Fort Jefferson Site | |
 Southern side of the hill on which the fort sat | |
   | |
| Location | State Route 121 inNeave Township,Darke County,Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°1′32″N84°39′24″W / 40.02556°N 84.65667°W /40.02556; -84.65667 |
| Area | 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) |
| Built | 1791 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000488[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1970 |
Fort Jefferson was afortification erected by soldiers of theUnited States Army in October 1791 during theNorthwest Indian War. Built to support a military campaign, it saw several years of active fighting. Today, the fort site is ahistoric site.
Located in present-dayDarke County in far westernOhio, the fort was built under the direction of GeneralArthur St. Clair in October 1791 as an advance post for his campaign fromFort Washington against localNative Americans.[2]: 578 A square of approximately 100 feet (30 m) on each side, the fort was built of wood and intended primarily as asupply depot; accordingly, it was originally named "Fort Deposit."[3] Before St. Clair's army departed the fort, acourt-martial was conducted for an unknown crime; the three soldiers who were convicted andhanged became the first whites to be executed in present-day Darke County.[2]: 578
One month later, after St. Clair's army wasbadly defeated in battle near modern-dayFort Recovery to the north, the scattered remnants of his force reconstituted at Fort Jefferson. Because it was not intended to house many soldiers,[2]: 578 and because few supplies were actually stored at the fort,[3] St. Clair found the fort insufficiently large for his men; consequently, he took most of his surviving soldiers and returned to Fort Washington, leaving only a small garrison to guard his many wounded. It is believed that the garrison was under the command of Captain Joseph Shaylor.[2]: 578
The defeat of the American army in late 1791 left Fort Jefferson deep in enemy territory. Determined to drive the American soldiers back to theOhio River, a Native American force (possibly under the command ofSimon Girty) raided the fort in the early Summer 1792. This raid began on 25 June 1792, with an attack of one hundred warriors against a party gathering hay for the fort's supplies, and left sixteen soldiers dead or missing.[2]: 578 It is possible that another raid was conducted a short while later with the intention of capturing or killing Captain Shaylor. Local histories suggest the attackers exploited Shaylor's love of hunting by imitatingwild turkey calls to lure Shaylor and his son into the woods. Captain Shaylor escaped the ensuing pursuit, but his son was killed.[2]: 579
The fort came under siege intermittently for three years, as continued Native American attacks were made to neutralize the outpost.[3]
As the United States Army prepared to return to the offensive in the western Ohio country, Fort Jefferson became more than an isolated location outside of the control of the hostileMiamis: projections were created of using the fort as a base for the protection of local settlers and for raids on nearby Native Americans.[3] WhenAnthony Wayne and hisLegion of the United States, fresh fromLegionville, began their expedition to avenge St. Clair in the fall of 1793, they erected a new supply fort at the site ofGreenville, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Fort Jefferson.[2]: 579 Nevertheless, they relied heavily on the supplies of Fort Jefferson in their campaign during the following year.[3]
After the end of the war, white settlers began to take up residence in the vicinity of the abandoned fort. Ablockhouse was built by one nearby resident in 1810; by 1820, more settlers had built houses, a mill, and a school near the fort site. The settlement developed intoFort Jefferson, Ohio.[2]: 579
In the fall of 1907, the Greenville Historical Society dedicated a memorial on the site of the fort.[2]: 579 Fort Jefferson was further recognized in 1970 when it was added to theNational Register of Historic Places. The area designated as historic encompasses approximately 6.5 acres (2.6 ha).[1]
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