The Establishment of Fort Wayne—Government Outpost of Defense,
Diplomacy and Trade
Wayne’s victorious “Legion” arrived at Miamitown on the evening of
September 17, 1794. Lieutenant John Boyer, to whose journal we are
indebted for the best account of the conditions relating to the
construction of Fort Wayne, wrote on the day of the arrival:
... there are nearly five hundred acres of cleared land lying in one
body on the rivers St. Joseph, St. Mary’s and Miami; there are fine
points of land contiguous to those rivers adjoining the cleared land
... the land adjacent [is] fertile and well timbered, and from every
appearance it has been one of the largest settlements made by the
Indians in this country.[1]
On the following day, Wayne reconnoitered the ground and selected the
site for the new fort, an elevated position on the right bank of the
Maumee just below the confluence of the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph
rivers. The ground chosen approximates lots 11, 12, and 13 of the
present Taber addition on the northeast corner of East Berry and Clay
street.[2]
Wayne determined to build a strong fortification, much to the
disapproval of Lieutenant William Clark, who felt that a common picketed
one would be equally as difficult for the savages.[3] It is conceivable
that Wayne in building a strong fortification feared a future British
attack equally as much as he feared the Indians. Actual construction
began on September 24. The difficulties were many. The season was late,
and the fort had to be completed before winter came. The regulars had
been good fighters, but proved to be poor workers. All the severity of
the army code was required to keep them in line, one hundred lashes on
their bare backs being the usual punishment. The volunteers were
rebellious; for a while they were employed convoying the supplies from
Fort Defiance to Fort Wayne over the improved road Wayne had
constructed, but finally, when Wayne could no longer cope with the
Kentucky militiamen, they were sent home. Provisions were also scarce
and prices were high. Not infrequently the men were on half-rations,
while the horses died at the rate of five a day for lack of feed. A ten
gallon keg of whiskey cost eight dollars; a pint of salt, when it could
be obtained, brought six dollars.[4]
Despite these difficulties, Wayne seemed well-satisfied with the
construction of his new fort, which was capable of resisting 24 pound
guns. By October 17, he felt “free to pronounce them [Fort Wayne and
Fort Defiance] the most respectable now in the occupancy of the United
States, even in their present situation which is not quite perfect as
yet.”[5] Construction was pushed with all possible speed, and although
the fort was not quite completed, the day of dedication was set for
October 22, 1794, the fourth anniversary of Harmar’s defeat. Early that
morning, after firing fifteen rounds of cannon in honor of the fifteen
states in the Union, the flag was raised. Colonel Hamtramck then named
the new fortification, “Fort Wayne.”[6]
The “Legion” departed for Greenville on October 28, leaving
Lieutenant-Colonel John Francis Hamtramck in command of four infantry
companies and one artillery battery at Fort Wayne. Colonel Hamtramck is
described as being “a small Canadian Frenchman, an intelligent, capable,
and meritorious officer.”[7] After serving in the Revolution, Hamtramck
came to the West with Harmar, being in command at Vincennes when he
joined Wayne’s army. Although somewhat of a martinet, Hamtramck was
popular with his men and, from all accounts, one of the most efficient
officers in the army at that time.
It was fortunate that Wayne left a capable man in charge of Fort Wayne,
as Hamtramck’s difficulties proved to be many. There still remained a
great deal of work to be done in strengthening the fort, which was not
completed until the following spring. The garrison was plagued by an
epidemic of malaria fever during the first summer. This condition was
made worse by the lack of quinine or any medical supplies.[8] During the
winter, the men often went about in rags and tatters. Hamtramck was
forced to permit them to cut up their blankets and turn them into
over-coats.
Facing such difficulties, it is little wonder that Hamtramck complained
frequently to Generals Wayne and Wilkinson about the problems of
disciplining his rebellious men and caring for the destitute Indians who
were returning to their ruined villages. Concerning the soldiers
Hamtramck wrote, “I have flogged them until I am tired. The economic
allowance of one hundred lashes, allowed by the government, does not
appear a sufficient inducement for a rascal to act the part of an honest
man.”[9]
Hamtramck was actively engaged at this time in discussions with the
chiefs, particularly Little Turtle, LeGris, and Richardville, concerning
the proposed peace negotiations to be held at Greenville the following
summer. In these matters, Hamtramck was aided immensely by the Lasselle
brothers, Antoine and Jacques.[10] Antoine had resided at Miamitown from
1771 until Harmer’s destruction of the village in 1790. He had fought on
the side of the Indians in the battle of Fallen Timbers and had been
captured by Wayne’s troops. Tried as a spy, he narrowly escaped the
gallows through Hamtramck’s intercession. Colonel John Johnston, Indian
factor at Fort Wayne, later described Antoine Lasselle as a man of wit
and drollery who “would often clasp his neck with both hands to show how
near he had been to hanging by order of Mad Anthony.”[11] After his
release, Antoine Lasselle with his brother Jacques returned to Fort
Wayne, apparently the first traders to do so. Here they furnished the
Americans with supplies and used their strong influence with the Miamis
to the good advantage of the American cause.
The Indians had asked that the forthcoming peace conference be held at
their old village, Kekionga, as Kiskakon had come to be called by that
time. Wayne insisted that the tribesmen come to Greenville, 79 miles
southeast of Fort Wayne. Resorting to the use of Indian symbolism, Wayne
argued, “It was there [Kekionga] that the hatchet was first raised, to
bury a bloody hatchet there would disturb the spirits of the unburied
dead.”[12] Wayne’s real reasons were less symbolic, but more practical.
The distance of bringing supplies to Fort Wayne would be much farther
than to Greenville, and at Greenville he would have his “Legion” ready
in case of trouble. In the spring the Indians going to Greenville came
by way of Fort Wayne, so overcrowding the post that Hamtramck’s garrison
had to go on half-rations to feed the delegates. Even this did not
suffice; emergency stores were depleted, while the liquor and tobacco
were so exhausted that Hamtramck had to buy additional supplies from
Antoine Lasselle.
At Greenville Wayne won the peace which Fallen Timbers had secured. In
respect to Fort Wayne, which remained an American island deep in Indian
Territory, the United States gained an area of six square miles around
the fort, free use of the Maumee-Wabash portage, and an area of two
square miles at the Wabash end of the portage. The Indians also promised
the United States the use of the roads leading to Fort Wayne from
Defiance to the northeast and Piqua to the southeast. Little Turtle,
Wayne’s keenest antagonist during the negotiations, debated long and
eloquently over these concessions at and around Fort Wayne. The great
Miami chief secured one compromise from the General, a reduction of the
land around the fort to be ceded to the United States. After this
concession by Wayne, Little Turtle addressed the council:
These people [the French] were seen by our forefathers first at
Detroit; afterwards we saw them at the Miami village—that glorious
gate which your younger brothers had the happiness to own....
Brothers, these people never told us they wished to purchase these
lands from us.
I now give you the true sentiments of your younger brothers with
respect to the reservation at the Miami villages. We thank you kindly
for contracting the limits you at first proposed. We wish you to take
this six mile square on the side of the river where your fort now
stands, as your younger brothers wish to inhabit that beloved spot
again ... The next place you pointed to was the Little River, and said
you wanted two miles square at that place. This is a request that our
fathers, the French or British, never made us; it was always ours.
