NINE YEARS OF GARRISON LIFE
The privations and loneliness of life at the new post on the Chicago
River in the years following 1803 can be imagined by most readers only
with difficulty. Only those who have experienced the deadly dullness
of military routine at an isolated station can appreciate it properly.
All witnesses agree in testifying to the overpowering loneliness of
life under such conditions as prevailed at Fort Dearborn from 1803
to 1812. "In compassion to a poor devil banished to another planet,"
wrote Governor St. Clair, from Cincinnati, to Alexander Hamilton, in
1795, "tell me what is doing in yours, if you can snatch a moment from
the weighty cares of your office."[373] One day in October, 1817, a
year after the establishment of the second Fort Dearborn, Samuel A.
Storrow, who was making a tour through the Northwest, appeared on the
north bank of the Chicago River, and shortly after entered the fort,
where he was received "as one arrived from the moon."[374] A British
officer, writing from Mackinac in 1796, laments as follows: "You talk
of your place being duller than ever, &c, believe me it cannot be put
in competition with ours for dullness, jealousy, and envy, with all the
etceteras mentioned in yours."[375] And Captain Heald, writing from
Fort Dearborn in June, 1810, within a few days of his taking command
there, announces that unless he can obtain a leave of absence to go to
New England the coming autumn he will resign the service, and leave the
command to another. It is a good place for a man with a family, who can
be content to "live so remote from the civilized part of the world."
[Footnote 373: Smith, _The St. Clair Papers_, II, 318.]
[Footnote 374: _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, VI, 179.]
[Footnote 375: _Michigan Pioneer Collections_, XII, 211.]
The little establishment at Fort Dearborn constituted a miniature
world, with interests and ambitions quite detached from those of the
larger world outside. The principal means of contact with the latter
was afforded by the traders who passed through Chicago, proceeding with
their merchandise to the Indian country or returning therefrom with the
fruits of their barter. They brought the news of the outside world to
the inmates of the garrison and surrounding cabins. Each year a vessel
from Detroit or Mackinac brought a supply of merchandise to the traders
at Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Joseph, and took back the stock of furs
accumulated by them.[376] Aside from these visits there were official
communications from time to time between the commanding officers of the
little group of northwestern posts, to which Fort Dearborn belonged,
and advantage was taken of the opportunity thus presented to transmit
letters and items of private import. Occasionally, too, the brig,
"Adams," constituting the chief part of Commodore Brevoort's "navy of
the lakes," would pay a visit to Chicago. It must have been an occasion
of rare excitement in the lives of the inmates of Fort Dearborn when
Kingsbury passed through Chicago with a company of troops in the spring
of 1805, on his way to superintend the establishment of Fort Belle
Fontaine near the mouth of the Missouri River.[377]
[Footnote 376: Antoine le Claire's statement in _Wisconsin Historical
Collections_, XI, 239-40.]
[Footnote 377: For the facts concerning this expedition see the
_Kingsbury Papers_, letter book, _passim_.]
Only belated rumors of the events of the outside world ordinarily
penetrated the seclusion of Fort Dearborn. From November until May
it was as isolated as though on another planet. We have in epitome
the story of the failure of one attempt, made by Captain Whistler in
December, 1809, to break this isolation. He obtained a month's leave of
absence to journey to Cincinnati.[378] Today the round trip may be made
and a fair day's business transacted in twenty-four hours. Whistler
left Chicago the last of November and reached Fort Wayne December 10,
"much fatigued after 11 days wairy traveling through rain and snow."
The water was so high that his further progress was prevented. Finding
it impossible, should he proceed, to be back at his post by the end
of the month, he prepared to return to Fort Dearborn, grateful to his
superior for the opportunity accorded him as though he had succeeded in
making the journey.
[Footnote 378: _Ibid._, Whistler to Kingsbury, December 12, 1809.]
Kingsbury's letter books, whose contents relate to the several
northwestern posts in general, are the best source of information
upon the conditions that prevailed at Fort Dearborn in this period.
In October, 1804, Kingsbury writes from Mackinac to an eastern
correspondent urging him to reply immediately, in which case the answer
will reach Mackinac by the first vessel in the spring, which will
probably arrive in May or June.[379] The answer is to be directed to
Detroit, the postmaster there having agreed to forward his mail to him
at Mackinac. A year later, when Kingsbury is at Fort Belle Fontaine,
a St. Louis friend sends him a bundle of newspapers, but requests him
to preserve them in order that the writer may have a file of "Steady
Habits" to peruse in a "Hypochrondichal hour."[380] How the inmates of
Fort Dearborn sometimes received their mail is shown by a letter of
William Burnett, the St. Joseph trader, to his Detroit correspondent in
January, 1804, in which, among other things, he mentions the receipt of
the letters and newspapers for "the doctor at Chicagou" and promises to
forward them at the first opportunity.[381]
[Footnote 379: _Ibid._, Kingsbury to Benjamin Ellis, October 16, 1804.]
[Footnote 380: _Ibid._, E. Hempstead to Kingsbury, October 17, 1805.]
[Footnote 381: _Michigan Pioneer Collections_, VIII, 547.]
The observations of the frontier officers upon the public news of the
outside world constitute an interesting part of their correspondence.
In August, 1805, Kingsbury is informed by a Mackinac correspondent
that the French and English fleets have not met, "which we consider
an Unfortunate Circumstance," as no doubt is felt of the triumph of
the British in the event of a combat.[382] The French have captured a
rich American ship near Charleston, and the public prints are full of
complaints against the President for suffering such depredations upon
American commerce. Bonaparte has gone to Italy "to extort much money
from the Italians." Another correspondent of Kingsbury sends news late
in February, 1805, of the election of Jefferson to the presidency.[383]
An item which has a familiar ring relates that "Congress have done
nothing since in Session worth mentioning that have come to our
knowledge."[384]
[Footnote 382: _Kingsbury Papers_, David Mitchell to Kingsbury, August
24, 1805.]
[Footnote 383: _Kingsbury Papers_, Clemson to Kingsbury, February 24.
1805.]
[Footnote 384: _Ibid._]
Thus the public news items run. Bonaparte has been proclaimed "Emperor
of the Gauls";[385] the death of Hamilton is announced, with regret.
Burr has fled from New York, fearing assassination. The probabilities
of a war with Spain and of a revolt in Louisiana are gravely discussed.
