History of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte, 1927County history published by the Historians' Association . . . .
Source Citation:
Cannon, Thomas H., H. H. Loring, and Charles J. Robb. 1927.
History of
the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana, Embracing the Counties of Lake,
Porter and LaPorte: An Historical Account of Its People and Its Progress
from the Earliest Times to the Present.
Volume I. Indianapolis, Indiana: Historians' Association. 840 p.
HISTORY OF THE LAKE AND CALUMET REGION OF INDIANA
CHAPTER VI.
LAKE AND CALUMET REGION BECOMES PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
COL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK -- CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA AND VINCENNES -- CLARK
DEFEATS THE SHAWNEES -- POTTAWATTOMIES AND THE BRITISH -- ATTACKS ON FORT
ST. JOSEPH -- A SPANISH GESTURE -- COLONIES ACHIEVE THEIR INDEPENDENCE --
TREATIES WITH INDIANS AT FORT HARMON -- BRITISH AND INDIANS IN NEW BORDER
WAR -- DEFEATS OF HARMON AND ST. CLAIR -- CRUSHING DEFEAT OF INDIANS BY
GENERAL WAYNE -- THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE -- FUR TRADING ACTIVITIES --
ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT DEARBORN AT CHICAGO.
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The transfer of French forts and posts east of the Mississippi to England included Kaskaskia on the Mississippi and Vincennes on the Wabash, and the Colonial government quickly saw that the capture of these important centers of British influence would at one stroke give them control of the Mid-West territory and prevent the Indians in that section from obtaining supplies of arms and ammunition with which to harass the colonists. It was 1778 before an expedition could be arranged to attempt their capture and on account of the difficulties to be surmounted, it required inspiration, endurance and courage of a high order on the part of the soldiers, with exceptional leadership to promise success.
Border volunteers for the expedition were obtained from Virginia and Kentucky and placed under the command of Col. George Rogers Clark who in this and later events was to make history for the United States. Colonel Clark was admirably equipped for leadership and had a thorough knowledge of Indian warfare and as events determined, his unexampled audacity combined with acuteness of discernment had much to do with the success of the expedition. Words can not describe the difficulties encountered in the march through the wilderness from the Ohio to Kaskaskia and again from Kaskaskia across country to Vincennes. The expedition was numerically weak and insufficiently equipped, nevertheless Kaskaskia and all the nearby settlements were taken without the exercise of force, and Clark’s clever maneuvering of his soldiers before Vincennes to give the appearance of a very large force and his boldness in demanding an immediate surrender caused its capitulation, and Governor Hamilton was greatly chagrined when he found he had been deceived into surrendering this
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valuable post with a numerically stronger body of troops, to Clark’s small number of tired and famished colonials.
By this successful stroke, Clark brought to the Colonies the control of all the territory between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi and the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana came under the control of the Colonies. For a short time the effect of Clark’s expedition was to quiet many of the Indian tribes but soon their activities became such a menace that a number of expeditions were conducted against them. In 1780 Clark once more appeared and this time to leave his name firmly fixed in the minds of the border Indians as an avenger whom they never forgot. With one thousand Kentuckians he raided the territory of the Shawnees in Ohio, killing many of them and destroyed their villages and corn fields, crippling them so badly that they were forced to engage in hunting for their food and for a time abandoned hostilities.
During this period the Pottawattomies of the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana were actively engaged on the side of the British. From Fort St. Joseph they were in constant receipt of supplies of a military character but as they were some distance from the Colonial border they had to travel many miles to scenes of military activity and under various commanders they took part in many British expeditions and engagements. Occasionally a Colonial raid was made into the Pottawattomie territory — one notable instance being the capture, looting and burning of Fort St. Joseph by Tom Brady of Cahokia, Illinois, who had a small force with him and who were later attacked on their return journey and nearly all killed or captured. Later a French trader named Maillet from Lake Peoria, led an expedition of several hundred French and Indians to Fort St. Joseph which they looted and burned and returned with over $50,000 in supplies.
