General Taylor's Etat De Service

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Rowdy Crossing Into The Illinois Prairies

Map In A Museum

General Hopkins' Kentuckians, undisciplined, and hopelessly insubordinate, after crossing into the Illinois prairies, became reckless and disorderly.  It was known among them that the success of the expedition depended entirely on their activity and secrecy.  Yet they loitered and shot game along the way and otherwise disobeyed the positive commands of the veteran general and his aids to such a shameful extent that the Indians in all the territory desired to be covered, learned the object of the movement and fled north to safety, just as had been feared when orders for secrecy and haste had been given.  The season was rainy and the roads naturally slow; competent guides were lacking and on the fourth day out from Ft. Harrison, the army lost its course in the vast prairies and returned disgraced, to the Wabash.  What a mortifying finish, after writing the following letter to Governor Shelby of Kentucky, as gallant old General Hopkins did!--Vincennes, Sept. 29, 1812 [Source]

A Peaceful Passage Of The Army

Source

The Kentucky Volunteers returned home [after the Battle of Tippecanoe].  The 4th U. S. regiment was stationed at Fort Harrison and Vincennes until the month of May, 1812, when it marched for Ohio, and joined the north-western army, then fully organized, and having moved forward from the plains of Mad River, was encamped at Urbana, Champaign county, and the commanding officer was holding a council with the chiefs of the Wyandott, Ottoway, Miami, and other Indian tribes living within the boundaries of the State of Ohio, for a peaceful passage of the army through the Indian territory, commencing a few miles north of Urbana, and extending with few exceptions to Detroit. [Source]

Near Peoria

Below is a letter about Russel's Indian Expedition.

Camp Russel, October 31st, 1812.

Sir,
This will inform you, that I arrived at this place, from Vincennes, after general Hopkins had marched his mounted riflemen up to fort Harrison. I took with me, a part of three companies of United States' rangers, where I was joined by governor Edwards, with his mounted riflemen; the whole of our strength amounted to 360 privates. We penetrated very far into the Indian country, with an expectation of co-operating with general Hopkins, who, by appointment, was to meet us at the Peoria, on the Illinois river. In this, we were sadly disappointed, as we could get no intelligence of his army. This prevented us from tiding as much damage to the Indians, as otherwise we could have done. As our numbers were too weak to make any delay in that quarter; as this was farther than any troops had hitherto penetrated, we stole a march upon the celebrated Pimartam's town, situated about 21 miles above Peoria, and immediately at the head of Peoria lake. This was a well built town, and contained a number of Indians; between the town and river, was a
dismal swamp, in which they immediately flew for shelter, returning a few scattering shots. Our men nobly pursued them through the swamp; and also others, as they were crossing the Illinois river. 

Riverbank Near Peoria

The men also pursued them to the opposite bank, and brought back some of their canoes, and several dead bodies — the governor states, to be upwards of 20 killed, of the enemy. This was a flourishing town, with an immense deal of Indian plunder in it, together with a great deal of corn; all of which was committed to the flames. I believe not less than 80 horses fell into our hands belonging to the enemy. Several white persons' scalps were also found among their plunder. I had the immediate command of the battalion, and the superior command was retained by his excellency the governor. On this expedition we were fortunate; we had but 4 men wounded, none of which is mortal. This tour was performed from camp, and back to the same place, in 13 days.

I have the honour to be yours, &c.

W. RUSSEL,
Colonel 7th Dist. Comdg.

[To] The Secretary of War.

The Hero Of Fort Harrison

Source

From Fort Harrison on the banks of the Wabash, 1812-1912, by Fort Harrison Centennial Association:

"...September 4, 1812, this Fort was commanded by Captain Zachary Taylor, who had about fifty men under his command, less than a score of whom were available for military duty, the others having been incapacitated by sickness."

"All facts go to show the attacking Indians were an adjunct to the British plan to exterminate Fort Harrison. Captain Taylor's conduct on that trying night was characteristic of his entire life--he superintended every detail of the defense. His heroic conduct won for him the rank and title of Major by brevet, an unusual thing in Indian warfare."

See A Sketch Of Fort Harrison and Fort Harrison.