The traders, too, had their disputes. Shortly before Kinzie removed to
Chicago, he became involved in a business dispute with an associate
named Pattinson. The latter addressed an acrid letter to him "dictated
in such terms of impertinency that he pointly brings in question
Kenzie's character, relative to their concerns. In a word he calls
him everything but a gentleman."[386] Burnett of St. Joseph who,
though not directly implicated in the Pattinson-Kinzie quarrel, seems
to have sympathized with the latter, also became involved in the
dispute. Pattinson claimed that Burnett had insulted him by speaking
disrespectfully to his brother of his government, and by calling his
house a "hog-sty." Burnett replied that it was not his intention to
have "hurted their tender feelings," but that in the course of an
argument over the relative greatness of Great Britain and America, in
which Pattinson had made extravagant claims for the former, he took
it upon himself to contradict "this high flier." It is refreshing to
discover that at a time when our government was humiliating itself
before those of Great Britain and France, the honor of America was thus
valiantly upheld in an obscure corner of the northwestern frontier.
[Footnote 385: _Ibid._, Kingsbury to Whistler, September 10, 1804.]
[Footnote 386: _Michigan Pioneer Collections_, VIII, 546-47.]
The garrison at Chicago made what progress it might to complete the
fort and prepare for the coming winter. The work of construction was
seriously impeded, however, by the lack of necessary tools, and even
the supplies of provisions and clothing for the men were inadequate. In
July, 1804, a year after the arrival of the troops, Kingsbury learned
from Major Pike and Doctor Smith that Whistler's men were almost
destitute of clothing.[387] That the destitution extended to other
things as well is shown by his letter to Whistler informing the latter
that he has ordered a supply of clothing, kettles, stationery, hospital
stores, a whip-saw, and other things to be sent to Chicago by the brig,
"Adams." At the same time Kingsbury congratulates Whistler upon having
accomplished so much with his meager resources, with "no clothing for
the men," and without the necessary tools with which to work.
[Footnote 387: _Kingsbury Papers_, Kingsbury to Whistler, July 12,
1804.]
That the construction of the fort was not yet completed would seem to
be indicated by numerous entries in Kinzie's account book during the
summer of 1804 of the names of men who are designated as sawyers.[388]
Two weeks after Kingsbury's letter informing Whistler of the shipment
of supplies, the latter writes that they have been received.[389] But
the whip-saw can be of little use without files, for oak is the only
saw timber available at Chicago. There is clothing for the sergeants,
but no invoice of it has been sent, and until this arrives the clothing
cannot be used. Fifty-six suits of clothing have been received, but he
has sixty-six men to supply. He has two fifers but the only fife has
been lost. Watch coats are needed very badly. There has been no corn
for the public oxen all summer and none can be procured here. All of
these things may be sent by Kinzie, who is coming from Detroit in about
a month.
[Footnote 388: _Barry Transcript._]
[Footnote 389: _Kingsbury Papers_, Whistler to Kingsbury, July 26 and
27, 1804.]
Along with these homely details of toil and privation are others of
more private interest, ranging in character from grave to gay. On the
first of November, 1804, occurred the first recorded wedding of white
people at Chicago. It was, too, a society affair, for the contracting
parties were Sarah, the eldest daughter of Captain Whistler, and James
Abbott, the Detroit merchant. The proud father-in-law in announcing
the event, states that he has long known and "had a great opinion of"
the bridegroom.[390] The family genealogist records that the marriage
ceremony was performed by John Kinzie, and that the bridal couple
indulged in an overland wedding journey to Detroit, traveling on
horseback and tenting at night.[391]
[Footnote 390: _Kingsbury Papers_, Whistler to Kingsbury, November 3,
1804.]
[Footnote 391: Whistler family genealogy, MS in the Chicago Historical
Society library.]
The next day after Chicago's first wedding the family of Kingsbury
at Mackinac was gladdened by the appearance of a new daughter.[392]
In announcing the event to Colonel Hunt at Detroit, the happy father
hopes to hear of the latter being in a similar situation, unless he
happens to prefer that Mrs. Hunt should present him with a son. Shortly
afterward Kingsbury ordered from Detroit, by the first vessel in the
spring, some walnut and cherry boards and a cow and calf.[393] He
had already requested Whistler to send him some walnut planks from
Chicago.[394] Whistler responded by sending him two, but explained that
these were all he could procure and that he had not yet made a single
table for himself.[395]
[Footnote 392: _Kingsbury Papers_, Kingsbury to Hunt, November 11,
1804.]
[Footnote 393: _Ibid._, Kingsbury to Clemson, November 21, 1804.]
[Footnote 394: _Ibid._, Kingsbury to Whistler, October 16, 1804.]
[Footnote 395: _Ibid._, Whistler to Kingsbury, November 3, 1804.]
Less pleasing than the marriages and births are the reports of fever
and other ills which beset the occupants of the garrisons in the new
country. Fort Dearborn was only a year old when Whistler reported that
more than half of his men had been ill. Whipple at Fort Wayne, writing
in September, 1804, praises his new surgeon; since his arrival the sick
list which had numbered twenty-five has been materially reduced.[396]
"We have all been sick since you left this," wrote Clemson from Detroit
in October of the same year.[397] The writer had not yet recovered from
the severe attack of the fever, but expected with the assistance of
the frosty nights to regain his strength. At the same time Lieutenant
Rhea's little garrison on the Maumee was in a desperate condition. On
July 31 he reported that in addition to himself ten men out of his
force of twenty-one were ill.[398] A month later the number of sick men
remained about the same; the wife of a corporal was at the point of
death, and Rhea had sent to the River Raisin for a physician, expecting
to pay the expense himself.[399] He appeals urgently for help and for
removal. The "musketoes" are so thick that a well person cannot sleep
at night; the place was never intended "for any Christian to be posted
at."
[Footnote 396: _Ibid._, Whipple to Kingsbury, September 1, 1804.]
[Footnote 397: _Ibid._, Clemson to Kingsbury, October 27, 1804.]
[Footnote 398: _Ibid._, Rhea to Kingsbury, July 31, 1804.]
[Footnote 399: _Ibid._, Rhea to Kingsbury, August 31 and September 8,
1804.]
A year later, in July, 1805, a pathetic letter from Whistler at Fort
Dearborn announces that Mrs. Whistler is at the point of death.[400]
She is in constant pain, and frequent bleeding is the only thing that
affords her any relief. The anxious husband bravely reflects that while
there is life there is hope, but laments his unhappy state, with so
large a family of children, should he lose "so good a companion."
[Footnote 400: _Ibid._, Whistler to Kingsbury, July 12. 1805.]
