| Siege of Fort Wayne | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of 1812 | |||||||
 Fort Wayne[1] | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Miami Potawatomi | United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Winamac | James Rhea William Henry Harrison | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 500 warriors | 100 (garrison) 3,000 (relief force) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| About 25 killed[2] | Minimal[citation needed] | ||||||
Thesiege of Fort Wayne took place from September 5–12, 1812, during theWar of 1812. The stand-off occurred in the modern city ofFort Wayne, Indiana, between the U.S. military garrison atFort Wayne and a combined force ofPotawatomi andMiami forces. The conflict began when warriors under the Potawatomi chiefsWinamac andFive Medals killed two members of the U.S. garrison.[3] Over the next several days, the Potawatomi burned the buildings and crops of the fort's adjacent village and launched assaults from outside the fort. Winamac withdrew on September 12 ahead of reinforcements led byMajor General William Henry Harrison.[4]
The attack on Fort Wayne was one of several Potawatomi attacks on U.S. military outposts during September 1812. Other coordinated attacks includedFort Dearborn,Fort Harrison,Pigeon Roost, andFort Madison.[5][6]
Fort Wayne was established in 1794 byUnited States forces under Major GeneralAnthony Wayne. It was built at the end of theNorthwest Indian War to exert United States influence at a large collection of Native American towns known asKekionga. The 1809Treaty of Fort Wayne granted approximately 30 million acres of Native American land to white settlers inIllinois andIndiana and was a major motivator toward anti-expansion resistance.[3] The 1811Battle of Tippecanoe also served to keep tensions high between Indigenous nations and U.S. settlers.
CaptainJames Rhea assumed command of Fort Wayne on May 15, 1810.[7] He had served in Wayne's army and had previously commanded Fort Industry. Days after his arrival, Rhea wrote to ColonelJacob Kingsbury: "I am much pleased with my Command; I hope to be continued here ... at this Post everything has been going on very correct; I mean to take the Tract of Capt. Heald as near as possible ... I have been very will with Rheumatism Pains ever since I left you. I don't know if I ever shall recover, I have not had a Night Sleep in two Weeks."[8]
Rhea soon took note of the fort's inhabitants' tendency for drunkenness, lamenting the behavior as an "abominable [sic] practice" and confiding that he was "Much hurt to see so much intoxication".
Rhea initially proved to be an effective commander, overseeing substantial repairs to the fort, the institution of a sanitation program, and furthered progress on land clearance.
However, Rhea later struggled with alcohol himself, leading to the fort's deterioration. Historian Charles Poinsatte called this a "striking reversal," writing about "his decline from the position taken in his first garrison order...To that of a slave to alcohol in 1812."[9]
The garrison first learned of the fall ofFort Dearborn on August 26, when Corporal Walter Jordan returned after escaping the massacre.[10] On August 28 local trader Stephen Johnston was killed approximately a mile from the fort.[11] This news created disquiet in the garrison, and Indian agentJohn Johnston sentShawneeCaptain Logan to help evacuate the local women and children toOhio, 20 miles to the east.[12]
In early September warriors from thePotawatomi andMiami nations led by ChiefWinamac and ChiefFive Medals gathered around Fort Wayne, which was garrisoned by approximately 70 soldiers and some civilians.[13] Rhea sent letters toJohn Johnston andOhio GovernorReturn Meigs to ask for assistance.[11] On several occasions, Rhea invited Indian delegates into thefort to discuss peace terms.[14] Historian Milo M. Quafie maintains news of the siege had been relayed “toPicqua, Ohio by Stephen Ruddle, whence his message was conveyed to Harrison".[15]
On September 3, Potawatomi and Miami chiefs including Winamac approached the fort holding aflag of truce. Fort Wayne's fate seemed clear given the losses of nearby forts Mackinaw, Detroit, and Chicago. Lieutenant Daniel Curtis replied to Winamac by inviting him into the fort, and the two drank three glasses of wine together.[16] Curtis then rose from his seat and in a pled with Winamac:
My good friend, I love you; I will fight for you; I will die by your side. You must save me!