The Court Martial Of Major Chunn

Extract from the explanation of Major John Thomas Chunn's Court Martial:

Source

Fort Harrison Circled

Major Chunn, who was the commandant at Fort Harrison, died September 9, 1847, in Vigo County, Indiana.

Major Robert Sturgis

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From the Indiana Authors And Their Books website:  Fort Harrison on the banks of the Wabash, 1812-1912:

Major Robert Sturgis. Appointed Ensign of the Second Infantry, September 28, 1812. Promoted to First Lieutenant March 9, 1814, and resigned February 10, 1818. He had served as a volunteer private in Captain Benj. Parks' troop of light dragoons, in the Tippecanoe campaign, and so was a builder of Fort Harrison. From many legends, he was so interesting a character, 'tis a pity more is not known of his history. He never married. He died in Terre Haute about 1828.

He was Treasurer of Vigo County 1823-1824, and Sheriff 1825-1826. Probably Fort Harrison ceased to be a military post about the time Major Sturgis resigned.

From the History of Terre Haute:
Poor Bob was a universal favorite; he would keep people laughing all the time he talked, and he talked about all the time. Ostensibly he was clerk in somebody's store, but his most constant occupation was drinking whisky.

Major Morgan, Commandant

Major Willoughby Morgan was a Commandant at Fort Harrison.

From Fort Harrison on the banks of the Wabash, 1812-1912:
It is known that Major Willoughby Morgan was in command of the Fort December 1815. When he succeeded Captain Taylor [later President Zachary Taylor] or whether there was another officer between them is not known. In about May, 1816, he was ordered to other duty by General Jackson, then Commander- in-Chief of the Army, and left Major John T. Chunn in command of the Fort. It is said that he rebuilt the Fort.

Fort Harrison is described in Wood's English Prairie... .  Major Willoughby Morgan enlisted in Virginia, served throughout the War of 1812-15, and at its close was retained as captain of a regular rifle regiment.  In 1817 he was promoted to a majoralty, and served continuously in the army until his death, April 4, 1832. [Source]

Major Willoughby Morgan's acceptance of the grade assigned, written 8 June 1815:

A Bandy And Others In Fort Harrison

At the time of siege, September 4 and 5, 1812, there were in the fort [Harrison] some sixty persons, soldiers and citizens. We only know the names of the following:

Captain Zachary Taylor, Commandant.

Dr. William A. Clark, Army Surgeon. He was commended by Captain Taylor as acting with the greatest firmness 'and presence of mind in defense of the Fort. Dr. Clark also practiced among the citizens outside the Fort.

Drummer Davis, a deserter from the English army, who joined the Americans as ,a musician. After the war he lived across the river. Died in 1847.

William Bandy, a Virginian [drafted in Bedford County] and soldier. Lived in Fayette Township after the war.

Source - Fold3 - Wm Bandy's File

 William Cowen, who was killed in the fight.
Josey Cowen, his brother, who died the next day of disease.
Joseph Dickson and family, wife and children.
Jonathan Graham and wife. No further notice of Jonathan Graham.
Isaac Lambert and wife, Julia Lafferty Lambert.
Mrs. Briggs and her daughter, Mary.
Mrs. Isaac Anderson and her daughter, Matilda.
Mary Dickson and Joseph Dickson, young children of John Dickson, in care of their aunt, Julia Lambert.
Peter Mallory and family, wife and children.
John Clinton Bradford, a baby about a year old.

Commandants At Fort Harrison

Commandants at Fort Harrison:

Lieutenant Colonel James Miller was in command from October 31 to November 14 while the army was on the Tippecanoe campaign.

Captain Josiah Snelling, of the Fourth Regiment of the United States Infantry. He was in command from November 14, 1811, to some time in June, 1812. He was promoted to Colonel of the Fifth Infantry,
June 2, 1819. Fort Snelling, Minn., is named for him.

Captain Zachary Taylor, of the Seventh Regiment of the United States Infantry. Captain Taylor was in command from some time in June, 1812, to September 16, but we find no date of appointment or
transfer. He defended Fort Harrison September 4 and 5, 1812. He afterward became General Taylor, "Old Rough and Ready," of the Mexican War, and later President of the United States.

