Benjamin Franklin Stickney and the War of 1812

The time has arrived when something must be done, and done immediately. Father, much depends upon you. If you unite your efforts with ours I think we can do some thing yet; we may again enjoy the fruits of peace. ~ Five Medals, Potawatomi chief

war begins

War was declared by the United States against Britain on June 18, 1812. As the threat of war had increased, so did the threat of the disgruntled Natives in the area throwing their lot in with the British. Benjamin, still unaware that the U.S. was at war, had a meeting with "a number of Delaware and Miami Chiefs." On June 20, he warned Governor Hull of Michigan Territory that "[t]he plan appears clearly to be for the Indians to be prepared to rise in a mass against the U.S. -- when the word shall be given: and I do not think the scheme is yet given up."

Benjamin also relayed to Governor Hull that Tecumseh had been there and told him he was on his way to Malden "to get powder and lead." Ben's answer to Tecumseh:

I told him what I knew of his schemes and told him that it would be considered an act of enmity for him, under the present circumstances, to go to Malden: and that he would have to answer for it as such, if he attempted to go there. . .As I had not received information that the Declaration of War had taken place, I did not think it prudent to stop him there by force.

In response to the unrest, Governor Hull published a proclamation that may have had the opposite effect to the one intended. Below are portions of the proclamation addressed to the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot, Miami, Delaware, Munsee and Shawnee living in Ohio and the Michigan Territory:

Your great Father. . .has deemed it necessary to send a numerous army on the Northern frontier. In one hand he carries the olive branch of peace, in the other the sword. Those who accept the one, will enjoy protection, safety and happiness; those who prefer the other, will experience all the punishment his poweful hand can inflict.

. . .The present is a most critical moment. Every thing dear to you is now at stake. If any considerations should induce your nations to violate the friendly relations which subsist between us. . .you will forfeit all your land, all your annuities, and all claim to the future bounty of our county -- you will forfeit indeed your very existence among us.

. . .I speak to you in the spirit of peace and good will.

For the next few months, Benjamin was in almost daily contact with other Indian agents, Secretery of War Eustis and the various governors in the area regarding his ongoing attempts to keep the Natives under his jurisdiction at peace. He didn't, however, receive word that the U.S. was actually at war until July 6. When informing his Indian agents of the situation, Secretary Eustis added:

Your vigilance and attention are rendered peculiarly necessary in your agency at this time, and no executions or reasonable Expenses will be spared to keep the Indians quiet and friendly.

The very day that Benjamin received word about the war, he called a meeting of Native leaders in the area to tell them the news. He let them know that "those who go to assist our enemies, will be considered our enemies." Two days later, he wrote to Governor Hull that Potowatami leader Winemac had seen "many of the messengers from Tecumseh at Piories, with his speeches, inviting the Tribes of the West to War."

Over the next month a parade of "alarmed" Natives passed through Fort Wayne and, on July 8, Benjamin reported to Governor Hull that he had "not been able to perceive any disposition in any for any thing but peace." That was soon to change, however. The death of Little Turtle, leader of the Miami tribe, on July 14th turned the tides a bit. Little Turtle had been "a faithful friend of the United States." After his death, "the Miami were more responsive to British overtures." Another problem for the U.S. was the number of Native tribes that, according to what Benjamin had been told, "were actually starving" under the supposed care of the United States.

Benjamin's last letter sent from Fort Wayne in the year 1812 was to Governor William Henry Harrison on July 24th. The bulk of the letter he spent defending himself from Harrison's charge that he was "ignorant, inexperienced, and outrageously insolent." Evidently Ben had followed an order from Secretary of War Eustis that Harrison took ubrage with. His reply to the governor took on a slightly sarcastic tone which, again, fortold problems he would soon be having with the men he worked with.

If I comprehend your meaning, Sir, you convey an Idea that an officer of recent appointment ought not to undertake to decide upon points of duty. . .I have been so ignorant as to suppose that an officer the day after his being commissioned was vested with the same power as after he had held that commission Twelve years.    

