War of 1812 Bicentennial

XVIII. The Opening of the Contest, 1812–1813

Although the spirit of the west was high and the conflict with the hereditary enemy was enthusiastically welcomed all along the frontier, preparations for a war status were very meager. The United States had five forts on the northwestern frontier—Detroit, Mackinac, Wayne, Dearborn, and Madison. The former two were facing British territory, the latter tree were wholly within the United States, but in the territory of hostile Indians. Fort Mackinac was commanded by a lieutenant of artillery, Porter Hanks, and had a garrison of less than sixty effectives.¹ Fort Dearborn was under the command of Captain Nathan Heald with a force of fifty-four regulars. At Detroit Brigadier General Hull arrived with an army largely composed of Ohio militia, three weeks after the president's proclamation of war; he found there two companies of regulars in the fort in the midst of the settlement. At Fort Wayne Captain James Rhea held the 'gateway of the West' with a garrison of eighty and four small field pieces. At Fort Madison, then called Bellevue, on the Mississippi, there were less than forty effectives, commanded by two lieutenants, Thomas Hamilton and Baronet Vasquez. Of these posts, Mackinac, Chicago, and Detroit fell within the first weeks of the war, while Wayne and Bellevue were both besieged by British Indians but were relieved before surrender.

The British in Canada were hardly better prepared. There were only 4,500 troops in all Canada and the province was never in greater danger than at the outbreak of the conflict.² Fortunately for their cause, the governor of Upper Canada, Isaac Brock, was a trained soldier and had been for some time anticipating the commencement of hostilities and making for it adequate preparations.

Mackinac fell into British hands without a blow. Its commander had not even heard of the declaration of war until July 17 when he was summoned to surrender to a force of between six and seven hundred soldiers and savages from the nearby Fort St. Joseph, led by Captain Charles Roberts of the British regulars. The Indians were largely from Wisconsin, and had been recruited by Robert Dickson after he received in May the warning message from Brock. Over fifty Sioux, two score Winnebago, and as many Menominee arrived with Dickson at Fort St. Joseph only a few days before the expedition moved. The Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of the neighborhood were summoned by the Indian officers of the British post to the number of three hundred. In addition to the regulars and Indians an emergency brigade was formed of fur traders, led by the bourgeois of the South West company, Toussaint Pothier and Lewis Crawford.

Of all this motley array, it is probable that the traders were the most eager to secure Mackinac island, the emporium of western trade, and they offered their vessel the Caledonia for the transport of the expedition. As this trading schooner, surrounded by numerous batteaux and canoes was halfway to its destination, a messenger from Mackinac island came on board in the person of Michael Dousman, an American fur trader at the place. He agreed to notify the inhabitants of the village but not the garrison; all the villagers were thus placed under guard to save them from the Indians. Going ashore on the west coast of the island at a place still called the British Landing, the expedition hauled its guns to the height above the fort. The next morning on the British summons to surrender, Hanks had no choice but to obey. Thus, without firing a single shot, this important stronghold was transferred from the Americans to the British at the very beginning of the contest.³

The effect upon the Wisconsin Indians was magical. Henceforth, the entire body of warriors was keen to aid the British. Unless the situation during the American Revolution, when many Wisconsin Indians enlisted under the banner of the Big Knives, the unanimity of 1812–15 was complete. Wisconsin, during this period, was even more British than Canada.

The fall of Mackinac was the direct cause of the massacre of the garrison at Fort Dearborn. Heald had heard that war was begun by July 11 and he received on August 9 an order from General Hull to evacuate the post, because of lack of provisions. He was to distribute the goods of the factory to the friendly Indians but to destroy all arms and ammunition before marching for Fort Wayne.⁴ The order was brought by Winnemeg an Indian runner, who had come from Detroit via Fort Wayne. At the latter post danger was anticipated from the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, which the Indians would consider a sign of weakness on the part of the United States government. Therefore, Captain William Wells, a member of the Indian department, enrolled a band of friendly Miami Indians and went to the aid of the garrison of Fort Dearborn. He had a personal reason for his action, since Mrs. Heald, wife of the commandant, was his niece.

When Wells arrived on the afternoon of August 13, he found preparations for evacuation well forward. John Kinzie the trader and his son-in-law, Lieutenant L. T. Helm, had remonstrated against the abandonment of the fort. There was plenty of ammunition and provisions, enough to withstand a siege, if the Indians should attempt one. Heald, however, considered the order mandatory and that he had no choice in the matter of marching. He also trusted optimistically to the pretended friendliness of the neighboring Indians; while those familiar with Indian psychology saw every evidence of a hostile disposition.