In Captain Heald's journal[401] occurs the entry, "On the 4th of May,
1812, we had a son born dead for the want of a skilful Midwife."
The picture of the sorrow and tragedy concealed behind these few
words may appropriately be left, as it has been by the parent, to
the imagination. Three months later the young Kentucky bride, still
grieving we may well believe over the loss of her first-born, conducted
herself with such spirit during the terrible scenes of the massacre as
to arouse the admiration of even the savage foe.
[Footnote 401: For it see Appendix III.]
The diversions of the garrison were, naturally, but few. Fishing
and hunting, and an occasional athletic contest with the Indians who
visited the fort were the chief outdoor amusements. From its first
discovery by the French until well into the nineteenth century the
region around Chicago was a perfect hunter's paradise. When Cooper
came to Fort Dearborn in 1808 the officers and most of the civilians
possessed horses, cows, and dogs.[402] Cooper himself had two good
saddle horses, two cows, and a hunting dog. There was an abundance of
game in the immediate vicinity. Within a week of Cooper's arrival, his
dog and several others chased three deer past the post into the river.
A young soldier who was in a canoe without any weapon sprang into the
water as the deer were swimming past, caught one by the neck, and held
its head under water until it was drowned. Cooper's dog seized the
second, but the third, a large stag, gained the north bank and escaped.
[Footnote 402: Wilson, _Chicago from 1803 to 1812_.]
Not long after this Cooper and Captain Whistler, while riding out
together, came upon a large wolf within half a mile of the fort. Their
dogs took up the chase and soon brought him to bay. The officers had no
pistols, and the dogs manifested a wholesome respect for the formidable
looking teeth of the wolf, and so they were called off and the animal
allowed to go his way without further molestation. The howling of
wolves at night was a common occurrence during these years. Grouse and
other game birds were abundant, as were fish in the river and lake, so
that in the hunting season the officers spent much of their leisure
time with gun and rod.
We are indebted to Surgeon Cooper for the story of a notable athletic
contest at Chicago, the description of which stirs the blood, even
after the lapse of a hundred years.[403] Lieutenant William Whistler
was a splendid specimen of physical manhood, over six feet in height
and famous for his strength and powers of endurance. Among the visitors
at Fort Dearborn was a Pottawatomie chief of similar physique and
about the same age as Whistler. He was a great runner and enjoyed the
reputation of never having been defeated in a race. A five-mile foot
race between the two men was arranged, Whistler wagering his horse and
accouterments against the horse and trappings of the chief. Both the
red men and the soldiers of the garrison were confident of the prowess
of their respective champions. The Indians staked their ponies and
other available property on the chief and the soldiers accepted the
wagers as fast as offered. The contest, which was witnessed by several
hundred Indians and the entire garrison, was won by Whistler, after a
superb struggle, by a margin of a few yards.
[Footnote 403: _Ibid._]
The final sequel of the race, according to the same authority, came
some years later and was even more thrilling. During the War of 1812
the same chief, now serving with the British, sent a challenge to
individual combat to Lieutenant Whistler or any officer or soldier
in his command. It was promptly accepted by Whistler himself, and as
the result of the ensuing hand-to-hand combat with knife, sword, and
tomahawk, firearms not being allowed, the red man departed for the
happy hunting ground.
An account of the garrison life at Fort Dearborn in this period would
be incomplete without some reference to a drearier subject than any yet
mentioned. The personnel of the army at this time was far from high.
A considerable proportion of the men were foreigners,[404] and a far
larger number were illiterate.[405] The life at the frontier posts was
monotonous, drinking and desertions were common, and the punishment
for infractions of discipline was atrocious. We have no record of the
court martial proceedings at Fort Dearborn, but the records for some
of the other northwestern posts are painfully abundant, and a sketch
of their contents will answer as well for Fort Dearborn. The orderly
book of Anthony Wayne, who has been well described as a "furious
disciplinarian,"[406] presents a picture of corporal punishments meted
out to the soldiers at Detroit in 1797, worthy of the palmiest days of
the army of Frederick the Great.[407]
[Footnote 404: Of the fifty-nine men in Captain Whistler's company at
Fort Detroit in 1812 eighteen were foreigners. Of the fifty men in
Captain Rhea's company at Fort Wayne in 1810 fourteen were foreigners
(_Kingsbury Papers_, quarterly returns of the companies in question).]
[Footnote 405: Approximately 60 per cent of the members of Captain
Heald's company at Fort Dearborn at the close of the year 1811 were
unable to sign their names to the payroll receipts (payroll receipt of
Fort Dearborn garrison for last quarter of the year 1811, in _Heald
Papers_, Draper Collection, U, VIII, 92).]
[Footnote 406: _Detroit Tribune_, April 5, 1896.]
[Footnote 407: The orderly book is printed in Michigan Pioneer
Collections, XXXIV, 341-734. It covers the five-year period from 1792
to 1797. The cases which I have chosen for illustration all occurred at
Detroit in the last-mentioned year.]
The commonest offense charged was drunkenness, the usual penalty for
which was the public infliction of from twenty-five to one hundred
lashes, and in the case of petty officers reduction to the ranks.
Occasionally resort was had to other methods to punish and humiliate
the guilty one. One culprit, a corporal, charged with desertion,
was sentenced to walk the gauntlet six times between double ranks
of soldiery, both ranks striking at the same time.[408] Two camp
followers, a man and a woman, charged with selling liquor to a soldier
were sentenced to be drummed out of camp to the tune of the Rogues'
March, with a bottle suspended around the neck of each and the man's
left hand tied to the woman's right. In this plight they were to be
paraded past the citadel and through the barracks of the soldiery
and the principal streets of the town.[409] The man's sentence was
remitted, but that against the woman was carried into execution the
same afternoon. Still another culprit, guilty of enticing a soldier to
desert, was ordered to be given fifty lashes with "wired Catts," to
have the left side of his head and his right eyebrow close shaved, and
to be drummed with a rope around his neck through the citadel and fort
and the principal streets of the town.[410]
[Footnote 408: _Ibid._, 704.]
[Footnote 409: _Ibid._, 701-9.]
[Footnote 410: _Ibid._, 715.]
It may be supposed that the punishments inflicted under Wayne's
command were severer than those meted out at Fort Dearborn a few years
later. Yet they show what might be done by an army officer at that
time in the maintenance of discipline. The records of courts martial
at Fort Detroit under Kingsbury's régime, after Whistler's removal
thither from Fort Dearborn in 1810, probably reflect fairly the state
of affairs at Fort Dearborn.[411] In general the punishments are milder
than those formerly meted out under Wayne. The common crimes were still
drunkenness and desertion. For the former sentences of from twenty-five
to fifty lashes on the "bear back" were commonly decreed. It should be
noted that Whistler and Helm, both of whom served at Fort Dearborn,
were often members of the court by which these sentences were imposed.