This carrying place has heretofore proved in a great degree, the
subsistence of your younger brothers. That place has brought us in the
course of one day, the amount of one hundred dollars. Let us both own
this place.[13]
To this Wayne replied:
The Little Turtle observes, he never heard of any cession made at that
place [Fort Wayne] to the French. I have traced the lines of two forts
at that point ... and it is ever an established rule, among the
Europeans, to reserve as much ground around their forts, as their
cannon can command.[14]
Wayne could not grant Little Turtle’s request for joint-control of the
Maumee-Wabash portage since the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 guaranteed
to everyone free use of all important portages (Article V). Wayne proved
himself an economist and shrewd diplomat by arguing before the other
assembled tribes that the tolls garnered by the Miamis actually were
passed off to all the Indians in the form of higher prices for the
traders goods. At length, Little Turtle, speaking for four tribes
besides the Miamis, expressed himself as satisfied with the treaty, and
being the last to sign it, promised he would be the last to break
it.[15] This he never did, as he spent the last seventeen years of his
life at peace with the Americans.
In a farewell address to the conference, Little Turtle asked that the
United States government appoint Captain William Wells as resident
interpreter at Fort Wayne. William Wells, frontier scout and pioneer,
was one of the most romantic and mysterious figures in the early history
of the Northwest. A biography or even a sketch of his life has never
been written, although his story is intimately connected with that of
Fort Wayne and the Indiana Territory. Between 1794 and 1812, when he was
killed, Captain Wells was decidedly the most interesting white person in
the history of Fort Wayne. Little is known about him personally, except
that which we can obtain from letters written by him or those concerning
him. A member of prominent Kentucky family and the brother of Colonel
Samuel Wells of Louisville, William Wells had been kidnapped by a band
of Miamis when he was twelve year old. Taken to Miamitown, he was
adopted by the tribe of Little Turtle and was raised by the Indians, as
was the custom of that time. It is not surprising, consequently, that
the Frenchman, Count Volney described Wells as “tall and muscular, quick
in movement, and having the complexion of an Indian.”[16] It is
surprising, however, that Wells, having little or no education, in later
life showed in his letters a knowledge of the English language and
clarity of thought far superior to his white associates on the frontier.
Wells’ first wife was Anahquah, Little Turtle’s sister; and upon her
death, it is believed that Wells married Wahmangopath, the daughter of
the chief. By these marriages, Wells had the following children: Anne,
who was educated at the Catholic school at Bardstown, Kentucky, and who
later returned to Fort Wayne to marry Dr. William Turner; Mary, who
married James Wolcott; Rebecca, who married James Hackley at Fort Wayne;
Jane Turner, who married John H. Griggs, and William Wayne, who after
graduating from West Point, died at an early age. On March 7, 1809,
Wells married Mary Geiger, daughter of Colonel Frederick Geiger of
Kentucky, by whom he had three children, Samuel Geiger, Yelberton, and
Julia Ann.
Against Harmar’s and St. Clair’s armies, Wells fought willingly on the
side of the Indians. In 1794, however, he joined Wayne’s forces
apparently with Little Turtle’s approval. It is known that in the summer
of 1793, Wells paid a visit to his white relatives in Kentucky. Upon
returning through Vincennes, he met Col. Hamtramck, who employed him to
carry a message to Wayne.[17] In the message, Hamtramck suggested to
Wayne that Wells would prove invaluable as a scout, if the General saw
fit to give him a commission. Before accepting this offer, Wells
returned to Miamitown, and here secured Little Turtle’s consent. The
reason for Wells’ desertion of the Indian cause has never been clear.
Perhaps Hamtramck, later one of Wells’ staunchest friends, convinced him
that the American cause was to be successful. Possibly, as Quaife
suggests, it was due to a belated consciousness of his true race
identity and the pleadings of his white relatives while he was in
Kentucky.[18] The fact that Wells and Little Turtle remained intimate
afterward and that their viewpoints were always identical, indicates
there was no friction between them. It is known that Little Turtle did
not wish to give battle to Wayne at Fallen Timbers, and advised the
Indians to make peace. While only conjecture, it is not unreasonable to
assume that Wells foresaw the American success in the forthcoming
campaign and convinced the chief it was to the red man’s advantage to
make peace.
Wells was placed in command of Wayne’s scouts, and it was primarily
through his vigilance that Wayne’s forces were not surprised. At
Greenville, Wells served as an interpreter, a position of trust. Wayne
was willing to grant Little Turtle’s request to appoint Wells as
resident interpreter at Fort Wayne, and later wrote to the government
recommending Wells for the position, as well as authorizing the payment
of high rewards to this valuable scout.[19]
During the winter of 1795-96, Hamtramck found the food and supply
situation at Fort Wayne somewhat better, although there were about 90
children and old women entirely dependent on the garrison for their
subsistence. Until the British post at Detroit was transferred to the
United States, Fort Wayne was the headquarters for detachments at the
following western forts: Defiance, Sandusky, Adams, Recovery, Jefferson,
Loramie, Head of the Auglaise, and Michilimackinac. In June, 1796, Col.
Hamtramck was ordered to proceed to Detroit and take command of the
former British post there. After his departure, the force at Fort Wayne
never numbered more than 100 men. These men held an important position
along the first line of defense in the northwest. Other than
Michilimackinac, there were no posts to the north or northwest until Ft.
Dearborn was erected in 1803. The men at Fort Wayne acted as if they had
little realization of their responsibility. The majority of the enlisted
men of that day were drawn from the most turbulent elements of the east.
The soldier’s life was not a popular vocation. At this western outpost,
garrison life was more than harsh; it was extremely boring. The troops
at Fort Wayne had nothing to do in their leisure time, and usually
passed their days in drinking, fighting, and gambling.[20] In vain did
the officers have insubordinate men flogged at parade (not infrequently
the maximum penalty of 100 lashes was given), deprived them of their
whiskey rations, and put them to hard labor. When, in 1812, Congress
amended the articles of war to prohibit flogging, other substitute
punishments, hardly less severe and equally degrading, were devised. Men
were confined in small dark rooms, put astride spiked wooden horses,
forced to wear the wooden collar, ankle bolts, and irons. In the Orderly
Books for the Fort Wayne garrison, we repeatedly find non-commissioned
officers demoted to the ranks for misconduct or crimes of one nature or
another, only to be reinstated when their successors proved even more
incapable. Yet, when this wild, bored garrison was besieged during the
War of 1812, they successfully held the fort against a force six times
as strong.
Living within the fort were the wives and children of those married
officers and men who chose to bring their families to the wilderness
with them. In many respects these women shared the army life of their
husbands. They were governed by the same military regulations, even
receiving the same daily whiskey ration as did the men. The officers and
their families generally came from an older and more formal society and
carried into the rude barracks the manners and customs of the East. One
of the commanders, Col. Hunt, brought his family directly to Fort Wayne
from their Boston home. With this eastern culture was added a certain
punctilio, a natural consequence of military life. The officers’
families, together with those of government officials and more prominent
settlers, formed the elite of the American society at Fort Wayne. In
1807 Lieutenant Philip Ostrander, an officer at Fort Wayne, wrote to his
friend, George Hoffman, collector for the government at Michilimackinac:
On my arrival at this post I was received with the utmost politeness
by Captain Heald [the commandant] who continues to show me every
flattering attention. Indeed, sir, by every officer ... at this place
I have been treated with the utmost liberality and respect. The very
day of my arrival, I was requested to dine with Captain Wells [the
Indian agent] and today by Mr. Johnson, our present factor at this
post. [Col. John Johnston, superintendent of the government “factory”]
I do not mention these circumstances through vanity, but merely with
intention of informing you that everyone endeavors to make my place of
residence comfortable and happy.
