During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...

was the scene of fighting between Native Americans and United States soldiers and settlers. The Illinois Territory at that time included the areas of modern Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota and Michigan. Tensions in the Illinois Territory between U.S. settlers and Native Americans were on the rise in the years before the War of 1812.Robert J Holden, "Illinois Territory", in David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds, ''Encyclopedia of the War of 1812'' (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 1997; ), 251–52. At Peoria, Potawatomi chief

Main Poc Main Poc (1768–1816), also recorded as Main Poche, Main Pogue, Main Poque, Main Pock; supposedly from the French, meaning "Crippled Hand", was a leader of the Yellow River villages of the Potawatomi Native Americans in the United States. Through ...

was a supporter of the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

prophet

Tenskwatawa Tenskwatawa (also called Tenskatawa, Tenskwatawah, Tensquatawa or Lalawethika) (January 1775 – November 1836) was a Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as the Prophet or the Shawnee Prophet. He was a ...

and his brother Tecumseh. Raids against American settlers in Illinois increased after the Shawnee brothers' loss at the

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecum ...

in the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...

in 1811. There were few

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

soldiers this far west on the frontier.

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of ...

, the territorial governor, directed state militia operations. The low point for the Americans came in August 1812, when a large Indian force, primarily Potawatomis, attacked soldiers and civilians as they evacuated

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

in Chicago. In October 1812, the Americans launched an expedition against the Native villages in the Peoria area. Led by Governor Edwards and Colonel William Russell, they attacked and destroyed Potawatomi and Kickapoo villages, prompting the Natives to abandon the area. Raids continued, however. In September 1813, the Americans built Fort Clark in Peoria. In June 1814,

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

built Fort Shelby at

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...

. The British captured the fort in July and renamed it Fort McKay. Two American attempts to send more troops to Prairie du Chien were turned back by Indian attacks at Rock Island Rapids and

Credit Island Credit Island is an island in the Mississippi River on the south west side of Davenport, Iowa within the Quad Cities area. Its name was derived by the use of the island as an early Indian trading post. Credit could be obtained on the prom ...

, the final actions of the War of 1812 in the region. Hostilities between the U.S. and area Native Americans would resume in the

Winnebago War The Winnebago War, also known as the Winnebago Uprising, was a brief conflict that took place in 1827 in the Upper Mississippi River region of the United States, primarily in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Not quite a war, the hostilities ...

of 1827 and the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

of 1832. 5 million acres of land in the Illinois Territory, between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers below Rock Island was set aside as the

Military Tract of 1812 Shortly before the War of 1812, congress passed Military Tract of 1812. This allowed for quarter-sections of land to be promised to those enlisting to fight against the British. This encouraged both enlistment and later settlement, although many so ...

to pay soldiers in land grants for their service. This is over 1/8 of the area of the modern state and included Indian-occupied areas, some of whose displaced inhabitants would later join Blackhawk. The state of Illinois has a list of 1,500 names of militiamen and officers from original muster rolls although the muster lists are known to be incomplete.Illinois War of 1812 Veterans
Illinois State Archives

Battles

Battle of Fort Dearborn The Battle of Fort Dearborn (sometimes called the Fort Dearborn Massacre) was an engagement between United States troops and Potawatomi Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn in what is now Chicago, Illinois (at tha ...

Battle of Africa Point

Battle of Rock Island Rapids The Battle of Rock Island Rapids, also called the Battle of Campbell Island, was an American defeat during the War of 1812 at the hands of the British allied Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo. In July 1814, a military expedition was mounted to supply the U ...

References

External links

War of 1812 Forts Project

Illinois State Archaeological Survey The Illinois Archaeological Survey is a society of professional archaeologists and other technical professionals, dedicated to identifying and preserving important archaeological resources throughout the state of Illinois. The survey was founded i ...

{{Authority control Native American history of Illinois Native American history of Wisconsin Wars between the United States and Native Americans Wars involving Illinois Pre-statehood history of Illinois 1812 in Illinois Territory

Battles

See also

Further reading

References

External links