Forts of Fort Wayne, Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section relies largely or entirely upon a single source.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources.

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

[edit] History

Fort Wayne succeeded several military outposts. Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes built the first fort at the site in 1704.^[1]

Fort Miami, built by the French under Jean Baptiste Bissot, in 1715, was originally called Fort St. Philippe and was also known as Fort des Miamis at Kekionga, the present-day city of Fort Wayne, Indiana where the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River merge to form the Maumee River. In November 1760 the French lost control of the fort to the British during the French and Indian War. In 1763 the British lost control of the fort during Pontiac's Rebellion and the fort was destroyed.

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

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

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