I could form no conception of what an agreeable situation this is,
both as to the face of the country and the elegant situation of the
fort. We are, however, destitute of one thing which would make the
situation still more agreeable—that is, society. Mr. Johnson
[Johnston], Captain Wells, J. Audrian [a trader], and the officers of
the garrison compose our party. They tell me that the place is in
general healthy, but, to tell the truth, I have seen a number of very
sick people. Dr. Edwards had unfortunately started for Cincinnati an
hour before my arrival.[21]
Dr. Edwards, who had recently been given authority to serve as a
merchant at the fort in addition to his duties as post surgeon,
evidently had gone to Cincinnati to obtain supplies. Judging from the
above letter and other sources, it must be concluded that the number of
sick at Fort Wayne was generally quite high. Before Dr. Edwards came
there were twenty-five men reported on the sick list, almost 35% of the
garrison. This may have been somewhat of an abnormal condition, however,
as his predecessor, a man named Dr. Elliot, was so incompetent, that Mr.
Johnston, the government factor, had to act as post surgeon.[22]
Colonel Hamtramck remained in command of Fort Wayne until June, 1796. In
March of that year he had been ordered to move down the Maumee with a
detachment from Fort Wayne in order to counteract a demonstration by the
British which was possibly intended to arouse the Indians to revolt.
While encamped on the Maumee, Hamtramck received a message from General
Wilkinson, directing him to receive the transfer of the British Post
Miami and then proceed to Detroit to take command of the former British
post, Fort Lernoult.
Colonel David Strong, Hamtramck’s successor at Fort Wayne, had, like
Hamtramck, served in the Revolution and in Wayne’s army. Prior to coming
to Fort Wayne he had been in command at Fort Greenville.[23] The
twenty-six months of Colonel Strong’s administration witnessed the
beginnings of the new Frenchtown at Fort Wayne. Located across the St.
Joseph from the site of the old Frenchtown, this new village was
situated where Kekionga or Kiskakon once stood in the present Lakeside
area of Fort Wayne. Most of the inhabitants were either former occupants
of Miamitown who returned to this new site after Wayne’s victory or
French-Canadians of the Detroit-River Raisin region. Volney, a native of
France who traveled in the United States during 1796, questioned the
Americans concerning these French “habitants” of the northwest. He was
told that they were a kind, hospitable, and sociable sort of people,
“but in ignorance and idleness they beat the Indians. They know nothing
of civil and domestic affairs; their women neither sew or spin or make
butter but pass their time in gossiping and tattle. The men hunt, fish,
roam in the woods, and bask in the sun.”[24]
In weighing the value of this characterization of the French
“habitants,” we must remember that Volney an intellectual coming from
the Paris of the Enlightenment naturally thought of these people as
crude and rustic, as indeed they must have appeared to him, but what is
more important neither Volney or the Americans appreciated that these
French Creoles way of life was different from theirs. The Creoles were
not as interested in the middle-class virtue of respectability nor in
the acquisition of much property.
Evidently the English-American opinion of the French people living in
the Northwest had not changed since the days of George Croghan and
earlier. Nor in all likelihood had the French “habitants” and traders
changed their manner of living to any great extent. Although they had
suffered a great deal financially and were less prosperous since the
American occupation of the territory, there is no reason to doubt that
these people lived as they did during Henry Hay’s sojourn at Miamitown,
independent and satisfied with life.
There is no way of determining the number of inhabitants living in
Frenchtown at this time. That the settlement was at least worthy of
notice is indicative from the Orderly Books for Fort Wayne. Mention is
made repeatedly of the town.[25] The soldiers and their wives were in
the habit of frequenting the town, which practice some officers
considered inimical to the garrison’s welfare. All military orders
published for the civilians living around Fort Wayne were made out in
French as well as English, and until the early 1820’s the majority of
the population of Fort Wayne were either French or of French-Indian
blood.
While most of these French inhabitants during these years remain
unknown, there are a few individuals whom we can identify. Besides
Antoine Lasselle, there was another member of the Lasselle family who
returned to Fort Wayne at an early date. This was Hyacinth Lasselle, the
nephew of Antoine Lasselle and the son of Jacques Lasselle. Hyacinth
Lasselle was only four years old when his family fled from Miamitown at
the advance of LaBalme’s force in 1780. After this he was placed in a
private school in Montreal. In May, 1795, he returned to Fort Wayne from
where he carried on trading activities until 1804 when he removed his
establishment to Vincennes. In appearance he was rather short, being
about five feet six inches tall, but at the same time very muscular. His
athletic prowess and the fact that he was born at Miamitown made him a
great favorite of the Miamis, who entered him in contests against the
champions of other tribes.
Other inhabitants of the former Miamitown who returned to the site of
Fort Wayne after the American Occupation were Antoine Rivard or Rivarrd
and Francis Minie. Rivard’s wife and daughter had entertained Henry Hay
quite often while the latter stayed at Miamitown. Included among the new
arrivals at Frenchtown were Charles and James Peltier, brothers who had
come here from Detroit around 1798. In 1804 the Peltiers secured
permission to sell supplies to the garrison at Fort Wayne. At a later
date, Charles Peltier was attacked and eaten by wolves within a few
miles of the fort. James Peltier married Angeline Chapeteau, an
attractive young girl who had come to Fort Wayne from Detroit with her
grandparents, Jean Baptiste Maloch and his wife. Jean Baptiste Maloch
had been a resident at Detroit before the time of Pontiac’s conspiracy,
and he was apparently considered to be a man of some wealth.[26] What
prompted him to bring his wife and granddaughter to Fort Wayne at this
late date in his life is unknown. Angeline Chapeteau, who was only
sixteen when she came to Fort Wayne, instantly became a favorite of the
Miamis, who called her “Golden Hair” and formally adopted her into their
tribe. Her sister Theresa Chapeteau married Francis Minie, while a
second sister married Charles Peltier. One of the most prosperous
traders at Fort Wayne prior to the war of 1812 was Louis Bourie. Not
only did he trade in furs himself, but he also kept pack horses and
large warehouse for the transportation and storage of the merchandise
and furs carried by way of the Maumee-Wabash portage. For these services
he collected a handsome profit. Two other traders who married Miami
women were Peter LaFontaine and Antoine Bondie.
To the west of the fort there came into being a collection of government
buildings and sutlers’ establishments, which in time resembled a small
village. These log buildings were located at the meeting place of two
roads, “Wayne’s trace” (this was the road connecting Fort Wayne with
Fort Washington, Cincinnati) and the old Maumee-Wabash portage path.[27]
This was the nucleus of the village that made up the plat of the
original town of Fort Wayne, when it was laid out in 1824. The sutlers,
who lived here, were traders who had been given permission by the
government to occupy choice locations near a military outpost and carry
on the trade deemed necessary for the garrison. These sutlers were
subject to the orders of the commander of the fort, who could dismiss
them upon a just provocation. It was also the commander’s duty to see to
it that the men were not overcharged and investigate any complaints
brought to him either by the sutlers or soldiers. For instance the
soldiers complained on one occasion that James Peltier was overcharging
them for his merchandise. After an investigation, the commander, Captain
Whipple, excused Peltier on the grounds that the cost of transportation
for the winter had risen to one hundred dollars a boatload.[28] The
sutlers brought their merchandise either by way of the Maumee from
Detroit and the East or by way of the St. Mary’s from Cincinnati and the
Ohio River.