[Footnote 411: _Kingsbury Papers_, records of court martial
proceedings, _passim_.]
Two specific instances will be cited, in both of which Captain Whistler
acted as president of the court martial. On May 23, 1811, Peter
Sendale, a private soldier, was tried for drunkenness. The accused
pleaded guilty, but advanced the ingenuous excuse by way of extenuation
that he had worked hard all day in the Colonel's garden, that he had
the latter's permission to go and get a drink, and that he "took a
little too much." Notwithstanding this plea he was sentenced to receive
twenty-five lashes on the "bear back." In the other case two men were
charged with desertion. They admitted the offense, but pleaded in
mitigation of it that they had repented of the act and were returning
to their post of duty when arrested. The testimony given satisfied the
court of the truth of this, yet the prisoners were sentenced to pay the
cost of their apprehension and to be confined at hard labor with ball
and chain for a period not to exceed one year. The court took occasion
to observe that the punishment was not proportioned to the heinousness
of the offense, and that its mildness was due solely to the testimony
concerning the prisoners' belated repentance.
We may now direct our attention to Fort Dearborn itself and to those
persons who composed its official family from 1803 to 1812. There
exist two contemporary pictures of the fort and its surroundings in
the year 1808, one the verbal account of Surgeon Cooper as recorded
by James Grant Wilson,[412] the other a diagram carefully drawn
to scale by Captain Whistler, and accompanied by a summary verbal
description.[413] The river at that time made a sharp turn about
an eighth of a mile from the lake, and after running in a general
southerly direction lost itself in the lake a mile south of its present
mouth. The fort was built on a slight elevation close to the bend of
the river, which enveloped it on its northern and eastern, and to some
extent on its western, sides. The barracks and other structures for
the accommodation of the garrison were built around the four sides of
a quadrangle, facing inward toward the center. Two blockhouses, one
containing two small cannon, the other containing one, stood at the
northwestern and southeastern corners of the quadrangle, and the whole
was inclosed within a double row of palisades, so arranged that the
blockhouses commanded not only the space without the four walls, but
also that inclosed between the two rows of palisades. Thus if an enemy
should scale the first row he would only find himself within a narrow
inclosure between that and the second which was swept at every point
by the fire from the blockhouses. From the northwest corner of the
stockade to the river was a distance of eighty feet, and from a point
midway of the eastern side it was sixty yards.
[Footnote 412: Wilson, _Chicago from 1803 to 1812_.]
[Footnote 413: The original is in the files of the War Department at
Washington. Because of its historical value the verbal description
which accompanies the drawing is reproduced here:
INDEX ANNEXED TO THE DRAUGHT OF FORT DEARBORN &C.
No.
1 Block Houses
2 Port Holes for Cannon
3 Loop Holes for small arms
4 Magazine
5 Inward Row of pickets
6 Outward Row of pickets
7 Main Gate
8 Wicket Gate
9 Guard House
10 Comm'g Officers Barracks
11 Officers Barracks
12 Soldiers Barracks
13 Contractors Store
14 Hospital Store
15 Asst. Military Agt. Store
16 Small Houses in the garrison
17 Agents House
18 Factors House
19 Interpreters House
20 Armerers Shop
21 Merchants Shop
22 Bake House
23 House in Factors Dept.
24 Stables
25 River Cheykago
26 Banks of said River
27 Wharf of said River
28 Low ground between said bank & River.
29 Beach between Sd. River and Lake.
30 John Kinzie Esq. House on the opisite side River
31 Oather Dwelling Houses on opisite side River
32 Old Grist Mill Worked by Horses
{ N. 33 Covered Way to procure Water } Omited in their places
{ N. 34 Gutters to carry off the Water }
Note. the Barracks are two storeys high with shingled Roofs and
Galliaries fronting the parade. The measurement of the Garrison
including the Block Houses And Barrick are laid down at' twenty
feet to the Inch the Cupolas are not yet built on the Block
Houses as laid down. The Dwelling houses mentioned in the Indian
Department are laid down at forty feet to the Inch, the oather
houses without any Regular rule. The River is not regularly
surveyed but still gives a strong Idea of Its Courses it is about
six miles in length, except in high water, at which time there is
no portage to the Illinois River.
The distances from the defirant places to the Garrison as mentioned
with Red Ink on & red lines, are accurately measured, but not laid
down by a scale. The woodland on the reserve Lyes on the north, &
west, sides of the Garrison except a small strip of woods about one
mile in length and two hundred yards in breadth. Lying on the bank
of the river south west of the Garrison. Along the Margin of Said
Woods, is good medow and supplyes the Garrison with hay. On the
North and west sides of the Garrison there has been a quantity of
underwood and shruby Bushes such as prickly Ash &c. they are now
cut down and cleared off, all within one Fourth of a Mile of the
Garrison.
On the south and southwest sides of the Garrison is a large
parraria on which stands The aforesaid strip of woods as laid down
in the Draught, and the distance from the Garrison three fourths of
a Mile. On the East side is the Lake. There has been A picket fence
on the Opisite side of the river, northwest of the Garrison as laid
Down, this fence might serve as a Barrier against the Garrison as
the pickets were five feet in length, sufficient in thickness to
prevent a Musket Ball from doing execution to an Enemy lying behind
them. I thought it proper for the safety of the Garrison to have
them taken up and replaced with a common rail fence. At this time
the Garrison (except the Houses on the Opisite side of the river
being somewhat in the way) is perfectly secure from any ambuscade
or Barrier.
The Branch that emptys into the Cheykag is considerably the
longest, and has the greatest current. The parraria on the south
and southwest as already mentioned is of great extent.
Fort Dearborn 20.th Feb.y 1808. J. Whistler Capt.
]
[Illustration: FORT DEARBORN AND VICINITY IN 1808
From the original draft by Captain Whistler in the archives of the
War Department at Washington]
Within the stockaded inclosure were the barracks for the officers and
men. They were two stories in height, with shingled roofs and covered
galleries, and occupied the middle of each side of the inclosure
facing toward the parade ground, in the center of which stood a lofty
flagstaff. The commanding officer's quarters stood on the east side,
and directly opposite were those for the subordinate officers. The main
gateway of the stockade was at the middle of the south side and was
flanked on either side by the main barracks for the common soldiers.