If one should criticize Captain Heald in this difficult situation, it would be for the delay of six days between the receipt of the order and its execution. The Indians thus had time to gather from the hostile centers at Milwaukee and the Kankakee, and the evacuation gave them the opportunity for attack, which they would not have dared had the garrison remained in the fort, or marched quickly for Fort Wayne. The leaders of the attack were Potawatomi chiefs, Blackbird, son of the friendly chief of that name during the Revolution, being the principal instigator. With him were Nus-cot-nu-meg, the Mad Sturgeon from the Kankakee, and Senachewin, leader of the Prairie band of Potawatomi.⁵ Black Partridge, on the other hand, Wau-bun-see, and other friendly chiefs opposed the attack and aided in rescuing the survivors.

The garrison after leaving the forest marched south parallel to the lake shore, and about where Eighteenth street of the city of Chicago now crosses they were fired upon from behind the sand hills and many of the soldiers fell. Captain Heald and Lieutenant Helm were wounded. Wells was killed and his body mutilated. A number of women and children were killed in the waggons, while Mrs. Heald and Mrs. Helm were both wounded but rescued by the friendly Potawatomi.⁶ In all twenty-six of the garrison were slain outright, nine more died or were tortured to death in captivity, eighteen were saved. Twelve militia or citizens were killed with as many children, while most of the women lived to return to civilization.⁷

This massacre was deplored by the British authorities who hastened to report that they had no knowledge of the intentions of the Indians and no influence over their actions.⁸ Moreover, they made efforts to redeem the captives from the tribesmen, and Robert Dickson was instructed to endeavor to rescue the survivors who might be living among the Indians of Fox and Wisconsin rivers.⁹ Thomas Forsyth then at Peoria succeeded in ransoming his relative, Lieutenant Helm, who reached St. Louis early in October. Captain and Mrs. Heald were taken with the Kinzie family in boats to the St. Joseph river and thence to Fort Mackinac where the British captain accepted his parole and allowed him and his wife to return to the United States.¹⁰

Meanwhile, General Hull at Detroit had fallen on evil days. July 12 he crossed into Canada, issued a proc­lamation to the inhabitants of the province offering them protection and freedom if they would remain in their homes, but declared no quarter would be shown to those found fighting with the Indians. A number of recent American settlers joined Hull, but the Cana­dians as a whole favored the British. Tecumseh, who had been created a general by the British, continued to re­cruit his force of Indians.¹¹ A party of Wisconsin Me­nominee under Tomah, who had been at the capture of Fort Mackinac, came thence and joined Tecumseh's forces.¹² The first of August, Hull learned of the fall of that post and became alarmed for the safety of Detroit, especially after Tecumseh had defeated at Browns­town an American detachment sent to keep open the route from Ohio. Hull, thereupon, withdrew across the river and organized for defense. August 13, General Brock arrived at Malden with reinforcements and in a conference with Tecumseh the latter drew a birch bark map of all the surrounding region and advised with the British concerning their advance.¹³ Three days later after a severe bombardment, Brock took his troops across the Detroit river and forced from Hull the sur­render of the fort, of his army, and of all the territory he commanded. The British again ruled Michigan and the British regime was intrenched in the Northwest for two more years.¹⁴

The two advanced posts of Fort Wayne and Fort Bellevue were not attacked until after the surrender of Detroit. By August 28 the former was definitely in a state of siege, Tecumseh leading five hundred Indi­ans against this post. The Indian leaders taunted the garrison, saying: 'Mackinac is taken, Detroit is in the hands of the British, Chicago has fallen, you must ex­pect to fall next, and that in a short time.' Meanwhile, General Harrison was pushing on his relief forces, and as his army approached, the besieging Indians fled, and by September 12 Fort Wayne was saved.¹⁵ The British at Malden had also sent a force to relieve the Fort Wayne garrison from the fate of that of Fort Dear­born, but hearing of the approach of the American army the English retreated whence they had started.¹⁶ Fort Harrison, a supply post on the Wabash at what is now Terre Haute, was attacked at the same time as Fort Wayne, by the remnants of the Prophet's forces from Tippecanoe, chiefly composed of Winnebago. By the vigilance of Captain Zachary Taylor in command, the assailants were beaten off and the post saved.¹⁷

On the Mississippi news of the fall of Mackinac and Detroit sent the Winnebago on the warpath; a party of two hundred hastened to Fort Madison and after killing one soldier who had incautiously ventured without the walls of the garrison, besieged the fort from Septem­ber 5 to 8. Attempts were made to burn the stockade, but the vigilance of the two lieutenants in command pre­vented this; the factory, without the fort walls, was burned with all its goods, and the cattle belonging to the garrison were slaughtered.¹⁸