The largest of the log buildings comprising the small village west of
the fort was the two-story council house. This was erected in 1804 by
the government to be used as a meeting place between the government
officials and the Indians. Around the village and along the banks across
the river were gardens and cultivated fields of vegetables and corn. One
of the better farms was owned by Colonel Hamtramck and William Wells.
Wells managed it and by 1800 had it well fenced. On the property were
several buildings, a good orchard, a number of livestock, plus the usual
corn fields. Several negro slaves whom Wells had brought from Kentucky
did most of the labor.[29] Apparently this farm did not always furnish a
dependable source of income, for in 1801, Wells reported to Hamtramck
that although he expected to harvest 350 bushels of corn for each of
them, he would not be able to sell it because of the overabundance of
corn raised that year around Fort Wayne.[30] The reason for this, Wells
maintained, was the fact that the military were competing in the corn
market. The officers of Fort Wayne were in the practice of having the
enlisted men farm the fields for wages.
In June, 1797, the newly appointed General of the United States Army,
James Wilkinson, stopped at Fort Wayne during his initial tour of
inspection of the western forts. Here he found conditions “truly
deplorable”. In his report he stated:
“The army in this quarter presents a frightful picture of the
scientific soldier; ignorance and licentiousness have been fostered,
while intelligence and virtue have been persecuted and exiled; the
consequences were that factions have been generated to sanction
enormity, and it follows that all ideas of system, economy, order,
subordination and discipline were banished, and that disorder, vice,
absurdity, and abuse infected every member of the corps
militarie.”[31]
Wilkinson was equally dissatisfied with conditions at Detroit. In fact
he found fault everywhere, for the General had a habit of exaggerating
ills so that he might gain more credit for employing successful
antidotes. He never doubted that his methods were correct, and his
solution for the problems at Fort Wayne and Detroit was relatively
simple. He merely exchanged garrisons and commandants between the two
posts. Colonel Hamtramck with the First Regiment was transferred to Fort
Wayne, and Colonel David Strong at Fort Wayne with the Second Regiment
was transferred to Detroit.[32]
Whether or not General Wilkinson achieved his purpose of bettering
conditions at Fort Wayne and Detroit by these transfers is not known. At
any rate Colonel Hamtramck did not remain long at Fort Wayne. In less
than a year he was ordered back to Detroit and there he remained in
command until his death in 1803. In April, 1798, a month before his
final departure from Fort Wayne, his son, John Francis, was born. As far
as it is known, this child was the first white person born within the
stockade.
On May 16, 1798, Colonel Thomas Hunt arrived at Fort Wayne to take
command. Colonel Hunt had served with distinction in the Revolution.
Born in Massachusetts, he became a member of Captain’s Croft’s Company
of “minute men” at Lexington and Concord, in April, 1776. Later he
fought in the battles of Bunker Hill and Stoney Point. In 1793, he
returned to military service as a major with Wayne. Following the
western campaign and the building of Fort Wayne, he went to Detroit and
assisted Wayne in the formal transfer of the British post to the
Americans. He served then as commandant of Fort Defiance.[33] Following
the western campaign of Wayne, he had been given command of Fort
Defiance. With Colonel Hunt came his family to Fort Wayne directly from
their home in Boston.
While at Fort Wayne, Colonel Hunt often drew criticism for his
independent action. Nevertheless, it is apparent that he devoted his
energies to the betterment of conditions at Fort Wayne, for he undertook
the responsible task of building a new fort to take the place of Wayne’s
hastily constructed post which by 1800 was beginning to decay. The new
fort was located about three hundred feet north of the old structure and
enclosed the area of the present Old Fort Park in the city of Fort
Wayne. It seems very probable that the troops occupied the original fort
during the period of construction of the second fort, so there were two
American forts standing at the same time, separated by perhaps three
hundred feet of space. The new fort was reported to be “large and
substantial ... commanding a beautiful view of the river, as also an
extent of about four square miles of cleared land.”[34] Six log barracks
for the officers and men, a brick magazine, and smaller buildings were
grouped within the palisades around the parade ground.
Captain Thomas Pasteur, an officer in the Revolution and a member of
Wayne’s corps succeeded Colonel Hunt as commander in June, 1802. Pasteur
remained but a year at Fort Wayne during which time there was little
activity at the outpost. There is some indication from two letters
written at the time that Colonel Henry Burbeck was in command at Fort
Wayne in the spring of 1803, although the Fort Wayne Orderly Books give
no record of this.[35] If he did serve at Fort Wayne, his stay was no
longer than that of his successor, Major Zebulon Pike, who remained less
than two months. Major Pike was the father of the noted explorer of the
southwest, Zebulon M. Pike. The Major who was in poor health was given
command of Fort Wayne in the hope that the position would be an easy
one, as well as furnish an increase in his pay. The command did not meet
Pike’s expectations, since his nature was such that the constant
drunkenness of the men under him was more than he could stand. His rigid
attitude in regard to temperance was revealed in a letter to Colonel
Kingsbury while both were serving at Detroit. In it he declines an
invitation of the Colonel to attend an officers’ party at which he
believes some alcoholic drink would be served.[36]
Major Pike’s successor, Captain John Whipple, arrived at Fort Wayne in
September, 1803. A group of Quakers visiting Fort Wayne in 1804 reported
that Captain Whipple, “behaved with a freedom and gentility becoming a
well breed [sic] man.”[37] That he was a man of fair intellectual
talents is shown by the nature of the entries in the Fort Wayne Orderly
Books during his administration. In 1804, Captain Whipple journeyed to
Detroit to bring back his wife, the former Archange Pelletier, a
descendant of the oldest family of Detroit, Francois Pelletier having
preceded Cadillac to that spot by two years.
After serving almost four years at Fort Wayne, Captain Whipple resigned
on January 31, 1807 and in his stead Captain Nathan Heald was appointed
as commander. Captain Heald remained at Fort Wayne until May 16, 1810,
on which day he left to take command at Fort Dearborn (Chicago), being
in charge of that garrison on the day of the fateful massacre, August
15, 1812. During his stay at Fort Wayne, Captain Heald met the niece of
William Wells, Rebeckah Wells, whom he later married. Captain Heald was
replaced at Fort Wayne by Captain James Rhea, an unfortunate choice for
the troublesome days that were to come during the crucial first year of
the War of 1812.[38]
From the beginning of Colonel Hunt’s administration in 1798 to the end
of Captain Heald’s in 1810, the frontier was comparatively peaceful,
especially until 1807. In that year signs of the forthcoming Indian
difficulties began to appear, although the actual conflict did not break
out until 1811, with the battle of Tippecanoe. In August 1796, Winthrop
Sargent, the Secretary of the Northwest Territory, proclaimed the
organization of Wayne county, with Fort Wayne on its southern boundary.