The building opposite was in part devoted to barracks for the soldiers
and in part to housing the contractor's store of supplies. Between
this building and the northwestern blockhouse stood the magazine,
a small structure made of brick. This alone defied the fire which
destroyed the fort at the time of the massacre. Two small houses,
one near the northeast corner of the inclosure and the other in the
corner diagonally opposite, completed the list of structures within the
stockade. The parade ground was surrounded by gutters for carrying off
the water. A small wicket gate in the stockade gave ingress and egress
near the northwestern blockhouse. From the northeast corner of the
stockade a covered way led to the river, securing thus to the garrison
access in safety to the water in time of attack.
To the south of the fort were the commanding officer's gardens in
which, in Cooper's time, melons and other small fruit and vegetables
were raised. Somewhat to the east, between the fort and the mouth
of the river, was a smaller garden and an Indian graveyard. A short
distance to the southwest were two log houses, one occupied by Matthew
Irwin, the United States factor, and the other by Charles Jouett,
the Indian agent. On the north side of the river, almost directly
opposite the fort, was the house of John Kinzie, with outbuildings
and a "Kitchen" garden. Whistler's diagram represents three houses to
the westward of Kinzie's establishment, but omits the names of their
owners. The omission is supplied by Cooper, however, who says that in
his time there were four houses on the north side, occupied by Kinzie,
Ouilmette, La Lime, and Le Mai. La Lime and Ouilmette were Frenchmen;
Le Mai was a half-breed, married to a Pottawatomie squaw.
In addition to these houses Whistler's drawing represents a
considerable number of houses and outbuildings ranged around the fort
devoted to various purposes. Among these are houses for the interpreter
and for the factor's department, an armorer's shop, a merchant's shop,
and a bake shop, besides several stables on the south side; and on the
north side, near Kinzie's place, a "Grist Mill Worked by Horses."
In the rear of the group of houses on the north side, the space between
the lake and the north branch of the river was covered with timber.
Along the east side of the South Branch, stretching southward from the
forks of the river, was another strip of timber, two hundred yards in
width and a mile long. Except for this strip of woodland, the area to
the south and southwest of the fort constituted what Whistler quaintly
designates as "a large Parraria." Along the inner margin of this
woodland lay a good meadow which supplied the garrison with hay. Close
to the forks on the south side of the main river a small field of eight
or nine acres had been reduced to cultivation and made to serve as the
company gardens and public cornfield.
It is evident from Whistler's description that he took careful
measures to prepare the fort against the possibility of a hostile
attack. The ground to the north and west was clear as far as the
woodland mentioned, which lay at a distance of three-fourths of a mile
from the fort. The east side was protected, of course, by the river
and the lake. To the west and the north the ground had originally been
covered with an undergrowth of prickly ash and other scrubby bushes,
but this had been cleared away to a distance of a quarter of a mile
from the stockade. On the north side there had been erected a heavy
picket fence, four feet in height and sufficiently strong to afford an
enemy protection against musketry fire from the fort. This Whistler
caused to be removed and replaced by a common rail fence. At the time
of making this diagram, in the winter of 1808, Whistler announced
with satisfaction that the garrison was now perfectly secure from an
ambuscade or barrier, except for the houses on the north side, which
were somewhat in the way.
It is evident that the number of civilians clustered around the fort
in the years prior to the massacre was considerably greater than has
ordinarily been supposed. Cooper says there was a house a mile to the
southeast of the fort, owned by a farmer who supplied the garrison
with butter and eggs, and one near the forks of the river occupied
by a man named Clark who was a cattle dealer. Whistler's drawing
represents two houses at the forks, one occupied by a discharged
soldier, and a house and inclosed field north of the river, belonging
to Mr. "Coursoll." There were two Courselles, one of them a well-known
trader, but the only other record of either of them being at Chicago
is the recurrence of their names in Kinzie's account books. The farmer
mentioned by Cooper was probably Lee, at whose farm on the South Branch
the preliminary massacre of April, 1812, occurred. But Cooper does
not mention the Burns family, which Mrs. Kinzie describes as living
on the North Side at the time of the massacre. In addition to these
were the houses which Whistler shows belonging to the Indian agent's
and the factor's departments. The conclusion drawn from these various
bits of evidence concerning the number of dwellers around Fort Dearborn
is confirmed by the fact that after the murders at the Lee farm,
Captain Heald enrolled fifteen militiamen from the civilian population
outside the fort. It should be noted, too, that three of the long-time
residents of Chicago, La Lime, Ouilmette, and Kinzie, were not included
in this number.
Of the officers stationed at Fort Dearborn before the massacre, the
régime of Captain John Whistler was the longest and in many respects
the most important. Whistler was descended from an old English family,
but he himself was born in Ireland, whither his immediate ancestors
removed, in 1758.[414] In a youthful freak he ran away from home and
joined the army, coming to America during the Revolution with the
troops under Burgoyne. He was thus one of the members of that general's
ill-fated army captured by the Americans at Saratoga. On his return
to England Whistler received his discharge from the army, and soon
after, forming an attachment for the daughter of one of his father's
friends, eloped with her, coming a second time to America and settling
at Hagerstown, Maryland. He entered the American army in 1791 and
served continuously on the northwestern frontier under St. Clair,
Wayne, and others, from that time until the breaking out of the War of
1812. He was commander at Fort Dearborn from 1803 to 1810, when he was
transferred to Fort Detroit, under circumstances which will shortly
demand our attention. He served under Hull in 1812 and, if family
tradition is to be credited, was so enraged over the capitulation that
he broke his sword rather than surrender it to the enemy.
[Footnote 414: Whistler family genealogy, MS in Chicago Historical
Society library.]
The founder of Fort Dearborn thus enjoyed the unique experience of
having been captured, along with the British army in which he served,
by the Americans, and thirty-five years later, as a member of Hull's
army, of being taken by the British. His connection with Chicago
history is not limited to building and commanding Fort Dearborn. His
eldest son served under him here as lieutenant for several years; his
eldest daughter, as we have seen, became Chicago's first bride; and
another daughter married Lieutenant Joseph Hamilton, who also served
under Whistler at Fort Dearborn.
William Whistler came with his father to Fort Dearborn as second
lieutenant in 1803, accompanied by his bride of a year. She was even
now but sixteen years of age, and was destined to be the last surviving
witness of the building of the first Fort Dearborn. After several years
of service here, Lieutenant Whistler was transferred to Fort Wayne.
