Battle of Fort Harrison

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For the Civil War battle of Fort Harrison see: Battle of Chaffin's Farm/New Market Heights

Date	September 4 – September 5, 1812
Location	Terre Haute, Indiana
Result	American victory

Combatants

Miami
Potawatomi
Kickapoo
Winnebago

United States

Commanders

Joseph Lenar

Zachary Taylor

Strength

600

Casualties

3 killed
3 wounded

Detroit frontier
Tippecanoe – 1st Mackinac Island – Maguaga – Fort Dearborn – Detroit – Fort Harrison – Fort Wayne – Mississinewa – Frenchtown – Fort Meigs – Fort Stephenson – Lake Erie – Thames – Longwoods – Prairie du Chien – 2nd Mackinac Island – Lake Huron – Malcolm's Mills

The Battle of Fort Harrison was a decisive victory for the United States against an Indian force which greatly outnumbered their own.

1 Background
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Background

In 1811, when General William Henry Harrison marched his army north to meet the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe, he ordered a fort constructed a few miles south of the "Ten O'Clock Treaty Line" to protect the capital of the Indiana Territory, at Vincennes. The site, located in present-day Vigo County, Indiana, at the northern edge of Terre Haute, was said to be the location of a historic battle involving the Illiniwek. Major Joseph Hamilton Daviess proposed that the stockade be named Fort Harrison in General Harrison's honor. Leaving the fort under Colonel James Miller (general), Harrison led his army to the Tippecanoe battleground, where it confronted an army led by the Shawnee prophet, Tenskwatawa.

When the War of 1812 began, Captain Zachary Taylor was in command of the post. The United States suffered a series of defeats immediately after war was declared, at the hands of the British, Canadians and Indians. These victories helped motivate other native tribes to take up campaigns against remote American outposts.

[edit] Battle

A force of 600 Miami, Potawatomi, Kickapoo and Winnebago warriors attacked Fort Harrison on September 4, 1812. Captain Taylor had only 15 soldiers (5 of whom were sick) and the help of several civilians to defend the fort. Early on September 4, an Indian warrior crawled up and set the barracks on fire. This set the few defenders into a panic, and the Indian warriors began firing upon the fort. Taylor ordered the fort's surgeon and a handful of defenders to control the fire. The remaining few of the garrison returned the fire of the Indians so fiercely that they were able to hold off the attack. The Indian force withdrew later that day but remained in the area, keeping it under siege to starve the occupants. When reinforcements arrived from Vincennes on September 15, the Indian force departed.

[edit] Aftermath

The Battle of Fort Harrison was a decisive victory and is considered the first land victory of the United States during the War of 1812. Shortly afterwards, U.S. forces followed up by lifting the Siege of Fort Wayne, which eliminated the last Indian threat to Indiana for the remainder of the war. For his services at Fort Harrison, Zachary Taylor received a brevet promotion to major.

Since both William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor commanded Fort Harrison, Indiana historians later referred to it as "The Fort of Two Presidents."