Wayne, Fort, attack on
Forts Wayne and
Harrison, the former at the junction of the St. Joseph's and
St. Mary's rivers, where they formed the
Maumee, and the latter on the
Wabash, were strongholds of the
Americans in the
Northwest in 1812.
General Proctor, in command at Fort Maiden, resolved to reduce them, with the assistance of
Tecumseh, whom
Brock had commissioned a brigadier-general.
Major Muir, with British regulars and
Indians, was to proceed up the
Maumee Valley to co-operate with other
Indians, and Sept. 1 was appointed as the day when they should invest
Fort Wayne.
The garrison consisted of only seventy men under
Capt. James Rhea.
The
Indians prosecuted raids in other directions to divert attention from
Forts Wayne and
Harrison and prevent their being reinforced.
A scalping-party fell upon the “Pigeon-roost settlement”
[
252]
in
Scott county, Ind. (Sept. 3), and during the twilight they killed three men, five women, and sixteen children.
Similar atrocities were committed by these allies of the
British preparatory to the investment of
Fort Wayne.
For several days the Indians had been seen hovering in the woods around the fort, and on the night of Sept. 5 they attacked the sentinels.
The treacherous
Miamis, who, since the massacre at
Chicago, had resolved to join
the
British, kept up a zealous pretence of friendship for the
Americans, hoping by this to get possession of the fort by surprise.
They joined the other
Indians in an attack on the fort on the night of the 6th, supposed to have been 600 strong.
They attempted to scale the palisades, but were driven back.
Then, under the direction of a half-breed, they formed two logs into the shape of cannon, and demanded the instant surrender of the fort, which would be battered down in case of a refusal.
The troops were not frightened.
They knew friends were on their way to relieve them.
The besiegers kept up assaults until the 12th, when they fled precipitately on the approach of a delivering force that night which saved the fort.
The
Indians had destroyed the live-stock, crops, and dwellings outside of the fort.
The city of
Fort Wayne stands near the spot.
