USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 12
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The next year ( 1805) Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike was sent up the Mississippi on an exploring expedition, with instructions to select a site for a military post "somewhere between St. Louis and Prairie des Chiens, and to obtain the consent of the Indians for its erection." In his journal, Pike says: "I have chosen three places for military establishments ; the first on a hill about forty miles above the river, de Moyen Rapids on the west side of the river in about 41º 2' north latitude. The channel of the river runs on that shore; the hill is about sixty feet perpendicular, nearly level on the top."
The war department article above referred to says: "There is ample evidence to show conclusively that this was the site on which Fort Madison was erected." The "ample evidence" is not given in the article, and some who have investigated the matter are inclined to the opinion that the site referred to in Pike's journal is where the City of Burlington now stands. There are good grounds for this belief, as the distance from the mouth of the Des Moines River men-
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tioned by Pike corresponds more nearly to the location of Burlington than that of Fort Madison. The hill and the current as described by Pike also apply to Burlington, and the longitude, which was merely estimated by the explorer, likewise fits Burlington better, the forty- first parallel running about ten miles north of that city. However that may be, the selection of the site by Pike is doubtless responsible for Gardner's error in stating that the fort was built by him in 1805.
The following report of Lieut. Alpha Kingsley to Gen. Henry Dearborn, then secretary of war, gives the correct history of the location and establishment of Fort Madison :
"Garrison at Belle Vue, Near River Le Moyne, "22 November, 1808.
"Sir :- Having received orders at Belle Fontaine, to move up the Mississippi River as far as the River Le Moine, with Captain Pinck- ney's Company under my command, and fix on a suitable situation for a fort, as nigh that place as possible-not finding any place nearer to that designation than this-I have accordingly fixed on it, which is about twenty-five miles above Le Moine. The season being so far advanced when I arrived here (26th September) that it was impossible to put up such buildings as were necessary to answer the object in view, I therefore thought it expedient to erect temporary houses for the winter. Having set a good picket around my camp, with bastions at right angles, I then commenced upon the factory, and other store houses, barracks, etc., all of which are small and done in a rough way, but will answer the purpose, they being nearly completed. I shall, by the first of next month, commence on build- ing a small fort with three block houses, of hewed timber, so dis- posed as to have full command of each angle of the fort-a plan which I humbly submit. Having plenty of timber convenient, and that of the best quality, I am fully of the opinion that by June next I will have the fort ready for the reception of the troops. The expense of this work to the United States will be but a trifle, when put in completion (comparison) with the good effect that will result to the Government.
"This situation is high, commands an extensive view of the river and adjacent country-also an excellent spring of water-and I believe there is no place on the river which will prove more healthy, and none more advantageous to the Indian trade. I shall prosecute the work of the fort with all possible expedition, and hope by spring to have it so far advanced that it will bid defiance to the evil-minded savage, and at the same time insure the respect and friendship of the
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better disposed. With these sentiments at heart, having the public good in view, at the same time wishing to comply with my orders, which, though not pointed, leave me latitude, for which I have above premised, and fully expecting your approbation, I shall proceed to complete the work.
"I am with high consideration, sir, your very obedient servant, "ALPHA KINGSLEY, LT., "Ist U. S. Regt. Inft."
Subsequent reports and correspondence of Lieutenant Kingsley show that during the winter the little garrison was occupied in the preparation of white oak logs, from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, cut to a uniform length of fourteen feet, hewed on both sides and freed from bark. Early in the spring of 1809, as soon as the weather would permit, these logs were conveyed to the site of the fort and the work of erecting the block-houses was commenced. About this time Lieutenant Kingsley learned that the Indians were preparing to raid the frontier settlements and that the first blow would probably be struck at the garrison. Under date of April 19, 1809, he wrote to the war department as follows:
"Upon receiving this information I made every possible exertion to erect block-houses and plant my pickets ; this we did in two weeks (lying on our arms during the night), and took quarters in the new fort on the 14th inst. Being tolerably secure against an attack, we have been able to get a little rest, and are now making preparations for the safety and defense of this establishment."
This letter was dated from "Fort Madison, near River Le Moin," and is the first official evidence of the application of that name to the new post. James Madison had just been inaugurated President of the United States on March 4, 1809, and the name was unquestion- ably adopted in his honor. The correspondence of the founder of the fort therefore shows that the site was selected by him in the fall of 1808; that temporary quarters were established there for the winter, and that the fort bearing the name of "Madison" was first occupied on April 14, 1809.
The plan of the fort submitted by Kingsley on November 22, 1808, showed the factory building, or trading house, inside the stock- ade, but in his letter of April 19, 1809, he says: "The recent con- duct of the Indians has evinced to my mind that the thing is improper (except the warehouses), and, unless I receive contrary orders, shall build the retail store outside, say 100 yards distant."
