In the midst of this agitation, Captain Heald, the commander at Fort Wayne, was transferred to the post at Fort Dearborn. Captain Heald was followed shortly by his young bride, Rebekah Wells, the favorite niece of William Wells. Arriving on May 15, 1810, Capt. James Rhea took over the command of Fort Wayne. Rhea was a native of New Jersey, and had received a commission in the army in 1791. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1800, and was commissioned a captain in 1807. He had served with Wayne’s army and for a time was assigned to the command of Fort Industry on the Maumee River. Shortly before coming to Fort Wayne, Captain Rhea married Polly Forsyth, the 18 year old daughter of James Forsyth, a wealthy Detroit merchant.[12] Two days after his arrival at Fort Wayne, Captain Rhea wrote to his superior, Colonel Kingsbury: ... I found Capt. Heald at this Place; he starts in the morning ... I am much pleased with my Command; I hope to be continued here ... at this Post every thing has been going on very correct; I mean to take the Tract of Capt. Heald as near as possible ... I have been very ill with Rheumatism Pains ever since I left you. I don’t know if ever I shall recover, I have not had a Night Sleep in two Weeks.[13] The following month Captain Rhea reported that he was still suffering a great deal from the rheumatic attacks; nevertheless during his first year at Fort Wayne, the captain displayed the qualities of a good commander. He made considerable repairs on the fort and carried out a program of sanitation and land clearance. He knew of the impending trouble with the Indians, but he failed, when the time came, to grasp the opportunity of achieving recognition. At the critical moment, Captain Rhea proved to be a weak character, given somewhat to alarmist tendencies. During the siege of Fort Wayne, he displayed appalling cowardice and a fondness for whiskey which proved his undoing. Whether or not he sought to relieve his continued attacks of rheumatism by alcohol can only be surmised, but his decline from the position taken in his first garrison order at Fort Wayne to that of a slave of alcohol in 1812, forms a striking reversal. In his first order on May 20, 1810, he noted the “abonimable [sic] practice” of drunkenness among the men, and commented that he was “much hurt to see so much intoxication.”[14] From the captain’s first quarterly report for the months of April, May, and June, 1810, we have the following information in regard to the garrison: Officers: Captain, James Rhea; First Lieutenant, William Whistler; Second Lieutenant, Philip Ostrander; Composition of the Company; Native Americans, 36; Englishmen, 1; Irishmen, 11; Frenchmen 2; total, 50. Strength of the Company: 1 captain, 2 subalterns, 3 sergeants, 2 corporals, 3 musicians, 39 privates.[15]