An Indian council had been called to meet at Piqua with commissioners from Ohio. Only a very few chiefs attended. The hitherto friendly Potawatomi of the Illinois river refused to go, and it was said that 'The Secretary of War might as well request Bonaparte, the Duke of Bassano, and the British ministry, to meet him at New York, and confer about the stolen property and seamen, as to collect the Indians at Piqua for any beneficial result.'¹⁹ The few Indians who came scattered at the news of the British successes to the northward. Gov­ernor Shelby of Kentucky apprehended that 'The In­dians, thus elated with success, encouraged and sup­ported by the British from Canada, will now endeavor to extend their savage and barbarous devastations along the extensive frontier. . . . We shall, I fear, for a time have the Ohio river for a barrier.'²⁰

At Chicago all was desolation and destruction. Forsyth went up from Peoria and reported that the Indians from Prophetstown were planning to remove their village to this site.²¹ At Green Bay, the only American resident, brother of Michael Housman of Mackinac, was forced to flee, and all his property was destroyed by Indian hostiles.²² At Prairie du Chien all the Americans left, Boilvin, the United States Indian agent, going down the Mississippi and sending futile messages to the Sioux and other British allies.²³ Blon­deau wrote that the British traders Lagoterie, Brisbois, and Portlier were with the Sauk and Foxes, urging them down the Mississippi. It was reported that the Win­nebago had left the Prophet after their failure in the attack on Fort Harrison and were returned to their own country, plundering all American property at Prairie du Chien.²⁴ In all Wisconsin there did not remain one person who dared acknowledge any sympathy with the American cause.

The news of all these reverses filled the western settlers of the United States with astonishment. They had expected to invade Upper Canada and annex that province to their own country. They had been balked by a handful of British troops, allied with the great mass of the northwestern Indians, who had formerly been enemies of this frontier. All the West embodied for retaliation. Kentucky and Ohio furnished the militia for the punitive expeditions. General Samuel Hopkins of the former state set out in November, 1812, marched to Prophetstown on the Wabash, burned it and all the neighboring villages; he also cut up and de­stroyed the growing crops. Among the villages de­vastated in this raid was one on Wild Cat creek that had been built by the Winnebago from Rock river. But all the Indians had fled before the Kentuckians arrived.²⁵

The governor of Illinois territory was especially ap­prehensive, since north of his frontier, which then ex­tended from St. Louis to Vincennes, there were none but hostiles as far as the international boundary. In October, 1812, Governor Edwards organized an expedi­tion against the Kickapoo and the Potawatomi, his near­est Indian neighbors. He was joined by Colonel Wil­liam Russell with a few United States troops, and to­gether they marched north to Peoria lake destroying several Indian villages on their way. On Lake Peoria they found a very recently established Miami village, which they also razed.²⁶ After the return of the main body, Captain Thomas Craig with his company went up the Illinois river in boats and raided the French-Ameri­can village of Peoria, deporting all its inhabitants, among them Agent Forsyth, who while acting for the United States government and in its pay, was a secret officer, and unable to reveal his allegiance²⁷ This mis­taken and brutal raid on the outpost of American inter­est in that region had unfortunate consequences, since it removed from the Illinois frontier the one person who had restraining influence over the Potawatomi, who thereafter joined Tecumseh in the Detroit area. Thus, throughout all of northern Illinois territory, then includ­ing Wisconsin, there was no center for American influence except the small Fort Madison on the upper Mississippi.

In the meantime, Robert Dickson had gone down to Montreal, after sending out his partners, John Lawe, James Aird, Joseph Rolette, and Thomas Anderson with goods for Prairie du Chien and the upper Missis­sippi.²⁸ His object was threefold: first, to come to some arrangement with his outfitters that would free him from the pressure of debt; second, to obtain restitution for the goods furnished the Indians who conducted the Mackinac expedition; and third, to make arrangements to employ the western Indians in the British service.²⁹ He was successful in all his efforts. Sir George Prevost, governor of Canada, recommended that Dickson be re­imbursed for his prompt and valuable services of the preceding summer and gave him a commission as Indian agent with very extended powers.³⁰ Dickson outlined on December 23 for the commander-in-chief of Canada his plans. First, a large wampum belt with appropriate speeches for the different tribes should be sent forward at once. Chicago and La Baye were to be designated as rendezvous for the tribesmen in the spring, whence the Indians could be forwarded to the seat of war. Twenty young men as officers and interpreters would be needed, and the British and Canadians then in the Indian country might be embodied as rangers. One silk standard and one large medal must be provided for each tribe, and provisions should be arranged for at Chicago and the Wisconsin portage.³¹