It is worthy of note that the French inhabitants were almost invariably found in active sympathy with the colonists and could be relied upon to render aid and assistance when it could be done without too great a sacrifice. Spain had gradually acquired the French possessions on the western bank of the Mississippi which had been awarded her with all of Louisiana west of that stream in the Treaty of Paris. The defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga virtually decided the war and thereafter with French assistance it was only a matter of time when England would be obliged to acknowledge the independence of the colonies. Spain was now at war with England and as the opportunity was open to give the English a blow and as evidence that she proposed to maintain her ancient claim of sovereignty over the territory east of the Mississippi, the Spanish governor at St. Louis decided to send an expedition to Fort St. Joseph which was the nearest British post.
Late in January, 1781, the garrison with some British agents and trappers were taken by surprise by the Spanish force from St. Louis and the
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flag of Spain was flown over the fort by Captain Pourre who announced that with its capture he also made claim to the entire mid-west territory east of the Mississippi. Captain Pourre lingered only a few days and loaded with captured stores, the expedition returned to St. Louis but left the Spanish flag flying over the fort. The expedition was only a gesture, as Spain had no intention of occupying the territory, but intended it as a foundation for consideration in the peace agreement which the rival nations knew must be soon forthcoming. Colonel Clark and his expedition had firmly fixed the claims of the colonies to the mid-west territory and in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 by which the Independence of the colonies was recognized, all of the territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes was transferred to the United States.
The transfer of title did not end the border warfare and in order to bring under settlement the fertile valleys in the now State of Ohio, the Indians under pressure in 1789 submitted to a new settlement boundary which extended from the mouth of the Cuyahoga River to the mouth of the Great Miami. To this treaty of 1789 at Fort Harmon, the Pottawattomies were a party and their chiefs — Windigo, Wapaskea and Naque — signed the treaty for them. Under its terms the Pottawattomies came under the protection of the United States and agreed to maintain peace. The British were still active and retained possession of the forts at Detroit, at the forks of the Maumee, and at other points until 1794, notwithstanding the protests of the American government. The steady stream of white settlers which followed the war and especially after the appointment in 1787 of Gen. Arthur St. Claire as governor of the North-West Territory — which name was given to the lands north of the Ohio — was a renewed cause of friction as but little attention was paid to the new boundary line for white settlers.
The British traders from Detroit who were still enjoying the profits of the fur trade and all their agents were promoting discord among the Indians and used the violation of the boundary line for settlers as a proof that an agreement with the Americans was worthless, and urged the Indians to resist further encroachments. As a result the Indians were kept in a constant state of ferment and attacks on border settlements were frequent. The situation forced the government to send General Harmon with a force of eleven hundred men to destroy the Miami corn fields and villages and attack the Miamis if opportunity offered. Like many more of the incompetent generals for Indian warfare which the government regularly furnished, he made the situation worse for the settlers by his defeat, his force being largely destroyed. General St. Claire was another incompetent selected by the government and eight hundred of his soldiers perished on the headwaters of the Wabash with a reported loss to the Indians of less than twenty-five warriors.
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By these defeats the Indians were led to believe they were invincible and the American settlements were greatly harassed as a result. About fifteen hundred settlers were killed from 1783 to 1790 and with the defeats of Harmon and St. Claire, the government was aroused to the danger of the utter destruction of the border Ohio settlements and the possibility of facing a great Indian federation. There were at this time approximately fifteen thousand warriors in the North West Territory of whom about five thousand had been engaged in constant warfare with the Americans since before the close of the Revolutionary war. Only one thing could save the settlements and that was a crushing defeat of the Indians. The country had been aroused by the defeat of Harmon and St. Claire and much criticism was directed at Washington’s administration for the unfortunate selection of generals. The people rightly assumed that Washington, with his knowledge of the correct manner of conducting Indian warfare, should have personally selected generals fitted to lead a border expedition.
