Who was Captain Rhea?
In the midst of the agitation Captain Nathan Heald was transferred from the command at Fort Wayne to the post at Fort Dearborn [Chicago]. In his stead came Captain James Rhea, who arrived in the spring of 1810. The weakness of character of the new commandant under the trying conditions which were soon to surround the little garrison of the fort in the wilderness, might have proved of frightful consequence but for the bravery and intelligence of the subordinate military and civil authorities within the stockade.
Rhea was a native of New Jersey, and a lieutenant and adjutant of "Rhea's Levies" in 1791. He was ensign and second lieutenant of infantry in 1799, and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1800. He was commissioned a captain in 1807.
Rhea, after serving under Wayne, had been in command of a post established by Wayne below Swan creek, which empties into the Maumee, in Ohio.
From The Pictorial History of Fort Wayne, Indiana:...,
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