It is known that Major Willoughby Morgan was in command of the Fort December, 1815. When he succeeded Captain Taylor or whether there was another officer between them is not known. In about May,
1816, he was ordered to other duty by General Jackson, then Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and left Major John T. Chunn in command of the Fort. It is said that he rebuilt the Fort.

Major John T. Chunn having reported to Major-General Arthur McComb. Commandant of the Department at Detroit, the departure of Major Morgan, General McComb issued an order May 10, 1816, transferring Major Chunn from Fort Knox, and placing him in command at Fort Harrison. This order instructed Major Chunn to remove government property from Fort Knox to Fort Harrison. This apparently was the end of Fort Knox as a government post. Major Chunn had helped to build the Fort at the time of the Harrison campaign to Tippecanoe.  He was then a Lieutenant in one of the companies of that army.  He
was appointed Captain of the Nineteenth Regiment of the U. S. Infantry, April 14. 1812. He was transferred to the Third Regiment on May 17, 1815. He resigned from the army June 12, 1821, after a long and honorable service. He returned to Terre Haute to spend the rest of his life, and leave a long list of descendants to honor his name.

Major Robert Sturgis. Appointed Ensign of the Second Infantry, September 28, 1812. Promoted to First Lieutenant March 9, 1814, and resigned February 10, 1818. He had served as a volunteer private in
Captain Benj. Parks' troop of light dragoons, in the Tippecanoe campaign, and so was a builder of Fort Harrison. From many legends, he was so interesting a character, 'tis a pity more is not known of his his-
tory. He never married. He died in Terre Haute about 1828.

Harrison's Line Of March

From Fort Harrison on the banks.. General Harrison's Line Of March From Vincennes To Prophet's Town In 1811.

A 1912 Look At Fort Harrison's Site

Fort Harrison on the banks of the Wabash, 1812-1912, by Fort Harrison Centennial Association

Post-War Problems In Major Chunn's Command

Major John T. Chunn was a Commandant at Fort Harrison.

There was no trouble with hostile Indians during the time of Major Chunn's command of the Fort. But in 1816 there was a scare. Reports came to the Fort of depredations by the Indians in Michigan and Northern Indiana, and the Fort was thronged with refugees. An autograph letter from Major Chunn to Mr. Gilbert, dated September 8, 1816, indicated possible danger, but no attack was made. During the succeeding years, 1817 and 1818, 1819 and 1820, even after the Fort had been abandoned by the garrison, there were these scares about the Indians. [Source]

A private under Major Chunn's command was Willis Copelan.  A page from Mr. Copelan's pension application file detailing his injury incurred with a keel boat on the Mississippi River bank:

Source:  Fold3

"While he was actually in the service aforesaid [a private in Brevt. Maj. John T. Chunn's company of the 3rd Regiment]...on the 15th of June being engaged in condeling a keel boat on the bank of the Mississippi near a place called St. Genevieve in the Territory of Missouri he received a fracture in his right thigh bone by falling from the top to the bottom of the Mississippi bank on a log.... ". 1 August 1817

Commandant At Fort Harrison

Major John T. Chunn was a Commandant at Fort Harrison.  His biography can be found here, at Fort Harrison on the banks of the Wabash, 1812-1912, online courtesy of Indiana University:

MAJOR JOHN T. CHUNN [was] issued an order May 10, 1816, transferring Major Chunn from Fort Knox, and placing him in command at Fort Harrison. This order instructed Major Chunn to remove government property from Fort Knox to Fort Harrison. This apparently was the end of Fort Knox as a government post.

From Sign At Fort Knox II, Near Vincennes, Indiana

Major Chunn had helped to build the Fort at the time of the Harrison campaign to Tippecanoe. He was then a Lieutenant in one of the companies of that army. He was appointed Captain of the Nineteenth Regiment of the U. S. Infantry, April 14, 1812. He was transferred to the Third Regiment on May 17, 1815. He resigned from the army June 12, 1821, after a long and honorable service. He returned to Terre Haute to spend the rest of his life, and leave a long list of descendants to honor his name.