“Mad Anthony Wayne,” as he was often called, was personally informed by Washington that he was selected to retrieve the fortunes of the United States and that another defeat would be ruinous to the reputation of the government and also result in the loss of the lives of thousands of settlers. As Wayne’s expedition was of great moment it is well to record his preparation for success. Whiskey was kept out of his camp. His troops were raw and undisciplined and he took ample time in instructing them in the kind of warfare they were about to engage in. Target practice was regularly indulged in and prizes were offered for markmanship which was of the greatest importance in fighting the Indians. The progress of his troops was generally so rapid that they were ready for active service in a short period and General Wayne, during the time of preparation, was extending the hand of peace to the Indians, who while rejecting his advances, nevertheless made but few attacks on settlers and aided by the British with military supplies and Canadian soldiers, were preparing to resist Wayne as soon as he would proceed against them.
Wayne built several forts and among them was Fort Recovery on the spot where St. Claire was so decisively defeated. This fort was attacked by fifteen hundred Indians in 1794 and among them was Tecumseh to whom extended reference will be made later. The assault was continued for two days and the Indians were routed, having suffered especially from artillery fire. The arrival of two thousand Kentucky volunteers under command of Major General Scott gave Wayne sufficient troops and he decided on immediate action against the Indians. He led them to believe he intended to attack the villages on the Miami and they assembled in large numbers to engage him at a favorable point they selected, but Wayne quickly turned from his apparent destination and was soon in the very
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heart of the Indian villages on the Grand Glaize, almost under the guns of a frontier fort still held by the British.
Wayne’s cleverness in deceiving the Indians as to his real destination aroused their admiration and made the wiser chiefs hesitate to give battle to one who seemed such a great leader. His position enabled him to do untold damage to the Indians through the destruction of their villages and corn fields and his exultation is shown in one of his letters wherein he stated that without loss of blood he had invaded the very heart of the Indian settlements which extended for miles north and south on the River Au Glaize and Miamis of the Lake. “Never,” he wrote, “have I beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of America from Canada to Florida.”
Wayne proceeded to build a fort which he called Fort Defiance and although ready to carry out his plans to destroy corn fields and villages he made one more offer of peace. The Indians gathered in great force and a council was held to consider Wayne’s peace offer. Among the tribes represented were the Miamis, Pottawattomies, Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Ottawas and Senecas. The great respect held by the Indians for ability in leadership was shown by the Miami chief, Little Turtle, who said, “we have beaten the Americans twice under different commanders, but they are now led by a chief who never sleeps. Night and day is the same to him. With all our young men watching him we can not surprise him. Something whispers to me it would be well to consider his offer of peace.”
Little Turtle’s advice was not heeded and the council followed the leadership of the Shawnee chief, Blue Jacket, in deciding for battle, most of the chiefs declaring their contempt for American generals and expressed their belief in their own invincibility. The battle which opened the next day resulted in a most crushing defeat of the Indians who suffered great losses and incidentally we may mention that in this battle, two great opposing leaders of a later period, Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison, were actively engaged. The destruction of the corn fields and villages which followed the battle was a deadly blow to the Indians and a calamity which insured peace with some of the tribes at least. Blue Jacket, whose advice and council caused the calamity, now headed a deputation of chiefs on a visit to Wayne to appeal for peace.
The delegation was intercepted by British messengers who prevailed upon them to go to Detroit where Governor Simcoe, the British commander, offered them every inducement to continue the war. Notwithstanding the supplies which the Indians received from Simcoe, the suffering of the Indians was so great the succeeding winter, that before it was over they sent representatives to Wayne, as they did not want hostilities resumed in the spring. A preliminary peace agreement was made
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to include Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawattomies, Sacs, Miamis, Delawares and Shawnees, and arrangements concluded for another meeting at Greenville in the following June for a lasting peace.
The effect of Wayne’s victory was immeasurable in its beneficial effects, not only in restoring the prestige of the government but insuring a peace to the border settlements which lasted sixteen years. In the treaty made at the Greenville meeting in 1795, the Indians, in exchange for government annuities in money and supplies, relinquished large tracts of land which could be opened for settlement. From every direction came settlers, who spread out over a large area of territory, and Indiana began to receive attention as the more favorable sections of Ohio were taken. By the Greenville Treaty, the boundary line for settlers on the south extended into Indiana and several routes for trading were established between posts, including a route from Fort Wayne to Chicago through the Lake and Calumet Region. Eighteen Pottawattomies signed the treaty, among them being Sogganee and Topinabee from the Trail Creek territory and forty members of the tribe attended the Greenville meeting headed by Chief New Corn.