Upon receiving his commission and orders as super­intendent for the western Indians, Dickson left Mon­treal January 29, 1813, and arrived at Malden soon af­ter the affair of the River Raisin, wherein General Winchester and a large detachment of American troops had been taken prisoners, and the Kentuckians left un­der inadequate guard had been maltreated by British Indian allies. Had Dickson been present, his control over the savages and the humane attitude he displayed³² might have restrained these Indians or mitigated the cruelties they wreaked on the unfortunate victims. As it was, the Indian authorities at Fort Malden were little inclined to take Dickson's advice, whereupon the gov­ernor general appointed Dickson deputy superintendent for all Indians in Michigan and the conquered territory, 'on account of the high opinion I entertain of his cour­age, his perseverance, his integrity and zeal for the service.'³³

Meanwhile Dickson, yet unaware of the additional honor and responsibility awarded him, started on his westward journey to arouse the tribesmen, to commis­sion his subordinates, and to arrange for the summer's campaign. On March 16 he reached St. Joseph, Mich­igan, where he met the Potawatomi chiefs and gave orders to restrain them from such methods as they had used at Fort Dearborn and the River Raisin. While there he learned of the whereabouts of the captives from Fort Dearborn and made efforts for their rescue. He gave commissions to Charles Chandonnet and his nephew, Jean Baptiste, as officers in the Indian depart­ment. He then hastened across to Chicago, where he arrived by the twenty-second of March.³⁴ He advised the Indians he met at this place to commit no more de­predations on the property of the fort, 'as it is probable their Father may have occasion' to use this and estab­lish a garrison there. The two brass cannon, one of which he found dismounted and the other in the river, he thought should be forwarded to Mackinac. From Chicago, Dickson passed on to Milwaukee, where he arrived by March 28 and where he wrote to Louis Grignon of Green Bay that he should urge all the Indians of that vicinity to join the Canadian forces.³⁵ The next day he left for Prairie du Chien crossing to the Winnebago villages on Rock river, descending the Rock and mounting the Mississippi to the Prairie which he reached on April 16. There he again wrote Grignon tendering him a commission as lieutenant in the Indian service.³⁶

While Dickson was thus hurrying westward, the residents of Wisconsin were acting on their own behalf. In February the leading British sympathizers at Prai­rie du Chien, which included all the fur traders of note at that place, sent an appeal to Captain Roberts at Fort Mackinac for assistance and supplies. This petition was reinforced by a similar one from Green Bay, bearing the signatures of Jacques Portlier, Jacob Franks, and the Grignon brothers. With these documents was for­warded a note from Wabashaw, the redoubtable Sioux chief of the upper Mississippi, who declared that 'a cloud is approaching over the heads of thy children, . . . the Americans mean to take possession of this piece of land.' He asks his 'father' to clear away the cloud, and says that the Sauk, Foxes, and Winnebago have all but one heart, that beats only for the British cause.³⁷

All this excitement and turmoil had a serious effect upon the fur trade. The factory furs from Chicago were in the harbor of Mackinac when the island was taken, and were confiscated by the British traders in that expedition. Meanwhile, the South West company furs came in to Mackinac and were carried to Montreal without those belonging to the American partner, John Jacob Astor. 'He made several efforts to obtain his furs from Mackinac, but with slight success.'³⁸ The sea­son of 1812–13 was a good one for the fur trade on the upper Mississippi and out along the St. Peter's, that portion of the Sioux country not being disturbed by wars between white people. The Sioux-Chippewa feud continued, however, to the detriment of the trade in the Lake Superior region.³⁹

A new element had been brought into the fur trade arena by Lord Selkirk, a philanthropic nobleman, who had secured a grant from the Hudson's bay company to the territory of the Red river of the North, including the portion now in North Dakota and Minnesota, the inter­national boundary not being drawn in that region. Selkirk's first colonists arrived in 1812 and settled at Fort Daer, near the present Pembina. This colony was hotly resented by the rulers of the North West company although the clash did not come until after the close of the British-American war. This latter company was only slightly inconvenienced by the progress of the war, all its posts being now beyond the United States, and its transport route by the Ottawa river being wholly within Canadian territory.⁴⁰

When Dickson reached Prairie du Chien in the spring of 1813, he found there, then or soon after, all his former colleagues and partners and a body of Indian customers eager to abandon hunting for their favorite pastime of war. They were ready to invade American territory by way of the Mississippi, but Dickson told them there were no armies in that direction and their war would be waged upon helpless households of women and children.⁴¹ Instead he designed to lead his Indian warriors to the front where the Americans in large num­bers were assembling, prepared to avenge the defeats of the last summer and the early winter. While Dickson was collecting and provisioning his Indian auxiliaries from Wisconsin, let us turn to the preparations made to meet this invasion of savage hordes from the Northwest.