Forts of Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne in modern Fort Wayne, Indiana was established by Captain Jean François Hamtramck under orders from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne as part of the campaign against the Indians of the area. It was named after General Wayne who had defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Wayne may have chosen the name himself—the fort was dedicated the day after he left it. The fort was officially occupied by the army on October 21, 1794. The fort was a basic stockade with few buildings, and was located near the present intersection of Berry and Clay Streets.

History

Fort Wayne was the successor of several previous military outposts at the location. Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes built the first fort on the site in 1704."Vincennes, Sieur de (Jean Baptiste Bissot)," The Encyclopedia Americana (Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1990), 28:130.]

Fort Miami

Fort Miami, [dablink|This article is about a fort in the modern U.S. state of Indiana. For a list of other forts with the same name, see Fort Miami.] built by the French under Jean Baptiste Bissot, in 1715, was originally called Fort St. Philippe and was also known as Fort des Miamis. The fort was then at Kekionga, a Miami settlement, but now the site of the modern-day city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River merge to form the Maumee River. The original fort served as a successful trading post until 1747, when English-allied Huron warriors under Chief Nicholas Orontony found it undermanned- the commandant, Ensign Douville, and most of the soldiers were away at Fort Detroit. The fort was sacked and burned to the ground. [Allison, 24]

In Summer 1749, a force of French and Indians under Captain Pierre Blainville rebuilt the fort. This second fort survived the French and Indian War, but it was attacked in 1752, and two soldiers from the French garrison were caught outside the fort and killed. [Allison, 25] In November 1760, at the close of the French and Indian War, the French garrison formally surrendered Fort Miami to Ensign Holmes of the Kingdom of Great Britain. [Allison, 25] The British soon lost control of the fort in 1763, during Pontiac's Rebellion, and the fort was destroyed by the Indians.

The British refortified the town, and the trading post again became successful. It was sacked in 1780 by a force under Augustin de La Balme, a French cavalry officer who came to the new United States of America to assist with the American Revolutionary War. The force raided the stores, but it was soon destroyed by Miami Chief Little Turtle, and the goods were returned. The coalition at Kekionga remained true to their British allies even after the area was ceded to the United States at the close of the war. It therefore became a target of American armies, leading to several noteworthy Indian victories now known as the Northwest Indian War. Once such battle, Hardin's Defeat (1790), occurred within sight of the fort. The Northwest Indian War ended with the Battle of Fallen Timbers, where General Anthony Wayne finally achieved an American victory.

Fort Wayne

When the Americans took control of the fort at Kekionga, it was renamed Fort Wayne in honor of the general who had won it.

In 1798, Major Jean François Hamtramck was transferred to Fort Detroit - later the site of another Fort Wayne, and near the future town of Hamtramck, Michigan. Colonel Thomas Hunt took command of the fort in Indiana and built a substantial new one several hundred yards north of the original. It contained multiple guard houses and Indian "factories" (trading posts). The first fort was demolished about 1800.

During the War of 1812, Fort Dearborn (in present Chicago) was evacuated and the residents tried to reach Fort Wayne, but were massacred before they arrived. Fort Wayne was next besieged by the Indian forces of Tecumseh during the Siege of Fort Wayne. Captain James Rhea was in charge of the fort and considered surrendering the fort, but his two lieutenants relieved him of duty. General William Henry Harrison arrived on September 12, 1812 (which coincidentally was his birthday) and broke the siege. Captain Rhea was formally relieved of duty and one of the lieutenants, named Ostrander, was given official command of the fort.

After the war, a town began growing around the fort. A third fort was built in 1816 by Major John Whistler. The fort was officially abandoned on April 19, 1819 and its contents shipped to Fort Detroit.

Notes

* * cite book|author=Allison, Harold |title=The Tragic Saga of the Indiana Indians |year= ©1986, Harold Allison |publisher=Graphic Design of Indiana |publisher=Turner Publishing Company, Paducah |isbn=0-9380-2107-9