His term of service in the army lasted sixty years, during which time
he had, according to Mrs. Whistler, but six short furloughs.[415] Like
his father he was captured along with Hull's army at Detroit. In 1845
he became colonel of the Fourth Infantry, the regiment to which General
Grant belonged during the Mexican War; and in after life the famous
general told many anecdotes concerning his former commander.[416]
[Footnote 415: Hurlbut, _Chicago Antiquities_, 27.]
[Footnote 416: Heitman, _Dictionary of the United States Army_, I, 470,
1026; Wilson, _Chicago from 1803 to 1812_.]
Two other descendants of Captain John Whistler demand attention at this
point. George Washington Whistler was a toddling child three years of
age when the commander brought his family to the new home in the summer
of 1803. Here, on the banks of the Chicago River, during the next few
years the child developed into sturdy boyhood. At the age of nineteen
he graduated from West Point and was assigned to the artillery branch
of the service. Until 1833, when he resigned his commission, he was
engaged largely in engineering and topographical enterprises. After
his resignation from the army he rose to eminence as an engineer,
and during the remainder of his life was engaged in many important
enterprises. In 1842 he went to Russia to enter the service of the Czar
in the construction of the railroad from St. Petersburg to Moscow. In
recognition of his services in this and other engineering enterprises
in Russia Emperor Nicholas in 1847 conferred upon him the decoration of
the Order of St. Anne.[417]
[Footnote 417: On George Washington Whistler see Vose, _Sketch of the
Life and Works of George W. Whistler, Civil Engineer_.]
A son of the famous engineer, James Abbott McNeil Whistler, achieved
in the realm of art an even greater reputation than had his father
in that of engineering. Whistler's artistic achievements are so well
known that there is no need to discuss them here. His connection with
Fort Dearborn is not so commonly understood, although the very names
he bore served constantly to advertise it. James Abbott was Chicago's
first bridegroom, who, as we have seen, married Sarah Whistler here in
the fall of 1804. The artist himself never saw Chicago, but with the
exception of West Point there was no other place in the United States
in which he was so much interested.[418] He regarded his grandfather
as the founder of Chicago, and more than once lamented his failure to
visit the place.
[Footnote 418: Statements of General James Grant Wilson, January 7,
1908, in letter to Chicago Historical Society library. Wilson was a
personal acquaintance of Whistler.]
The connection of James Strode Swearingen, the youthful second
lieutenant who conducted the troops from Detroit to Chicago in the
summer of 1803, with Fort Dearborn was but brief. Because of the
physical infirmity of Captain Whistler, Swearingen offered to lead the
troops from Detroit to Chicago for him, and this made it possible for
Whistler to proceed around the lakes on the sailboat, "Tracy."[419]
With the arrival of the troops at Chicago Swearingen's duty was
discharged. He accordingly returned to Detroit on the "Tracy" and there
rejoined his company. He retired from the army in 1815, owing to the
importunity of his wife, and settled at Chillicothe. Ohio, where he
lived in affluence until his death in 1864.[420]
[Footnote 419: Swearingen's account of the expedition from Detroit
to Chicago in 1803, MS in Chicago Historical Society library,
_Proceedings_, 1856-64, 348.]
[Footnote 420: Heitman, _Dictionary of the United States Army_, I, 939;
Wilson, Chicago from 1803 to 1812.]
Doctor William C. Smith, the first surgeon at Fort Dearborn, was
succeeded in 1808 by John Cooper, who was sent here immediately after
he entered the service. Cooper's grandfather fought under Wolfe at
Quebec, and was near his leader when he fell.[421] The grandson was
born at Fishkill, New York, in 1786. He came to Fort Dearborn by way
of Albany and Buffalo, where he boarded the brig, "Adams," commanded
by Commodore Brevoort. The voyage across Lake Erie consumed a week,
and another week, including stops, was spent in passing through the
River and Lake St. Clair and on to Mackinac. After several days' delay
at the latter place the brig proceeded by way of Green Bay to Chicago,
which was reached in three days. After three years' service at Fort
Dearborn, Cooper resigned from the army and returned to the East by way
of the overland route to Detroit, which had been followed by the troops
under Swearingen eight years before. The journey to Detroit required
fourteen days. From Detroit he went by way of Fort Wayne and Pittsburgh
to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he made his home and practiced his
profession for over half a century, dying in 1863.[422]
[Footnote 421: Wilson, _op. cit._]
[Footnote 422: _Ibid._]
The year 1810 saw the culmination at Fort Dearborn of a garrison
quarrel which resulted in the dispersion of the official family far
and wide and the appearance of a new set of officials at the post.
It might be supposed that the sense of isolation and the need of
mutual assistance would bind together the little group of inmates of a
frontier post, such as Fort Dearborn, as with bands of steel. But, alas
for erring human nature, all too often conditions quite the contrary
prevailed. "When society is thin," wrote the same British officer from
Mackinac whose complaint in 1796 of the dullness, envy, and jealousy in
existence there has already been noted, "I agree with you. They should
make the most of it, but I don't know how it is. I have always found it
the reverse...."[423] "The Amusements have not been general this Winter
in Detroit. Indeed there has been none worth mentioning. Society a good
deal divided," runs a letter to Kingsbury in the winter of 1805.[424]
[Footnote 423: _Michigan Pioneer Collections_, XII, 211.]
[Footnote 424: _Kingsbury Papers_, Clemson to Kingsbury, February 24,
1805.]
As early as the autumn of 1804 a quarrel developed among the garrison
officers of Fort Dearborn. The details left us are meager, but we know
that Lieutenant Campbell raised charges against Doctor Smith,[425]
who in turn preferred charges against Lieutenant Whistler,[426] and
that Captain Whistler placed Smith under arrest.[427] Thus, to quote
from a contemporary letter, "a flame" was "kindled at Chicago."[428]
Unfortunately for the historian. Captain Whistler found the affair "to
disagreeable" for him to report, further than the bare announcement of
the surgeon's arrest.[429] Possibly the difficulty was settled by the
elimination of Lieutenant Campbell, for he resigned from the army a
few months later,[430] while both Smith and the Whistlers continued to
serve at Fort Dearborn for several years.
[Footnote 425: _Ibid._, Smith to Kingsbury, November 3, 1804; Clemson
to Kingsbury, October 27, 1804.]
[Footnote 426: _Ibid._, Clemson to Kingsbury, October 27, 1804.]
[Footnote 427: _Kingsbury Papers_, Whistler to Kingsbury, November 3,
1804.]