In spite of these minor irritations, Benjamin kept his nose to the grindstone. A council meeting with the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandot, Mingwe and Seneca tribes had been set for August 15 at Harrison's headquarters in Piqua, Ohio. The U.S. government was hoping to convince the tribes to take a stance of neutrality in the war. Unfortunately, on August 5, Benjamin was "prostrated by a severe illness from which he became convalescent only after twelve days." Not only was he unable to attend the council at Piqua but also, during that illness, all hell broke loose.

Detroit and Chicago fall

By August, the British had a sizable number of Native allies on their side, not the least of which was the powerful Shawnee chief Tecumseh. On August 15, empowered by their new allies, the British launched an attack on Fort Detroit. Below is a drawing of the fort:

In the short and almost bloodless battle that followed the siege, Tecumseh "brought together perhaps the most formidable force ever commanded by a North American Indian, an accomplishment that was a decisive factor in the capture of Detroit and of 2,500 U.S. soldiers." Governor Hull, who was in charge of the fort at the time, capitulated almost immediately, much to his discredit.

With the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, 280 miles west, in what would become the city of Chicago, was now deemed in danger.

(1) Fort Detroit (2) Fort Dearborn (3) Fort Wayne

Below is a drawing of Fort Dearborn on the shores of the Chicago River:

Benjamin was "instructed to help with the transfer of all soldiers and families" from Fort Dearborn to Fort Wayne. Still "prostrate" with his illness, Benjamin sent Captain William Wells to aid in the transfer. Wells seemed an obvious choice since his son-in-law, Captain Nathan Heald, was commander of Dearborn at that time.

Heald, on evacuating the fort, had made a rather grievous decision. From "The True Story of the Encounter at Fort Dearborn" by Jeffrey Johnson:

Hoping to win over the Potawatomi and secure their help as escorts, he had promised to give them the contents of the fort -- food, calico, and other provisions. But at the last minute he opted to destoy the fort's supply of alcohol and ammunition, concluding that whiskey would only inflame the Potawatomi and that any powder or shot given them might eventually be used agains the fort's occupants.

The Natives, however, perceived this act as just another broken promise. As the soldiers, along with their wives and children, were escorted by Wells from the fort, they feared for their lives. "Every heart was heavy. The children, with some of the women, were placed in covered wagons."

Less than two miles into their journey, the travelers were suddenly ambushed by a band of Potawatomi warriors. 38 soldiers, 2 women and 12 children were killed in the attack. The rest of the party, 28 soldiers, 7 women and 6 children were taken prisoner.

According to B. J. Griswold, "[t]he little garrison of less than one hundred men at Fort Wayne received with alarm the first account of the massacre at Fort Dearborn."

the siege of Fort Wayne

In 1812, Fort Wayne was a remote outpost that had fallen into disrepair. Griswold asserts that it was "in no way prepared for an impending attack." Even so, it was far safer inside the walls than out. Expecting the worst after Dearborn, Benjamin, who had been living in the Agency House outside the walls was carried inside for his safety. Below is a drawing of the fort in 1816 by Major Francis Belton.

Griswold pointed out an even worse state of affairs:

The situation was rendered highly embarrassing and hazardous by the physical condition of the aged commandant, Captain Rhea, whose fondness for intoxicants unfitted him for a realization of the true situation. It is evident, too, that ill-feeling among the officers and Indian agent within the fort was not lacking. In later years Major Stickney wrote: "The commanding officer was drunk nearly all the time, and the two lieutenants [Curtis and Ostrander] were inefficient men, entirely unfit to hold commissions of any grade."

The first order of business was to remove the women and children from the fort. Once that was accomplished, the men at Fort Wayne readied themselves for an attack. In the early part of September, Antoine Bondie, who lived outside the fort, was warned by a friendly Pottowatomi of an imminent attack.

Captain Rhea's condition had made it necessary for Benjamin, though "still weak with his illness," to take charge of the fort along with Lieutenants Curtis and Ostrander. From Griswold's account:

Bondie crept to the council house and there revealed the plot to Major Stickney. Stickney was puzzled. Bondie possessed a reputation for questionable veracity. The agent had been at the fort less than three months. He hesitated to notify General Harrison, for if the alarm were a false one, it would appear to indicate personal cowardice, which did not exist, and perhaps precipitate a war if invading troops were called when no outbreak was intended by the savages.