The failure of the government to comply with one of the stipulations in the Treaty of Paris was the pretext taken by the British in refusing to surrender the western posts to the Americans. A new treaty in 1794 adjusted the difficulty between the British and American governments and all the western trading posts and forts were turned over to the Americans and the profitable fur trade which these trading centers enjoyed came into American hands. This change, with unhindered trails to Chicago, brought the Lake Region of Indiana into prominence and the immense wealth of furs in the Calumet and Kankakee sections soon became generally known and it became a great resort for a new type of trappers and traders. But few records exist relative to the early American adventurers who became interested in the Lake Region at this period and it was only after the building of Fort Dearborn at Chicago that the American fur traders who frequented the Lake Region became generally known.
William Burnett maintained a regular trading post on Trail Creek as early as 1785. He was an Englishman who became an American with the transfer of the territory after the Revolutionary war, and was loyal to the republic throughout his life. DeSaible, an educated negro, who fled from San Domingo during the revolution there, was an active trader during this period and included the Calumet Region in his travels for furs. Le Mai was another negro trader with headquarters both in Chicago and near Trail Creek. The most prominent of all the active traders of this period was Joseph Bailly and a full story of his activities will be found in another chapter.
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In 1803, Secretary of War Dearborn, made preparations to build a strong fort at Chicago and Captain Whistler was given command of the government forces who were to erect it. He left Detroit in the schooner Tracy with a large amount of supplies and building material, while Lieut. James S. Swearington with sixty members of the expedition crossed the country from Detroit by land. They met at St. Joseph and the schooner was sent on its journey while the greater part of the expedition continued by land. It is known that before arriving at Trail Creek, some of the men lost their lives in the two months’ journey through the forests, and the party were further weakened before reaching Chicago along the south shore of Lake Michigan. This was the first body of American soldiers to cross the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana and in constructing Fort Dearborn, little did they dream they were laying the foundation of one of the mightiest cities of all times. But four cabins of traders were in existence in Chicago when the soldiers arrived and the schooner created a sensation among the nearby Indians as it was the first large vessel to navigate the south shore of Lake Michigan.
NAVIGATION OF
HISTORY OF THE LAKE AND CALUMET REGION OF INDIANA
FOREWARD
AN APPRECIATION
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I - Geology and Topography
CHAPTER II - The Mound Builders
CHAPTER III - Days of Indian Occupancy
CHAPTER IV - Early Explorations
CHAPTER V - Border Warfare
CHAPTER VI - Lake and Calumet Region Becomes Part of United States
CHAPTER VII - After Wayne and Greenville - Tecumseh and the Prophet
CHAPTER VIII - Indian Peace
CHAPTER IX - Early Settlements and Pioneers - County Organization
CHAPTER X - Townships - Towns - Villages
CHAPTER XI - Pioneer Life
CHAPTER XII - The Lake Michigan Marshes
CHAPTER XIII - Agriculture and Livestock
CHAPTER XIV - Military Annals
CHAPTER XV - The Lake and Calumet Region in the World War
CHAPTER XVI - The Newspapers
CHAPTER XVII - The Medical Profession
CHAPTER XVIII - The Bench and Bar in the Lake and Calumet Region
CHAPTER XIX - Churches
CHAPTER XX - Schools
CHAPTER XXI - Libraries
CHAPTER XXII - Social Life
CHAPTER XXIII - The Dunes of Northwestern Indiana
CHAPTER XXIV - Banks and Banking
CHAPTER XXV - Transportation and Waterways
CHAPTER XXVI - Cities
CHAPTER XXVII - Industrial Development
CHAPTER XXVIII - Chambers of Commerce
Transcribed by Steven R. Shook, December 2022