He then gave Winamac a half-dollar as a sign of friendship and invited him for breakfast. Winamac did not attend the breakfast, but instead sent a band of five warriors who initiated the siege on the morning of September 5, 1812, after attacking two soldiers returning from anouthouse. Both soldiers died of their wounds by the afternoon.[17] The Native Americans assaulted the fort from the east side and burned the homes of the surrounding village. They also constructed twowooden cannons with the intention of convincing the U.S. garrison that the British had arrived with artillery.[3][18] In the lead up to the siege Rhea was said to be:
Drunk as a fool, and perfectly incapable of exercising rationality on any subject whatsoever, but was constantly abusing and ill treating everyone that came in his presence.[16]
Due to his incompetence and resulting disorder Rhea was described by some of his colleagues as being the "greatest danger" of the siege and his officers considered placing him under arrest.[16] A drunken Rhea occasionally suggested surrender before retreating to his quarters on the grounds that he was ill and being relieved. Benjamin Stickney, the fort's Indian Agent, took command of the fort with along with Lt. Curtis and Lt. Phillip Ostrander.[19] The Native American forces assaulted the fort twice before withdrawing to await a British force that was bringing light artillery.[20]
That evening, Winamac approached the fort with 13 of his men toparley and was admitted. As the leaders talked, Winamac revealed a knife that he had hidden, and after a failed attempt on Stickney's life, Winamac was removed from the fort.[clarification needed] Soon after, the Native American forces resumed their assaults on the fort.[21] Winamac's forces tried to set the fort on fire. The garrison returned fire withmuskets andhowitzers[21] while working to prevent the fires. The battle lasted until around 3:00 p.m. on September 6, when the Native American forces retreated to a safe distance from the fort.[21] The fighting resumed around 9:00 p.m. that night.[13]
Efforts were underway to reinforce Fort Wayne after news of the loss ofFort Michilimackinac,Fort Dearborn, andFort Detroit[3][20] reachedNewport Barracks. GeneralJames Winchester was commander of the Northwestern Army, but Kentucky GovernorCharles Scott had recently appointedIndiana Territory GovernorWilliam Henry Harrison as Major General of the Kentucky Militia and authorized him to relieve Fort Wayne. Harrison was at Newport Barracks to assume command of the militia.[22] Harrison wrote a letter to Secretary of WarWilliam Eustis explaining the situation and apologizing for taking unauthorized action[23] before quickly organizing a militia force of 2,200 men and marching north to the fort.[24] A small scouting party led by Fort Wayne settler William Oliver and Ohio ShawneeCaptain Logan arrived at Fort Wayne during a lull in the fighting, eluding Winamac's army and entering the fort. They delivered the news that relief was approaching, and again rode through Winamac's siege to report to Harrison that the fort remained under U.S. control.[25][18][26]
Harrison also received a report that a force of 400 Native Americans and 140 British regulars underTecumseh were marching toward Fort Wayne.[23] Harrison raced to arrive at Fort Wayne before Tecumseh and the British. By September 8, Harrison's force had reached the village ofSimon Girty on theSt. Marys River, where they were joined by 800 men of the Ohio militia under Colonel Adams and Colonel Hawkins at Shane's Crossing.[23]
On September 11, Winamac launched a final, unsuccessful attack on Fort Wayne. Winamac broke off the attack on September 12 his forces crossed the Maumee River and disappeared into the woods.[27] Harrison's relief army arrived later that day without incident.[28] The Native American and British force retreated intoOhio andMichigan Territory.
After the British had successfullycaptured the city of Detroit, they had received the news that American Indians had surrounded an American Fort. GeneralIsaac Brock learned that a temporary armistice had been made in the east, and ordered ColonelHenry Procter to cease support for the attack on Fort Wayne.[29]
The siege of Fort Wayne prompted Harrison to order punitive expeditions against nearby Native American villages. He sent a detachment of the17th Infantry Regiment and mounted rifles under Colonel Samuel Wells against the Potawatomi villages ofFive Medals,[30] and another detachment of two Kentucky regiments under Brigadier General John Payne against Miami villages at the forks of the Wabash.[31] The punitive expeditions culminated in theBattle of the Mississinewa in December 1812. Influential Miami ChiefPacanne had remained neutral but following American retaliation for the Fort Dearborn Massacre, Pacanne openly aligned with the British.[32]
The unsuccessful attempts to take Fort Harrison and Fort Wayne, as well as the reprisals by Harrison, caused many Native Americans to lose confidence.[30] Many of them turned instead to the influential leadership ofTecumseh and joined his confederacy. No major Indian attacks occurred in theIndiana Territory for the rest of the war, but it was not until Tecumseh's defeat at theBattle of the Thames that the Native American pressure on settlers waned.
On September 18, 1812,[33] while the detachments were away attacking villages,General Winchester arrived at Fort Wayne. Harrison relinquished command and later received orders from Secretary Eustis to regain control ofMichigan Territory.[18] Harrison's successes built his reputation, and he soon replaced Winchester as commander of theArmy of the Northwest. He planned to use Fort Wayne as one staging ground in an attempt to retake Fort Detroit, leading to theBattle of Frenchtown four months later.[34]
Three active battalions of the current 3rd Infantry (1-3 Infantry, 2-3 Infantry and 4-3 Infantry) continue the lineage of the old 1st Infantry Regiment, which had adetachment at Fort Wayne. Following the destruction of the Council house during the siege, the building was reconstructed on the same site in 1816.[35]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| People |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Places | ||
| Battles/raids | ||
See also:Tecumseh's War andBattle of Tippecanoe | ||
