![Fort Washington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Fort_Washington.jpg)
Fort Washington was a fortified stockade with blockhouses built by order of Gen.
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to Ma ...
starting in summer 1789 in what is now downtown
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio near the Ohio River. The physical location of the fort was facing the mouth of the
Licking River, above present day
Fort Washington Way
Fort Washington Way is an approximately section of freeway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The eight-lane divided highway is a concurrent section of Interstate 71 (I-71) and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) that runs from west to east ...
. The fort was named in honor of President
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. The Fort was the major staging place and conduit for settlers, troops and supplies during the settlement of the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
.
In 1803, the fort was moved to Newport, KY across the river and became the
Newport Barracks
Newport Barracks was a military barracks on the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati, Ohio in Newport, Kentucky. It was operational from 1803 until 1894.
History
In 1803, James Taylor Jr. solicited the help of his cousin, James Madison, who was ...
. In 1806, the site of the abandoned fort was divided into lots and sold.
History
Losantiville
When Judge
John Cleves Symmes
John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, th ...
contracted with the Continental Congress to purchase 1,000,000 acres in southwestern Ohio known as the
Symmes Purchase in 1788, it reserved 15 acres to the federal government for a fort. In summer 1789, Fort Washington was built to protect early settlements located in the Symmes Purchase area, including Losantiville, Columbia and Northbend.
![Fort Washington Cincinnati map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Fort_Washington_Cincinnati_map.png)
Gen.
Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
by vote of Congress on October 5, 1787. When Governor St. Clair arrived at Losantiville
incinnatithe settlement consisted of two small hewed log houses and several cabins. Maj.
John Doughty
John Doughty (July 25, 1754September 16, 1826) was an American military officer who briefly served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1784. Holding the rank of major at the time, he bears the distinction of being the lowest ranke ...
, under orders from Gen.
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to Ma ...
, was engaged with a small military force in finishing the construction of Fort Washington. The population of the crude village, exclusive of the military, probably did not exceed one hundred and fifty. Three days after Gen. Harmar took up his quarters at Fort Washington, on January 1, 1790, Governor St. Clair was received with due ceremony by the troops and citizens of Losantiville.
Fort Washington was distinguished by its large size: it was larger than a modern city block and designed to house up to 1500 men. Gen.
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to Ma ...
described it as "one of the most solid substantial wooden fortresses. . .of any in the Western Territory." The stockade's walls were two stories high with blockhouses located at each corner.
Indian campaigns
The fort was used as a staging point and to supply all the northern forts. It played a key supporting role in three
Indian campaigns: Harmar's Campaign 1790, St. Clair's Campaign 1791, and Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne's campaign in 1793-94.
In 1790, Harmar used Fort Washington to launch an expedition against Native Americans in northwest Ohio, especially the
Miami Indians
The Miami (Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central India ...
, whose principal city was
Kekionga
Kekionga (meaning "blackberry bush"), also known as KiskakonCharles R. Poinsatte, ''Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828-1855,'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969, p. 1 or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe. It was ...
(modern-day
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
). On October 22, 1790, Gen. Harmar's army was ambushed and massacred by Indians led by Chief
Little Turtle
Little Turtle ( mia, Mihšihkinaahkwa) (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader ...
. The Indians of the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
were in open revolt aided by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
. Indian raids came close to Cincinnati, despite the presence of the nearby Fort Washington.
In the spring of 1793, Major General Anthony Wayne moved his forces from the training center at
Legionville
Legionville (or Legion Ville) was the first formal basic training facility for the military of the United States. The camp, which was established in winter 1792 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne, was near present-day Baden, Pennsyl ...
, PA, down the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
by barge to a camp outside Fort Washington that was called
Hobson's Choice. In the fall, Wayne departed Fort Washington and moved his army northward, past
Fort Jefferson, to build Fort Greene Ville.
Decline and sale
By 1802, Fort Washington had fallen into disuse and disrepair, and was manned by only half a company (about 35 men). In 1803 it was replaced by the larger
Newport Barracks
Newport Barracks was a military barracks on the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati, Ohio in Newport, Kentucky. It was operational from 1803 until 1894.
History
In 1803, James Taylor Jr. solicited the help of his cousin, James Madison, who was ...
established to house the Kentucky Militia. It was opened just across the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
in
Newport, Kentucky
Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky, Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 United ...
.
James Taylor Jr., an influential resident of
Newport, Kentucky
Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky, Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 United ...
, had lobbied his cousin
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
to place the post in Newport.
On February 28, 1806, Congress directed the Secretary of the Treasury to cause the site of the abandoned fort to be surveyed and laid off into lots, streets and avenues conforming to the plan of the city, and to sell the lots to the highest bidders at a sale at the Cincinnati Land Office.
The survey, certified July 8, 1807, shows the fort's boundaries to be Fourth Street to the north, Ludlow Street to the east, the Ohio River to the south, and Broadway to the west.
[ Knepper 2002 : 54]
Rediscovery
In October 1952, excavators discovered the remnants of Fort Washington's
gunpowder magazine
A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications requ ...
under the northeast corner of Broadway and Third streets, at the site at which
Western & Southern Life Insurance Company's parking garage was to be constructed. Researchers with the
Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio first visited the site on October 13, 1952.
The fort's name is retained in
Fort Washington Way
Fort Washington Way is an approximately section of freeway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The eight-lane divided highway is a concurrent section of Interstate 71 (I-71) and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) that runs from west to east ...
, a section of
Interstate 71
Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, ...
and
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...
that runs through downtown Cincinnati and passes just in front of the former fort. The highway was given this name in 1958 by the city's Anthony Wayne Parkway Board In consideration of prior discovery of the fort's gunpowder magazine nearby.
The location is marked by a plaque at the
Guilford School building, at 421 E 4th St, Cincinnati, which now occupies the site.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Fort Washington monument
{{Ohio-Lands
Colonial forts in Ohio
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
History of Cincinnati
Northwest Indian War
Pre-statehood history of Ohio