[Footnote 428: _Ibid._, Clemson to Kingsbury, October 27, 1804.]
[Footnote 429: _Ibid._, Whistler to Kingsbury, November 3, 1804.]
[Footnote 430: Heitman, _Dictionary of the United States Army_, I, 276.]
The feud which culminated in 1810 was far more serious. Our sources of
information are scanty as to the origin of the quarrel, but fuller and
more satisfactory for its course and conclusion. That there existed a
rivalry at Fort Dearborn over the garrison trade, and that this rivalry
was the cause of the feud, is clear. As early as the summer of 1807
Kinzie and John Whistler, Jr., a younger son of the commander, entered
into a partnership for the purpose of supplying this trade.[431] The
connection lasted until August 21, 1809, when for some reason not
now known it was dissolved.[432] That some discord had developed is,
however, reasonably apparent from what followed. Six weeks after the
dissolution, Doctor Cooper, who had become the firm friend of Captain
Whistler,[433] sought and obtained permission from the Secretary of War
to suttle for the garrison.[434]
[Footnote 431: _Barry Transcript_, entry for July 26, 1807; _Kingsbury
Papers_, Matthew Irwin to Kingsbury, April 29, 1810. That it was John
Whistler, Jr., who was Kinzie's partner is apparent from the county
records at Detroit cited by Hurlbut, _Chicago Antiquities_, 469.]
[Footnote 432: _Barry Transcript_, entry for August 21, 1809.]
[Footnote 433: Wilson, _Chicago from 1803 to 1812_. On leaving Fort
Dearborn in 1810, Whistler presented Cooper a pistol and a copy of
Shenstone's poems. The latter was given by Cooper to General James
Grant Wilson, and he in turn presented it to the Chicago Historical
Society. Cooper wrote to Kingsbury at the time of the quarrel that
he was willing to sell his life to prove Whistler's innocence of the
charges against him (_Kingsbury Papers_). The date and salutation of
this letter have been cut off, but it was evidently written soon after
May 26, 1810.]
[Footnote 434: _Drennan Papers_, Nicoll to Whistler and Cooper,
November 1, 1809.]
To "suttle" meant to supply the soldiers with articles not furnished
them by the government. Shortly after Cooper's arrival at Fort Dearborn
Matthew Irwin had been appointed Government factor, to conduct the
Indian trading establishment at Chicago.[435] He seems also to have
held, as did Varnum, the former factor, the appointment of Government
contractor for supplying the garrison with such provisions as were
furnished the soldiers by the government.[436] The privilege which
Cooper had obtained of suttling for the garrison interfered not only
with Irwin's profits but also with those of Kinzie, who, until the
dissolution of the partnership with the younger Whistler, had enjoyed
this trade. Irwin and Kinzie soon drew together in opposition to
Captain Whistler, whom they seem rightly to have regarded as the real
power behind Cooper. For some reason Jouett, the Indian agent, and
Lieutenant Thompson joined the Irwin-Kinzie coalition; Lieutenant
Hamilton, who was Whistler's son-in-law, of course sided with the
latter, and the quarrel soon became furious.
[Footnote 435: _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, XIX, 326.]
[Footnote 436: That Irwin held this appointment is shown by his letters
to Kingsbury; _e.g._, see letter of April 29, 1810, in _Kingsbury
Papers_. My conclusion that Varnum had been contractor as well as
factor is based on certain entries in the _Barry Transcript_.]
Irwin claimed that Whistler and his adherents combined in a policy
of persecution calculated to force him to give up his position as
contractor in order that Whistler's son might regain it.[437] Whistler,
on the other hand, asserted that the "malignant wretches" opposed
to him, particularly Jouett, were guilty of defrauding the public;
as for Lieutenant Thompson, he was a mere tool in the hands of his
associates, who despised him even while they used him.[438] Jouett had
told of his running away to escape paying his landlord, and Whistler
stated he had acknowledged himself a "Liar" in the presence of all the
gentlemen of the fort and its vicinity. Cooper bore a challenge to a
duel from Lieutenant Hamilton to Kinzie, which the latter declined to
accept, contenting himself with roundly cursing both principal and
second.[439] Half a century later Cooper described the trader as a man
of ungovernable temper, who frequently engaged in bitter quarrels.
[Footnote 437: _Kingsbury Papers_, Irwin to Kingsbury, April 29, 1810.
The obnoxious conduct of Whistler, Hamilton, and Cooper is detailed at
considerable length in this letter.]
[Footnote 438: _Ibid._, Whistler to Kingsbury, May 27, 1810.]
[Footnote 439: Wilson, _Chicago from 1803 to 1812_.]
The opposition to Whistler, determined to drive him from Chicago if
not from the army, preferred charges against him to Kingsbury and
demanded a court martial. Among other things, aside from the claim
that he had conspired with Hamilton and Cooper to force Irwin to
give up his office, it was claimed that he had beaten a soldier for
not trading with his son,[440] and had defrauded the government by
raising ten acres of corn,[441] apparently by the labor of soldiers.
On the other hand Cooper preferred charges against Thompson which he
believed would inevitably "brake" him.[442] It is not possible with the
information available to decide the question of right between the two
warring parties, but it is significant that Whistler and later Captain
Heald, both of whom incurred the enmity of Kinzie, repeatedly received
testimonials of confidence from their brother officers. Captain Heald,
who succeeded Whistler at Fort Dearborn, reported that he had found
everything in good condition and believed that Whistler had paid
"particular Attention to every Part of his duty" during the time he
had commanded there.[443] He also refuted the charge of Whistler's
enemies that he had been in the habit of raising large quantities of
corn. Kingsbury, Whistler's immediate superior, also testified to his
belief in his integrity, and in the falsity of the charges against him,
and Varnum, who had been factor at Fort Dearborn from 1805 to 1808,
expressed approval of Whistler's conduct during that time.[444] In
harmony with this favorable testimony are the observations of William
Johnston,[445] who journeyed from Fort Wayne to Chicago in the spring
of 1809. He recorded that Fort Dearborn was "the neatest and best
wooden garrison in the United States," a fact which did "great honor to
Capt. John Whistler who planned and built it." The observant visitor
also records that Whistler had under him, at the time of his visit, the
same men as when he built the fort. Although their term of enlistment
had expired they had all re-enlisted--a sure sign that Whistler was a
good officer.
[Footnote 440: _Drennan Papers_, Kingsbury to Nicoll, February 15,
1811.]
