Fort Harrison was a War of 1812 era stockade constructed in October 1811 on high ground overlooking the Wabash River on a portion of what is today the modern city of Terre Haute, Indiana, by forces under command of General William Henry Harrison. It was a staging point for Harrison to encamp his forces just prior to the Battle of Tippecanoe a month later. The fort was the site of a famous battle in the War of 1812, the siege of Fort Harrison, in September 1812 that was the first significant victory for the US in the war. The fort was abandoned in 1818 as the frontier moved westward.

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Background

In 1811, while General William Henry Harrison marched his army north From Vincennes to meet the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe, the army encamped on the high grounds of Terre Haute and constructed a fort overlooking the Wabash River. Harrison had long advocated building a fort in the strategic location.

The fort protected the army's supply lines, as well as the capital of the Indiana Territory downstream in Vincennes. The site, located in present-day Vigo County, Indiana, at the northern edge of Terre Haute, was only two miles from the Wea village of Weauteno. It was said to be the location of a historic battle involving the Illiniwek, and was initially called Camp Bataille des Illinois. Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss proposed that the stockade be named Fort Harrison in General Harrison's honor. The fort was finished October 28, 1811, and had a stockade encircling the post. The United States had 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.

Siege of Fort Harrison

The siege of Fort Harrison was an engagement that lasted from September 4 to 12, 1812. it was won by an outnumbered United States force garrisoned inside the fort against a combined Native American force near modern Terre Haute, Indiana. It was the first American land victory during the War of 1812.

On September 3, 1812, a band of Miami arrived and warned Captain Taylor that they would soon be attacked by a large force of Native Americans. That evening, shots were heard, but Taylor was hesitant to send out a scout party. He only had 50 men in his garrison, and sickness had reduced the number of effective soldiers to only 15. That day, September 4, a force of 600 Potawatomi (under Chief Pa-koi-shee-can), Wea (under War Chief Stone Eater), Warning the fort that "Taylor never surrenders!", the captain organized a bucket brigade to fight the fire before it destroyed the fort's picket walls. One woman, Julia Lambert, even lowered herself down into the fort's well to fill buckets more quickly.

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News of the siege arrived in Vincennes as Colonel William Russell was passing through with a company of regular infantry and a company of rangers, on their way to join Ninian Edwards, governor of Illinois Territory. Colonel Russell's companies joined with the local militia and 7th Infantry Regiment and marched to the relief of Fort Harrison. Over 1000 men arrived from Vincennes on September 12, When the ambush was launched, the draft horses panicked and ran away with the wagon. Only two men – the wagoneer, John Black, and Private Edward Perdue – managed to escape back to Fort Knox alive, although Perdue was discharged due to the severe wounds he received. Luckily for the two survivors, the Potawatomi gave chase to the runaway supply wagon. Eleven soldiers and all the provisions were lost to the United States, and several Potawatomi warriors had been killed or wounded.

A second column of two supply wagons and fifteen soldiers under Lieutenant Richardson set out from Vincennes two days after the first wagon, following the same trail, and unaware of the fate of the first.

The Potawatomi party left the Narrows, and attacked the house of a settler named Issac Hutson on September 16, in what became known as the Lamotte Prairie Massacre. Hutson was away, but his wife and four children were all killed.]]

  • The Battle of Fort Harrison is considered the first land victory of the United States during the War of 1812. The same day, Gen. Harrison's forces relieved Fort Wayne, which eliminated the last Indian threat to Indiana Territory for the remainder of the war.
  • In retaliation for the attack on Fort Harrison and the Pigeon Roost Massacre, Colonel Russell continued on to Illinois with the Indiana Rangers and led an expedition against the Kickapoo on Peoria Lake.
  • For his services at Fort Harrison, Zachary Taylor received a brevet promotion to major.
  • In 1970, the cemetery of the fort was discovered 200 yards south of where the fort was believed to have been sited.
  • Many years after the battle, a man found Lieutenant Fairbanks' sword stuck in a log. It was given to the Indiana State Museum.