Josiah Snelling

Source

General Harrison left Snelling in charge of Fort Harrison (11 November 1811 to May 1812) as a reward for his actions at Tippecanoe.

He was recognized for his performance at the Battle of Tippecanoe, and was assigned to command Fort Harrison during the winter of 1811–12.[1] on the Wabash River at the present site of Terre Haute, Indiana. During the War of 1812, he received the rank of Captain and was sent to Fort Detroit, where he met and married Abigail Hunt.

Source

Snelling's activities before Hull surrendered Detroit.

A post about the Josiah Snelling papers here.

Indiana's Fort Harrison

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From The Magazine of American History

"An old well — a hundred yards back from the east bank of the Wabash river, three and a half miles north of the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, marks the site of old Fort Harrison... ."

In early times Fort Harrison was a place of considerable importance, being for many years the frontier garrison of the West — the old " Indian line " which defined the boundary of the Indian hunting grounds crossing the territory of Indiana just above the fort. The latter was erected during the fall of 1811, by General Harrison, who advanced up the Wabash with a strong force, for the purpose of subduing the Indian leader Tecumseh, and his brother... .

The necessity of establishing a fort was apparent....

The most important event in the history of Fort Harrison was its defense against the attack of a large body of Indians, by Zachary Taylor in September, 1812.

Attack At The Narrows

Fort Knox II near Vincennes, Indiana

Following the relief army to Fort Harrison was a party of thirteen soldiers under Lieutenant Fairbanks of the Seventh Infantry escorting a supply wagon loaded with flour and meat. On 13 September 1812, the supply wagon was ambushed by a Potawatomi war party...near modern Fairbanks, Indiana. Only two men...managed to escape back to Fort Knox alive... . [Wikipedia]

Letter from Zachary Taylor, dated September 13, 1812, from Fort Harrison regarding a possible attack at the Narrows (which is exactly what happened):

See Duff Green post.  Green served at Vincennes and Fort Harrison under General William Henry Harrison.

Private Duff Green's Experience Near Vincennes

Our regiment under the command Colonel Wilcox marched to Vincennes*... . ....[news] reached us that the Indians under Tecumseh had attacked Fort Harrison having defeated the Rangers.  [From Duff Green's auto-biographical information].

*An artist's rendering of Fort Knox located near Vincennes, Indiana:

Ft. Knox 1803 - 1813

In 1803 the federal government gave approval for the construction of a new fort near Vincennes.  Ft. Knox, named for Secretary of War Henry Knox, was eventually built on a bluff overlooking the Wabash river, three miles north of the village.  The outpost remained somewhat inactive until the increased tensions of 1811 brought about a heightened interest in improving the fortification.  Archaeological findings in the 1960's indicated that the fort's design may have resembled this artist's rendering.

Fort Harrison

Zachary Taylor remembered the author of Facts and suggestions, biographical, historical, financial and political: addressed to the people of the United States (Google eBook), Duff Green, at Fort Harrison.

When after his election as President, I called with a friend, who introduced me to General Taylor, he said:  "Oh sir I knew General Green long before you did."  I replied,  "I did not suppose that you would recollect me."  He said, "I will never forget that you volunteered your regiment to remain at Fort Harrison."

Another post about the book's author, Duff Green.

See the Battle of Fort Harrison here.

Duff Green of Kentucky

The Duff Green Papers are part of the Southern History Collection at the Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  In a brief biography of Mr. Green, his service in the War of 1812 was included:

Duff Green was born on 15 August 1791 in Woodford County, Ky. At the age of seven, he was sent to a field school attended chiefly by children of his father's tenants. At fourteen, he entered Danville Academy, but returned home a year and a half later and remained until 1811 to educate his brothers and sisters. He was briefly a teacher at Elizabethtown Academy before he enlisted as a private in the War of 1812. Green served at Vincennes and Fort Harrison under General William Henry Harrison and later was made a captain. After the war, he married Lucretia Maria Edwards, sister of Governor Ninian Edwards of Illinois, with whom he had nine children.

From Facts and suggestions, biographical.....by Duff Green (regarding his War of 1812 era experiences):

Duff Green played a crucial role in the defense of Fort Harrison.