[Footnote 441: _Kingsbury Papers_, Heald to Kingsbury, May 31, 1810;
Kingsbury to Heald, June 11, 1810.]
[Footnote 442: _Kingsbury Papers_, letter of Cooper to Kingsbury cited
in note 433.]
[Footnote 443: _Ibid._, Heald to Kingsbury, May 31, 1810.]
[Footnote 444: _Drennan Papers_, Kingsbury to Nicoll, February 15,
1811.]
[Footnote 445: "Notes of a Tour from Fort Wayne to Chicago, 1809," MS
in Chicago Historical Society library.]
The outcome of the quarrel was, on the whole, a triumph for Whistler's
enemies. Rather than bring Whistler and Thompson to trial on the
charges preferred against them, the War Department decided on a general
scattering of the officers at Fort Dearborn. In April, 1810, Whistler
was sent to Detroit, and Hamilton to Fort Belle Fontaine. Captain Rhea,
whose company at Detroit was given to Whistler, was sent to Fort Wayne
to relieve Captain Nathan Heald, who, in turn, succeeded Whistler at
Fort Dearborn.[446] Thompson and Cooper remained at Fort Dearborn, but
the latter's privilege to suttle was withdrawn by special order of
the Secretary of War.[447] Jouett and Irwin, the Indian agent and the
factor, remained at Fort Dearborn. The atmosphere was now thoroughly
uncongenial to Cooper, who soon resigned from the army in disgust,
being unwilling to remain in a service where one could be so easily
injured in the opinion of the heads of the department.[448]
[Footnote 446: _Kingsbury Papers_, Kingsbury to Irwin, June 11, 1810;
_Drennan Papers_, Nicoll to Heald, April 11, 1810; Nicoll to Whistler,
April 11, 1810; Nicoll to Kingsbury, April 11, 1810; Nicoll to
Gansevoort, April 12, 1810.]
[Footnote 447: _Drennan Papers_, Nicoll to Whistler, March 30, 1810.]
[Footnote 448: _Kingsbury Papers_, letter of Cooper to Kingsbury cited
in note 433.]
Thus in gloom and defeat departed the man who, with more propriety
than any other, may be called the father of Chicago. That he felt
keenly the blow that had been dealt him is shown by his letters to
Kingsbury.[449] He was old and infirm, his wife was ill, and he had a
large family of young children to support, with little property, and
burdened with debt.
[Footnote 449: _Kingsbury Papers_, Whistler to Kingsbury, May 27, 1810;
_Drennan Papers_, Kingsbury to Nicoll, February 15, 1811.]
Nathan Heald, the new commander at Fort Dearborn, was born at Ipswich,
New Hampshire, in 1775.[450] He entered the army as an ensign in 1799,
serving continuously at various places on the frontier and in the
recruiting service until January, 1807, when he was promoted to the
rank of captain and given command at Fort Wayne. That he was chosen to
succeed Whistler at Fort Dearborn under the circumstances which have
been described may fairly be regarded as an indication of confidence
on the part of his superiors in his ability and good judgment. Rhea,
who succeeded him at Fort Wayne, reported that he found everything
had been going on "very correct" there, and that he intended to "take
the Track of Captain Heald" as nearly as possible.[451] Rhea was much
pleased with his new post and expressed the hope he might continue
there. Heald, on the contrary, was dissatisfied with Fort Dearborn, and
at once announced his intention of spending the coming winter in New
England.[452] If the necessary leave of absence were not granted him he
would resign the service rather than remain at Fort Dearborn.
[Footnote 450: Nathan Heald's Journal printed as Appendix III. The
original is among the Heald papers in the Draper Collection.]
[Footnote 451: _Kingsbury Papers_, Rhea to Kingsbury, May 17, 1810.]
[Footnote 452: _Ibid._, Heald to Kingsbury, June 8, 1810.]
Unfortunately for Heald the furlough was granted,[453] and thus he
returned to Chicago to participate in the massacre two years later.
After spending the winter in Massachusetts, Heald returned to the West
by way of Pittsburgh and the Ohio River, stopping at Louisville to
marry Rebekah Wells, the daughter of Colonel Samuel Wells and the niece
of Captain William Wells, with whom Heald had long been associated at
Fort Wayne.[454] The wedding occurred on May 23, 1811, and in June
the commander reached Chicago with his bride, after an absence of
seven months. The bridal journey was made from Louisville to Chicago
on horseback through the wilderness which lay between the two places.
Mrs. Heald's slave girl, Cicely, accompanied them on their journey, and
was an inmate of Fort Dearborn from this time until the massacre the
following year. The statement preserved in the Heald family chronicle
that the bridal party was received by the garrison with all the honors
of war may well be believed, for the addition of a woman like Mrs.
Heald to the garrison circle was an event of rare interest in the life
of the little community.
[Footnote 453: Heald's Journal; Kingsbury Papers, Heald to Kingsbury,
December 31, 1810, and May 1, 1811; Wentworth, Early Chicago, 88.]
[Footnote 454: Heald's Journal; Darius Heald's narrative of the Chicago
massacre, in _Magazine of American History_, XXVIII, 114.]
In March, 1811, George Ronan, a young cadet direct from West Point,
was given the rank of ensign and ordered to repair at once to Fort
Dearborn.[455] On the fourth of the same month Lieutenant Thompson
died. With him the last military officer involved in the quarrel of
the preceding year disappeared from Fort Dearborn. Three months later
his place was filled by the transfer of Lieutenant Linai T. Helm from
Detroit to Fort Dearborn. The transfer was made at Helm's own request,
the reasons for his desiring it being, apparently, his straitened
financial circumstances and the cheaper cost of living at Fort Dearborn
as compared with Detroit.[456] During the summer the place made vacant
by Doctor Cooper's resignation was filled by the appointment of
Isaac Van Voorhis, like Cooper a native of Fishkill, New York, born
a few years after his predecessor, but a member of the same class in
college.[457] The officers of Fort Dearborn were now the same as on the
fatal day of evacuation, August 15, 1812.
[Footnote 455: _Drennan Papers_, Nicoll to Ronan, March 27, 1811;
Nicoll to Heald, March 27, 1811; Heitman, _Dictionary of the United
States Army_, I, 844.]
[Footnote 456: _Drennan Papers_, Kingsbury to Nicoll, April 18,
1811; Nicoll to Kingsbury, May 24, 1811; _Kingsbury Papers_, Helm to
Kingsbury, March 16, 1811.]
[Footnote 457: Van Voorhis, _Notes on the Ancestry of Wm. Roe Van
Voorhis_, 143.]