Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828Poinsatte, Charles R.
History
Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828
Poinsatte, Charles R.
Fort Wayne (Ind.) -- History
[24]_Ibid._, p. 69.
[25]_IHC_, IX, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, pp.
77-78.
[26]Wells to Harrison, July 30, 1812, Burton Historical Collection.
[27]_IHC_, IX, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
70.
[28]What is believed to be the grave of Little Turtle was discovered in
1912 at the home of Dr. George Gillie in the Spy Run section.
[29]M. M. Quaife, _Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835_, p. 225.
[30]_Ibid._, p. 217.
Chapter IV
The Siege of Fort Wayne
At last the savages had struck their long deferred blow. The little
garrison of eighty-five men at Fort Wayne received with alarm the first
account of the massacre at Fort Dearborn. The news was conveyed by one
of the friendly Miamis who had accompanied Wells to Fort Dearborn.
Unknown to the garrison at this date was the fact that Detroit—the
protecting center of the other northwestern posts—had been ingloriously
surrendered on August 16 to a British-Indian force by General William
Hull. Mackinac had already fallen to the British. Tecumseh and the
British now turned their attention to the reduction of Fort Wayne and
Fort Harrison (near Terre Haute, Indiana), as the principal remaining
obstacles to prevent them from driving the white inhabitants beyond the
Ohio river. After their success at Dearborn, a council was held by the
Indian tribes and British officers at the Potawatomie villages. Here it
was determined that the Potawatomies together with the Ottawas were to
be assisted in the proposed siege of Fort Wayne by a British force under
Major Muir. Meanwhile the Winnebagoes and Miamis would direct their
attention toward Fort Harrison.
When the people of Fort Wayne became aware of the gravity of their
situation, it was determined to send the women and children to a safe
refuge, the closest being Piqua, Ohio. In order to accomplish this,
Captain John Logan, a Shawnee Indian, was sent by John Johnston from
Piqua to conduct the group which numbered close to twenty-five. Among
Logan’s charges on the hundred-mile journey were Ann, Rebecca, and Mary
Wells, and the wives and children of Antoine Bondie, William Bailey, and
Stephen Johnston. This was but the first of many acts of heroism on the
part of the Shawnee brave, John Logan, during the war.[1]
None too soon were the women and children removed to a place of safety,
for in a short time about five hundred warriors began to gather quietly
about Fort Wayne, encamping in the forest and seeking to avoid open
evidence of hostility. Theirs was a waiting game, as the British had
promised troops and artillery within a period of twenty days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account