This original Wayne county was divided into four townships, bearing the
names of Detroit, Mackinaw, Sargent, and Hamtramck, with the region of
Fort Wayne and the Maumee valley included in the latter. In October,
1799, William Henry Harrison was elected to represent the Northwest
Territory in Congress. This body, on the seventh of May, 1800, created
the Territory of Indiana, composed of all that part of the territory of
the United States west of a line beginning at the Ohio river opposite
the mouth of the Kentucky river and running northward to the straits of
Mackinac. Five days later William Henry Harrison was appointed governor
of the newly created territory. Vincennes in the southern part of the
territory, situated on the Wabash river, became the capital.
Up north, Fort Wayne, already an important post in the defense of the
Northwest Territory, also became a government outpost of diplomacy and
trade with the Indians. By 1798, the United States government had
established an Indian agency at Fort Wayne. The Office of Indian Affairs
was a division of the War Department from 1789 to 1849, and was under
the direction of the Secretary of War. The Indian agents were the
representatives of the department among the various tribes. This plan,
to have official representatives of the government stationed permanently
among the Indians, was adopted from that used by the English during
colonial times. Captain William Wells was the logical choice to be the
first Indian agent at Fort Wayne. The military and government officials
both felt that he was deserving of some reward for his outstanding
services during and after Wayne’s campaign in 1794-95. Above all he was
admirably suited for the position, being intimately acquainted with the
Indians of this region and being able to speak fluently five of the
Indian dialects. When Volney asked the inhabitants of Vincennes for aid
in compiling a dictionary of the Indian language, they recommended that
he consult William Wells, as Wells knew the Indian languages better than
any other man in the territory.[39]
Undoubtedly, Wells was anxious to secure the position for it paid a
handsome salary of $1,200 a year plus some expenses, which was rather
good in those days for a government employee. Moreover, the position
gave the agent the opportunity of arranging profitable private contracts
for services and goods for the Indians. With the purpose of obtaining
the appointment, Wells secured a letter of introduction from his friend,
Colonel Hamtramck, to the Secretary of War.[40] In all probability Wells
used this letter and other recommendations to good advantage when he
accompanied Little Turtle to Philadelphia in the winter of 1797. Upon
his return from Philadelphia, Wells wrote to Hamtramck that he “was
encouraged and hopeful.”[41] His hopes were well founded for in the
summer of 1798, Wells received the appointment as Indian agent at Fort
Wayne.
Four years later, Fort Wayne was selected as the location for one of the
Indian “factories” then being established by the national government. It
is somewhat difficult to make a distinction between the Indian agency
and Indian factory. Strictly speaking, the factory was the place where
goods were received, stored, and distributed, where trading was carried
on with the Indians by the government and payments of goods and
annuities made. The factor (the government representative in charge of
the factory), therefore, dealt primarily in financial and commercial
matters. On the other hand, an Indian agent was concerned with political
matters, such as the negotiations and treaties for the cession of lands
belonging to the Indians. It was his duty to see that the tribes
remained friendly to the United States and to report any grievances and
discontent. The distinction between the respective positions, however,
was one more in theory than in fact. That the agent’s and factor’s
duties would overlap is fairly obvious, even if they would have been
clearly defined and adhered to. Any political negotiation of the
government with the Indians called for payment in money and goods to the
Indians, often for a number of years, as well as at the time of the
treaty. One of the main causes of Indian dissatisfaction which the agent
had to meet was that caused by the poor quality of goods sometime
furnished at the Indian factories.
In theory, both the agent and the factor at Fort Wayne were responsible
to their immediate superior, Governor Harrison, as commander of military
forces and superintendent of Indian affairs in Indiana Territory.
However, those agents, such as Wells, who held their positions prior to
the creation of the territory continued to deal directly with the
Secretary of War as well as with the Governor. Benjamin Stickney, Wells’
successor as agent, refused to recognize Harrison’s authority over him.
The factor also received his orders from the Governor and the Secretary
of War. More directly he was under the Superintendent of Indian Trade,
an official answerable to both the Secretary of War and Congress. During
the years before the War of 1812, the post of Superintendent of Indian
Trade was held consecutively by William Irvine and John Mason. This lack
of central authority pertaining to the factories and agencies only
served to add to the confusion already created by the nature of the
positions. At a later date, the agent assumed the duties of the factor
and the latter term fell into disuse, but until the factory was
destroyed by the Indians at Fort Wayne, the two positions remained
separate and from the start, difficult to harmonize.
“Colonel” John Johnston served as the first Indian factor at Fort Wayne
from 1802 to 1811. Johnston, a prominent figure in the northwest, during
his lifetime served thirty-one years with the Department of Indian
Affairs. He was born in Ireland on March 22, 1775, and came to America
at the age of eleven. A few years later, while yet a youth, he undertook
the job of driving supply wagons to Wayne’s army. After receiving his
appointment as factor for Fort Wayne, Johnston married sixteen-year-old
Rachel Robinson at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, much against the desire of
the young girl’s parents. The Johnstons’ wedding trip consisted of the
journey by horseback through the wilderness to Fort Wayne. While living
at Fort Wayne, Colonel Johnston and his wife were noted for their stern
rectitude, which contrasted considerably with the type of life generally
found at this military outpost. In later life, Johnston, for his years
of government service, became known as “Colonel Johnston”. He is
described as “six feet and more in height, very erect, in his bearing
and he had a blond complexion inclined to ruddy.”[42]
Besides his duties as factor, Colonel Johnston occasionally served as
assistant surgeon at the fort. For his position as factor, Johnston
received a salary of $1,000 a year from the government and $365 for
subsistence. The latter amount was funded by the profits of the factory.
In 1810, William Oliver was appointed to the Fort Wayne factory to serve
as Johnston’s assistant. When Oliver resigned in 1812, Johnston secured
the position for his brother, Stephen Johnston.
As factor, Johnston aimed at being just to the Indians and loyal to his
government, a combination of purpose attended with many difficulties. In
a report to the Secretary of War, Johnston pointed out that the trading
houses with the northern Indians never produced any political effect in
favor of the Americans, as had been expected when they were established.
Rather, on the contrary, the Indians were led to believe that the object
was to make money; and in as much as the government goods were never
sold cheaper than those of the private traders, it was impossible to
produce a different impression.[43]
Johnston had trouble procuring the proper kinds of supplies to issue to
the Indians at Fort Wayne. The goods intended for the Indian trade were
rarely imported into the United States, there being no regular demand
for them. On the other hand, the British traders in Canada had agents in
England, long accustomed to this commerce, who sent out the very
articles needed. The supplies destined for the United States factories
went through many hands, and this offered countless opportunities to
defraud the Indians and the government. Often the goods came out of
season or were damaged. Johnston constantly urged that the trade either
be put in the hands of private traders who would be licensed by the
government, or, if the government thought it necessary to stay in the
business, an expert should be sent to England to do the purchasing of
the Indian articles. Typical of the goods used by the Indians are the
following items listed in Johnston’s record book, “blankets, strouds, [a
coarse Indian blanket] hat bands, head bands, Indian mats, kettles,
pans, rings, cloth of various color, wampum, broaches, scalping knives,
fish hooks, and tobacco.”[44] Johnston also complained that the military
were generally unfriendly to his trading post and even hindered his work
at times. Apparently this ill feeling was caused by the fact that the
soldiers did not consider it a part of their business to furnish
transportation for the furs and Indian goods or to erect the necessary
buildings for the trade at Fort Wayne.[45] On one occasion, the factor
lost in Lake Erie $2,300 worth of furs. Johnston claimed that the
accident came about through the carelessness of a drunken
non-commissioned officer, Joseph McMahan, although McMahan was excused
of all responsibility by a court martial.[46] The result of the trial
provoked Johnston so much that he protested to the Superintendent of
Indian Trade, but nothing could be done.
