a Native American agent. Fifteen men from the population were organized into a militia by Captain Heald. On June 18,1812, the United States declared war on the British Empire, Hull also sent a copy of these orders to Fort Wayne with additional instructions to provide Heald with all the information, advice and assistance within their power
12.
Siege of Fort Harrison
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The Siege of Fort Harrison was an engagement that lasted from September 4 to 15,1812. Harrison had long advocated building a fort in the strategic location, the fort protected the armys supply lines, as well as the capital of the Indiana Territory downstream in Vincennes. The site, located in present-day Vigo County, Indiana, at the edge of Terre Haute, was only two miles from the Wea village of Weauteno. It was said to be the location of a battle involving the Illiniwek. Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss proposed that the stockade be named Fort Harrison in General Harrisons honor, the fort was finished October 28,1811, and had a 150 feet stockade encircling the post. Leaving the fort and a garrison under Colonel James Miller, Harrison led his army to the Tippecanoe battleground. When the army returned, Harrison left Captain Josiah Snelling in command of Fort Harrison, Snelling served as commandant of the fort from November 11,1811 until May 1812. During that winter, the fort was shaken by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes, Snelling was later transferred to Fort Detroit. After the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain Zachary Taylor, future President of the United States, was ordered by Harrison to leave Fort Knox and assume command of Fort Harrison. The United States had suffered a series of defeats immediately after war was declared, at the hands of the British, Canadians and these victories helped motivate other native tribes to take up campaigns against remote American outposts. On September 3,1812, a band of Miami arrived and warned Captain Taylor that they would soon be attacked by a force of Native Americans. That evening, shots were heard, but Taylor was hesitant to send a scout party and he only had 50 men in his garrison, and sickness had reduced the number of effective soldiers to only 15. In the morning, a party was dispatched and discovered the bodies of two settlers, the Doyle brothers. The brothers were buried, and the party reported back to Fort Harrison, Captain Taylor, with his 15 able soldiers and about 5 healthy settlers, made ready for the expected attack. Each of the 20 men was issued sixteen rounds to fire and that day, September 4, a force of 600 Potawatomi, Wea, Shawnee, Kickapoo and Winnebago warriors approached Fort Harrison. A party of 40 men under command of Kickapoo Chief Namahtoha approached under a flag of truce, Taylor agreed, and the Indian force retreated to camp for the night. That night, a warrior crawled up and set the blockhouse on fire, when the sentries opened fire on the arsonist, the 600-strong Indian war party attacked the west side of the fort. Taylor ordered the forts surgeon and a handful of defenders to control the fire, the blockhouse, which was attached to the barracks, had a store of whiskey, which soon ignited, and the fire raged out of control
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