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The Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn, was a United States fort built on the Chicago River in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler....
, Illinois Territory
Illinois Territory

Illinois Territory was a historic, Territories of the United States of the United States established on March 1, 1809. A portion of the area was accepted into the Union as the State of Illinois on December 3, 1818, at which time the Territory ceased to exist....
  (in what is now Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
) during the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull
William Hull

William Hull was an United States soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Shelby to the United Kingdom....
. This event is also sometimes known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn.

Fort Dearborn's commander Captain Nathan Heald
Nathan Heald

Nathan Heald was an officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812. He was in command of Fort Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois at the time of the Fort Dearborn Massacre....
 ordered all whiskey and gunpowder to be destroyed so it would not be seized by the local Indian
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 tribes allied with the British, although he had agreed to these terms a few hours earlier.






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The Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn, was a United States fort built on the Chicago River in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler....
, Illinois Territory
Illinois Territory

Illinois Territory was a historic, Territories of the United States of the United States established on March 1, 1809. A portion of the area was accepted into the Union as the State of Illinois on December 3, 1818, at which time the Territory ceased to exist....
  (in what is now Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
) during the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull
William Hull

William Hull was an United States soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Shelby to the United Kingdom....
. This event is also sometimes known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn.

Fort Dearborn's commander Captain Nathan Heald
Nathan Heald

Nathan Heald was an officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812. He was in command of Fort Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois at the time of the Fort Dearborn Massacre....
 ordered all whiskey and gunpowder to be destroyed so it would not be seized by the local Indian
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 tribes allied with the British, although he had agreed to these terms a few hours earlier. He then prepared to abandon his post. Heald remained at Fort Dearborn until support arrived from Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in northeastern Indiana, United States and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana. As of July 1, 2008, the city had an estimated population of 251,247, making it the List of United States cities by population Fort Wayne is Indiana's second largest city after Indianapolis, Indiana....
, Indiana
Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
, led by his wife's uncle, Captain William Wells
William Wells (soldier)

William Wells , also known as Apekonit , was the son-in-law of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami tribe. He fought for the Miami in the Northwest Indian War, but during the course of that war, he became an United States Army commissioned officer, and also served in the War of 1812....
. A column of 148 soldiers, women and children then left Fort Dearborn intending to march to Fort Wayne. However, about one and a half miles (2 km) south of Fort Dearborn, at about what is now 18th Street and Prairie Avenue
Prairie Avenue

Prairie Avenue is a north?south thoroughfare on the South side , which historically extended from 16th street in the Near South Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago of Chicago, Illinois in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois, United States to the city's southern limits and beyond....
, a band of Potawatomi
Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native Americans in the United States people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian languages....
 warriors ambushed the garrison, killing more than fifty and capturing the remainder as prisoners to sell to the British as slaves. The British purchased the captives and released them immediately afterwards.

Fort Dearborn was burned to the ground, and the region remained empty of U.S. citizens until after the war had ended.

Survivors' accounts differed on the role of the Miami warriors. Some said they fought for the Americans, while others said they did not fight at all. Regardless, William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was an Military history of the United States and Politics of the United States, the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, and the first president to die in office....
 claimed the Miami fought against the Americans, and used the Fort Dearborn massacre as a pretext to attack the Miami villages. Miami chief Pacanne
Pacanne

Pacanne was a leading Miami chief during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Son of The Turtle , he was the brother of Tacumwah, who was the mother of Chief Jean Baptiste Richardville....
 and his nephew, Jean Baptiste Richardville, accordingly ended their neutrality in the War of 1812 and allied with the British.

Monuments


In 1893, George Pullman had a sculpture he had commissioned from Carl Rohl-Smith erected near his house. It portrayed the rescue of Margaret Helm, the stepdaughter of Chicago resident John Kinzie
John Kinzie

John Kinzie is known as Chicago?s first permanent white settler. Kinzie Street in Chicago is named after him.Kinzie was born in Quebec City, Canada to John McKenzie and Anne McKenzie....
 and wife of Lt. Linai Thomas Helm, by Potawatomi chief Black Partridge
Black Partridge (chief)

Black Partridge or Black Pheasant was a 19th century Peoria Lake Pottawatomie chieftain. Although a participant in the Northwest Indian War and the Peoria War, he was considered very friendly to early American settlers and was a longtime advocate of peaceful relations with the United States....
, who led her and some others to Lake Michigan and helped her escape by boat. The monument was moved to the lobby of the Chicago Historical Society in 1931. In the 1970s, however, American Indian groups protested the display of the monument, and it was removed. In the 1990s, the statue was reinstalled near 18th Street and Prairie Avenue, close to its original site. It was later removed for conservation reasons by the Office of Public Art of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. There are some efforts to reinstall the monument, but it is meeting resistance from the Chicago American Indian Center.

External links

  • . ©2005. Chicago Historical Society.