During the decade of its existence prior to the War of 1812, the Fort
Wayne factory was the most prosperous of all the trading houses
established by the United States government. A report submitted by the
Secretary of War to Congress showed that in the three years and ten
months preceding January 13, 1812, the Fort Wayne factory made a profit
of $10,502.77. This was by far the largest profit shown by any of the
ten factories then operated throughout the nation.[47] Another report
shows that the fur and peltries received from the Indians at the Fort
Wayne factory sold for $27,547.07.[48] While the government did only a
small fraction of the fur trading, this is a good indication that the
fur trade of the Maumee and Wabash valleys which led the French to
fortify the spot was still the principal economic asset of Fort Wayne.
Colonel Johnston’s account books suggest that the once abundant beaver
skins were becoming scarce. Instead of beaver, racoon and deer skins
were being shipped in great quantities.[49] These furs were carried by
way of Lake Erie to New York and Philadelphia, where they were sold at
auctions. Most of the furs obtained from the private traders were taken
to Detroit where they were purchased by the American Fur Company. Skins
were worth deer, $1.25; raccoon, $.50; bear, $3.00 to $5.00. These
values were nominal, as the price fluctuated and the furs were paid for
in goods which were passed off on the Indians for more than double the
initial cost and transportation.
In order to transport the skins, they were dried, compressed, and
secured in packs. Each pack weighed about 100 pounds. A pirogue or boat,
that was sufficiently large to carry forty packs, required the labor of
four men to manage it on its voyage. In favorable stages of the river,
such a vessel, under the management of skilled boatmen, was propelled by
poles fifteen or twenty miles a day, against the current. On the return
trips the pirogues were loaded with merchandise to be sold to the
Indians.
Turning our attention once more to Indian treaties and their resulting
difficulties, important events centered about Fort Wayne between the
years 1800 and 1809. The year 1800 in which William Henry Harrison was
appointed the first governor of the Indiana Territory was one of peace
in the Great Lake region of the United States. The British had evacuated
the posts they had held in the northwest, according to the agreement in
the Jay treaty, and the Indians appeared content. At Fort Wayne, the
future appeared so calm that William Wells wrote to Hamtramck that he
expected the garrison to be withdrawn shortly.[50] However, the spark
that set off the flames of Indian warfare was soon to be ignited and
kept aglow by British intrigue. This spark was the never ending demand
for new lands by the western settlers, which resulted in the attempts of
the government to satisfy this demand by gaining new land cessions from
the Indians.
Governor Harrison, on assuming his office, proceeded promptly to enter
into treaty agreements with the Indians for the purchase of their large
tracts of land in what are now the states of Indiana and Illinois. This
was in accordance with President Jefferson’s objective, the acquisition
from the Indians of the whole territory east of the Mississippi.
Harrison sent word to the Indians to meet him at Fort Wayne in the
summer of 1803 for the first of his important treaty councils. By June 7
of that year, he completed his task, having secured from the Eel River
Miamis, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, and Wea tribes a large tract of
land around Vincennes, as well as the valuable salt spring on the Saline
Creek. This treaty had been brought to a successful conclusion for the
United States through a combination of Harrison’s shrewdness and
stubbornness in bargaining, the financial backing of the factory at Fort
Wayne, and the influence of Capt. Wells over Little Turtle. Although
Harrison and Johnston obtained the cooperation of Wells in gaining the
consent of the Indians, the agent, for the most part, strove against any
cession of lands by the Indians. Wells went so far as to instigate the
Indians to protest to the national government against a treaty Harrison
concluded with the Delawares and Piankashaws the following year.[51]
Between Colonel Johnston, the factor, and Wells, the agent, there was no
coordination of purpose or even good will. Outside of the fact that the
conflicting duties of their respective positions involved them in
quarrels, Wells and Johnston seemed to have been mutually antagonistic,
and each put the worst interpretation on the other’s actions when
writing to their superiors. Wells felt that Johnston’s policy of trying
to win an active alliance with the Indians for the United States in the
event of war with Great Britain was in effect evidence of Johnston’s
gullibility in dealing with the red men. Even after the battle of
Tippecanoe, Johnston gave arms and ammunition to the Indians who had
participated in the affair. Wells knew the Indians well, and realized
that in the event of war the best that could be expected would be that
they would remain neutral. On the other hand, Johnston felt that Wells
was completely unprincipled and could not be trusted.
Johnston’s opinion of Wells was shared by Governor Harrison, who
nevertheless realized the agent’s great ability in dealing with the
Indians. Harrison wrote of Wells on one occasion, “My knowledge of his
character induces me to believe that he will go any length and use any
means to carry a favorite point and much mischief may ensue from his
knowledge of the Indians, his cunning and perservance.”[52] In all
matters, Wells and Little Turtle were in agreement, and while the
latter’s influence with his fellow tribesmen had diminished considerably
with the rise of a new generation, he was still a force to be reckoned
with in any treaty negotiations. It is almost certain that neither Wells
or Little Turtle intended to arouse the Indians to war against the
advance of the tide of settlers, yet they were ready to oppose
Harrison’s objectives at the various treaty councils.
Although Harrison indicated in his correspondence with the Secretary of
War that he knew the reasons behind Wells’ action in opposing most of
the land cessions, the Governor’s letters do not definitely reveal what
he meant. In an indefinite manner, Harrison ascribed the reason for
Wells’ action to the agent’s attachment for Little Turtle, mingled with
a jealousy of the Governor. Harrison apparently felt that Wells had a
personal animosity toward him, and that Wells’ opposition was intended
to discredit him.[53] In one letter to the Secretary of War Harrison
suggested that Wells was profiting dishonestly from his position as
Indian agent at Fort Wayne. He wrote:
I am really of the opinion that the Turtle, the Five Medals, and two
or three others receive much the greater part of the annuities and
provisions which are intended for and said to be given to the
Potawatomies and Miamis and I am by no means certain that Wells
himself does not largely participate. The fact is admitted that he
makes more money than any other man in the Territory. Mr. Johnston
told Col. Vigo that he [Wells] cleared last upwards of $6000. How he
can do this honestly I am at a loss to know.[54]
Concerning the reason for Little Turtle’s opposition to further land
cessions on the part of the Indians, Harrison is more definite in his
convictions. In 1803, the Governor wrote of Little Turtle:
“Conscious of his superiority of his Talents over the rest of his race
and colour he sighs for a more conspicuous theatre to display them.
Opportunities for exhibiting his eloquence occur too seldom to satisfy
his vanity.... A chosen connexion among the neighbouring Tribes and a
regular convention of their chiefs has been long the ruling wish of
his heart and the object of numberless intrigues.”[55]
Assuming that Harrison was correct about Little Turtle’s ambition to
form an Indian confederation, it is interesting to observe that had the
Miami chief succeeded rather than Tecumseh, the league formed would have
been inclined toward peace rather than war with the United States.