The commandant, Rhea, when Stickney told him the story, scoffed at the thought of danger. Stickney, however, decided to notify General Harrison, who already had started northward from Cincinnati, toward Detroit.

Harrison heeded Benjamin's call for aid. He sent a notice out to his "mounted volunteers" and managed to gather a sizable force of 5,500 men to set out in aid of Fort Wayne.

On the very day that Harrison sent his message, the seige of Fort Wayne began. The attack was led by two Potawatomi chiefs well known to Benjamin, Winamac and Five Medals. Only two months earlier Five Medals had come to Benjamin with these words:

The time has arrived when something must be done, and done immediately. Father, much depends upon you. If you unite your efforts with ours I think we can do some thing yet; we may again enjoy the fruits of peace.

Benjamin's curt answer to the chief may have had much to do with Five Medals part in the attack. A man named Stephen Johnston was the first casualty and the "beginning of the series of tragedies which marked the siege." After Johnston's death, with the fort surrounded, a stalemate began as both sides waited for reinforcements. From Griswold's account:

Both factions, however, refrained from open warfare in order to prolong the period preceding the actual conflict — the savages expecting that Tecumseh and the British would come to their assistance, and the garrison hoping for the early arrival of General Harrison's troops. 

Finally, the Indians, on being provided with a white cloth to be used as a flag of truce which they delayed using for several days, approached the fort in large numbers, hoping, evidently, to be allowed to enter in such force as to be able to overpower the occupants.

The Indians were disappointed in their hope. Benjamin "still very weak from his sickness, with difficulty walked to the gate and designated in name the chiefs to be admitted, who upon their entrance within the stockade, one by one, were examined closely and disarmed by the guard."

When the council pipes were finished Winamac, addressing the agent, disclaimed, on the part of the chiefs, any part in the death of Johnston. "But," he added, "if my father wishes for war, I am a man " At this moment there was a strange stir among the assembled savages. The words, "I am a man" were to have been the signal for Winamac to stab the agent (Cousin Ben) with a knife concealed beneath his blanket. Antoine Bondie, however, who had penetrated the secret, drew his own knife quickly and shouted, "I am a man, too!" and his dramatic action, together with the appearance of the soldiers, fully armed, brought the treacherous plan to a close. The Indians had hoped, through the murder of the agent and officers, to be able to control the situation even to the opening of the doors to allow the entrance of the murderous horde. Disappointed, they filed back to their encampment.

hostilities begin

Lieutenant Daniel Curtis, who was second in command at the fort during the attack, gave an account of Captain Rhea's condition during the first five days of the siege:

The night of the 5th arrived and our captain had not drawn a sober breath since the chiefs left the garrison the night before. . .at about 8 p. m. a general shout from the enemy was heard, succeeded by a firing of small arms on every side of us. . . the enemy had not time to fire a second round before we were ready and opened three broadsides upon them, and sent them a few shells from our howitzers, which we presume must have raked the skins of many. . .The next day they kept up a firing till about 3 p. m. Our captain still continued drunk as a fool, and perfectly incapable of exercising rationality on any subject whatever, but was constantly abusing every one that came in his presence.

The siege continued from the morning of the 5th to the 10th, both day and night, and the fears and troubles of our great and intrepid commander were continually drowned in the excessive use of the ardents.

From Griswold's account:

A hail of British bullets from British rifles in the hands of British allies, together with flaming arrows which set fire to the buildings and the palisades, characterized the hours of the five days. . .With the belief that Harrison's army of Kentuckians was drawing nearer with the passage of every hour, the soldiers within the palisades now settled down to a determination to hold the fort at all costs.

. . .The scene within the stockade on the arrival of Harrison's army may well be imagined. The region resounded with cheers of the soldiers; in many instances the arrival of the army of relief marked the reunion of friends and relatives. The general. . .summoned the officers and agent of the fort and there, from Lieutenants Curtis and Ostrander, with Major Stickney as a corroborative witness, heard the charges preferred against the commandant, Rhea. General Harrison would have discharged the commandant except for his age, but "more particularly on account of his having a young family," he was allowed to resign.

With the siege finally over, Benjamin, still suffering from the effects of his illness left Fort Wayne for Piqua to recuperate. His story will continue in our next post.