Following the Treaty of Greenville Little Turtle often objected to
further cessions of land, yet, at the same time, he endeavored to induce
the red men to lay aside the tomahawk and scalping knife and take up the
peaceful tools of agriculture. This fact made him unacceptable to the
majority of Indians, as Harrison himself admitted at a later date. “It
was the rock upon which the popularity of Tecumseh was founded”, he
wrote, “and that upon which the influence of Little Turtle was
wrecked.”[56]
The truth of this assertion is made plain in the report of the visit of
two Quakers who, in response to an appeal by Little Turtle, came to Fort
Wayne in 1804 to attempt to introduce the best methods of agriculture
among the Indians. From the official report of Gerard T. Hopkins to his
church, the story as here reviewed has been obtained.[57] Mr. Hopkins
was accompanied by George Ellicott, also of the Society of Friends, and
Philip Dennis, a practical farmer who was engaged to serve as
instructor.
The Quakers arrived at Fort Wayne on March 30 and were conducted to
Captain Whipple, then commandant of the fort, to whom they presented a
letter of introduction and recommendation from Henry Dearborn, Secretary
of War. This letter was a liberal commendation of the committee and
their motives. General Dearborn was personally acquainted with the
members of the committee, was in hearty sympathy with their mission, and
rode on horseback from Washington to Ellicott’s home, a distance of
forty miles to present the letter to the committee before leaving.
The Quakers were surprised to find that no attention was given, either
in the fort or the Indian village, to the proper observance of the
Sabbath day. The Friends were entertained by John Johnston, and there
the chiefs took supper with the mission committee. Under the guidance of
Captain Wells the following days, the Friends went over the lands most
suitable for cultivation, and at the same time observed the most
historic places and listened to the stories as told by Wells of the
Indian villages and of Harmar’s and St. Clair’s defeats.
The rides to the country included visits to large sugar camps and the
“prairie” between the St. Mary’s and Little River, the distance from one
to the other being but four miles in the then swampy land; and the
watershed ridge but five feet high with reports of canoes passing over
in highest stages of water. The subject of a canal through this ridge
was also mentioned. Indians were constantly coming and going, the women
carrying the burdens of packs of skins and bark boxes of maple sugar
each weighing about fifty pounds.
The next day Little Turtle and the other chiefs assembled at the home of
Captain Wells, and there arrangements were made for Dennis to remain
with the Indians and establish a farm. The attempt to educate the
Indians to till the soil was undertaken at a point on the Wabash river
about twenty miles southwest of Fort Wayne. After the departure of the
Quakers, Dennis continued his efforts but only one or, at the most, two
of the Indians could be induced to help him. After a year, Dennis
returned to Maryland, and as no one could be induced to take his place
the project was left in the hands of Wells, who had a contract to supply
the Indians with fence rails for the farms.
The Indians were in no mood to give their attention to the tilling of
the soil. Trouble of a subdued nature portended serious conflicts for
the future. On April 26, 1805, Harrison wrote to the Secretary of War
that he felt it was necessary for him to proceed to Fort Wayne to
investigate the complaints arising from the Indians threat. These
complaints centered chiefly around the treaty concluded with the
Delawares and Piankashaws in 1804. The Miamis maintained that they
should have shared in the benefits of the treaty as part owners of the
land sold, while the Delawares felt that they had not received enough in
the way of annuities for the land. Harrison suspected that these
complaints arose primarily through the instigation of Wells and Little
Turtle and had determined to investigate Wells’ activities as well as
the grievances.
Harrison, however, decided not to go personally to Fort Wayne,
explaining that it “would be a sacrifice of that dignity and authority
which is necessary to observe in all our transactions with the
Indians.”[58] In his stead, Harrison dispatched General John Gibson,
secretary of Indiana Territory and Colonel Francis Vigo,[59] who on
their arrival met strong opposition from Wells and Little Turtle. These
two, viewing the visit of Gibson and Vigo with evident suspicion,
addressed a letter to the former in which they demanded his credentials.
Lieutenant Brownson, in temporary command of Fort Wayne, remarked to the
Governor’s agents that he had heard Wells repeatedly say the Indians
were very much imposed on in the late treaty. In a private conversation
the Miami chief, Richardville, told Colonel Vigo that he was quite
surprised to hear an officer who had taken an oath to support the
Government of the United States, express himself in the manner Wells
had. Richardville also informed them that the Little Turtle, in the
presence of Wells, had produced a paper and requested Richardville to
sign it. Being a remonstrance in favor of Wells, Richardville refused to
sign it, saying, “if Mr. Wells had behaved well there was no occasion to
write to the president in his favour that he did not wish to interfere
in matters which belonged entirely to the White people, and that he, the
Little Turtle, had frequently wrote letters to the president, without
their being consulted or asked to sign them.”[60]
Vigo and Gibson were convinced that a certain Peter Audrian had
conspired with Wells and Little Turtle in the affair. Audrian was an
influential French trader at Detroit, who during his lifetime held the
governmental positions of judge, prothonotary, and land commissioner. At
this time he had an advantageous contract from Wells to furnish the log
rails for the farms of the Indians. In one year alone the Indians
purchased 63,000 rails from Audrian, many more than were actually
needed.[61]
In their report to Governor Harrison, Gibson and Vigo concluded:
“... no noise or clamor respecting the treaty last summer with the
Delawares ... would have been made had it not been occasioned by the
Little Turtle and Wells, the latter of whom seems more attentive to
the Indians than the people of the United States.”[62]
In his report to the Secretary of War, Harrison added that Wells’
services were highly useful and that he discharged his duties on
occasions with great zeal and industry. Early in August, 1805, Wells,
accompanied by Little Turtle, came to Vincennes. “Both are here,” wrote
Harrison to Dearborn, “and I have received from each a positive
assurance of a friendly dispostion as well toward the government as
myself individually. With Captain Wells, I have had an explanation, and
have agreed to a general amnesty and act of oblivion for the past.”[63]
Notwithstanding this seemingly peaceful settlement of the difficulty,
the official relationship between Wells and the governor remained
strained, and we find Harrison as late as April 23, 1811, writing to the
new Secretary of War, Eustis:
“Could I be allowed to dispose of Wells as I thought proper, my first
wish would be to place him in the interiour of our settlement where he
would never see and scarcely hear of an Indian. But as this is
impossible, from his being located in such a manner at Fort Wayne,
that he cannot be removed without a very considerable expense, my next
wish is to get such an appointment as he could consider an object,
where he might be used to advantage, but at the same time so limited
as to prevent his doing mischief.”[64]
While Governor Harrison was doing his utmost to secure more territory
from the Indians, he did not wish the newly purchased lands to fall into
the hands of unscrupulous traders who used the bargaining power of
whiskey to rob the Indians of their furs. This was especially true of
the United States land around Fort Wayne, which was too distant from
Vincennes to be under his effective control. When, in 1805, Harrison
heard that it was intended to sell the government land around Fort Wayne
immediately, he objected strongly. “I am very certain,” he wrote to the
Secretary of War, “that the money which will be put into the Treasury by
the sale of it will not counterbalance the inconveniences which will
arise from having it settled with the description of people who will
naturally buy it.”[65] He then pointed out that Fort Wayne was too far
removed from any other settlement to entice American farmers to go
there, and in all probability, only Indian traders would buy the land
and would thus be out of the reach of the laws of the United States
regulating Indian trade and commerce. He conceded that the Fort Wayne
was fertile enough for farming and concluded by saying, “If the
immediate settlement of it is an object I think it would be better to
sell it by contract upon the condition that there would be within a
given time a certain number of American farmers upon it.”[66]
The government officials apparently accepted Harrison’s advice since the
proposal to sell the Fort Wayne lands was laid aside. It is fortunate
that this land was not sold, for it is unlikely that any farmers would
have been attracted to this remote spot in northern Indiana during the
forthcoming years of Indian difficulties on the frontier. If any
settlers had come, it is doubtful that they could have survived the War
of 1812. Consequently, Fort Wayne was destined to remain until the end
of that war primarily a government outpost of diplomacy, defense, and
trade, represented by the Indian agency, the military garrison, and the
government factory. There were a few farms of value, such as those of
Wells and the officers, but while the land was fertile, the market was
too distant for the crops to bring any considerable return. The
civilians living in the neighborhood were, for the most part, French
families who still found the fur trade profitable, along with a few
American traders and sutlers. None of these people held any title to the
lands they occupied.
[1]Lieut. John Boyer, “Daily Journal of Wayne’s Campaign,” _Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections_, XXXIV, 554.
[2]T. B. Helm, _History of Allen County, Indiana_, p. 37.
[3]Lieut. William Clark, famous explorer of the great Northwest, was an
officer in Wayne’s Legion at the time of the construction of Fort
Wayne.
[4]Lieut. Boyer, _loc. cit._, p. 556.
[5]Wayne to Knox, Oct. 17, 1794, quoted in Charles Slocum. _Op. cit._,
p. 217.
[6]Lieut. Boyer, _loc. cit._, p. 561.
[7]Charles Slocum, _op. cit._, p. 221.
[8]Hamtramck to Wayne, Aug. 13, 1795, Hamtramck Papers, Burton
Historical Collection.
[9]Hamtramck to Wayne, Dec. 5, 1794, _Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Collections_, XXXLV, 734.
[10]Concerning Jacques Lasselle see _Above_, [p. 14.]
[11]Charlotte Reeve Conover, _Concerning the Forefathers_, p. 69.
[12]Harry Wildes, _Anthony Wayne_, p. 438.
[13]H. S. Knapp, _op. cit._, p. 357.
[14]_Ibid._, p. 357.
[15]Otho Winger, _The Last of the Miamis_, p. 8.
[16]Comte De Volney, _View of the Climate and Soil of the United States
of America_, p. 413.
[17]Hamtramck to Wayne, July 18, 1793, Hamtramck Papers, Penn Historical
Society, microfilm at Burton Historical Collection.
[18]Milo N. Quaife, _Chicago From Indian Wigwam to Modern City_, p. 122.
[19]Harry Wildes, _op. cit._, p. 435.
[20]_Indiana Historical Collections, XV, Fort Wayne Gateway of the West,
Garrison Orderly Books, Indian Agency Account Book_, ed. Bert J.
Griswold, p. 87 ff.
[21]Philip Ostrander to George Hoffman, Oct. 4, 1807, Kingsbury Papers,
Chicago Historical Society Library.
[22]John Whipple to J. Kingsbury, Sept. 10, 1804, Kingsbury Papers,
Chicago Historical Society Library.
[23]_Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections_, VIII, 445.
[24]Comte de Volney, _op. cit._, p. 332.
[25]_Fort Wayne Garrison Orderly Books_, _IHC_, XV, ed. B. J. Griswold,
pp. 173-4, 150, 251, 255, 281-6.
[26]Francis Parkman, _The Conspiracy of Pontiac_, I, 260, 280.
[27]These two roads later came to be called Columbia and Barr streets.
For a long time Wayne’s Trace was known as the “Bloody Path” because
of Harmar’s and St. Clair’s defeats along this route.
[28]_IHC_, XV, _Fort Wayne Orderly Books_, ed. Griswold, pp. 201-2.
[29]Wells to Hamtramck, Oct. 29, 1801, Hamtramck Papers, Burton
Historical Library.
[30]Although slavery was forbidden in the Indiana Territory by the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787, government officials and army officers
stationed at Fort Wayne occasionally kept one or two blacks as
slaves. This practice existed at other posts and in the case of Fort
Snelling, Minnesota led to the series of events behind the famous
Dred Scott decision in 1857.
[31]Wilkinson to Major James Bruff, June 18, 1797, _American State
Papers, Miscellaneous Affairs_, Vol. I, p. 586.
[32]General Orders, July 9, 1797, General Orders—General James
Wilkinson, 1797-1808 War Department Archives, Old Records Division,
Photostat in Burton Historical Collection.
[33]Frances B. Heitman, _Historical Register and Dictionary of the
United States Army, from its organization September 29, 1789 to
March 2, 1903_, I, 557.
[34]Gerard T. Hopkins, _A Mission to the Indians from the Committee of
Baltimore Yearly Meeting to Fort Wayne in 1804_, p. 55.
[35]Dearborn to Col. Kingsbury, July 9, 1803, and Dearborn to Burbeck
July 20, 1803, Kingsbury Papers, Chicago Historical Society Library.
[36]Pike to Kingsbury, June 29, 1803, Kingsbury Papers, Chicago
Historical Society Library.
[37]Gerard T. Hopkins, _op. cit._, p. 60.
[38]_See below_, pp. [p 64-68.]
[39]Comte de Volney, _op. cit._, p. 401.
[40]Hamtramck to Wells; June 27, 1796, Hamtramck Papers, Burton
Historical Collection.
[41]Wells to Hamtramck, March 15, 1797, Hamtramck Papers, Burton
Historical Collection.
[42]Charlotte Reeve Conover, _Concerning the Forefathers, being a memoir
... of two pioneers, Colonel Robert Patterson and Colonel John
Johnson_, p. 52.
[43]_ASP, Indian Affairs_, II, 82-5.
[44]_IHC, XV, Indian Agency Account Book_, ed. Bert Griswold, pp.
453-466.
[45]Charlotte Reeve Conover, _op. cit._, p. 42; _ASP, Indian Affairs_,
II, 84.
[46]_IHC_, XV, _Fort Wayne Orderly Books_, ed. Bert Griswold, pp. 268-9.
[47]_ASP, Indian Affairs_, I, 773.
[48]_Ibid._, p. 791.
[49]_IHC_, XV, _Indian Agency Account Book_, pp. 660, 650, 637, 618,
581.
[50]Wells to Hamtramck, November 3, 1800, Hamtramck Papers, Burton
Historical Collection.
[51]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
80.
[52]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
125.
[53]_Ibid._, p. 81.
[54]_Ibid._, pp. 148-9.
[55]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
81.
[56]Calvin Young, _Little Turtle_, p. 175.
[57]cf. Gerard T. Hopkins, _A Mission to the Indians from the Committee
of Baltimore Yearly Meeting to Fort Wayne in 1804_.
[58]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
133.
[59]Francis Vigo was a Sardinian adventurer who came to America with a
Spanish regiment. He was unstinting with his aid to George Rogers
Clark before and after the capture of Vincennes by the Americans.
Harrison considered Vigo as one of his most valuable assistants.
[60]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
146.
[61]Wells to Friends at Baltimore, May 10, 1805, quoted in Kathryn
Troxel, “A Quaker Mission Among the Indians”, _Old Fort News_, VII,
(1942) 11.
[62]_IHC_, VII, _Harrison’s Messages and Letters_, ed. Logan Esarey, p.
146.
[63]_Ibid._, p. 161.
[64]_Ibid._, pp. 508-9.
[65]_Ibid._, p. 149.
[66]_Ibid._, p. 149.