FORT MADISON, GOVERNMENT POST, 1808
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This plan was followed and in May, 1809, he wrote: "As the commanding officer of this post, it would be pleasant to know how far I am to comply with the requisitions of the factory, inasmuch as, if the soldiery are drawn for the use of the factory in such numbers as to answer the expectations of the factor, it will be impossible to complete the fort this season."
In response to this letter of inquiry he was informed that the soldiers were to build the factory, "receiving extra pay therefor at the rate of ten cents per day and one gill of whiskey for each man, to be paid by the factory department."
About this time Capt. Horatio Stark, of the First Infantry, then on duty at regimental headquarters, near Fort Adams, Mississippi, was ordered to proceed "with one corporal and seven privates, via St. Louis, to join and assume command of Captain Pinckney's com- pany." He arrived at Fort Madison on August 24, 1809, and relieved Lieutenant Kingsley in the command of the fort. From statistical reports relating to the troops in the District of Louisiana on Septem- ber 1, 1809, it is learned that the garrison at Fort Madison then consisted of First Lieut. Alpha Kingsley, Second Lieut. Nathaniel Pryor, one surgeon's mate, three sergeants, three corporals, two musi- cians and sixty privates of Captain Pinckney's company ; Capt. Hora- tio Stark, one sergeant and eight privates of his company, making a total of eighty-one, exclusive of the seven persons connected with the · factory department, who were subject to garrison duty in case of emergency.
The Indians regarded the building of Fort Madison in their coun- try as a violation of the treaty of 1804, and soon after it was completed an attempt was made to destroy it, but it was unsuccessful. No official report of this event is on file in the archives of the war depart- ment and the real facts cannot be learned. During the winter of 1811-12 and the summer following great anxiety prevailed regarding the designs of the Indians, whose attitude became constantly more threatening, making constant watchfulness on the part of the garrison a necessity. Small parties of whites were attacked and killed near the fort, but no attack upon the fort itself was made. Lieut .- Col. Daniel Bissell, commanding the troops in the District of Louisiana, wrote to the war department that Captain Stark had been directed to put Fort Madison in the best possible state of defense, and expressed his belief that, "if vigilance is used, there can be no danger of his not being able to defend the place against any number of Indians that may be brought against him."
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Notwithstanding this expression of confidence in Captain Stark's ability to hold the fort, Colonel Bissell, soon after writing the letter, sent Lieut. Barony Vasquez with twelve men to Fort Madison, "to assist the commanding officer of that post to put his work in the best possible state of defense." Shortly after the arrival of this reinforce- ment, Captain Stark took a small detachment and descended the river on special service, leaving the post under the command of Lieut. Thomas Hamilton.
General Harrison's victory in the Battle of Tippecanoe, Novem- ber 7, 1811, broke the backbone of the Tecumseh conspiracy and drove the Winnebagoes from the Wabash Valley. This incident had the effect of inciting that tribe to adopt measures of retaliation and war parties were started in every direction, one of which was directed against Fort Madison. The wily Sac chief, Black Hawk, who had never been satisfied with the treaty of 1804 and the erection of Fort Madison in the Indian country, joined this Winnebago war party with several of his band and was active in the assault upon the fort on September 5, 1812. No official report of this attack has been found, but Niles' Register of October 31, 1812, gives the following account of the event, which was furnished for publication by one who was in the fort at the time :
"On the 5th inst. at half past 5 P. M. this garrison was attacked by a party of the Winnebagoes, the number not precisely known, but supposed to be upwards of two hundred. Fortunately there was only one soldier out of the garrison (John Cox) who fell a victim to the scalping knife. A constant firing on both sides was kept up until dark; early next morning they commenced again, and about 7 o'clock they set fire to a Mr. Graham's boat and loading, this man having arrived on the 4th; they also burnt two boats belonging to the public; soon after they began to throw fire on the block-houses that stood near the bank of the river, but not sufficiently near to command the space between them and the river; syringes being made of gun barrels, the roofs were wet so as to prevent fire taking. During this time part of them killed the live stock, plundered and burnt Mr. Julian's houses, destroying the corn; and on the 7th they continued throwing fire on the block-houses and shot arrows in the roofs with matches tied to them.
"The morning being calm, all their attempts to fire the block- houses proved useless. In the evening they burnt Mr. McNabb's house and attempted the smith shop, and it was generally believed they were only waiting for a favorable wind to burn the factory, so that it might catch the garrison, which would have been the certain
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means of destroying us all; to prevent that, as the evening was very calm, the commanding officer, Thomas Hamilton, despatched a soldier with fire to the factory, and in less than three hours that building was consumed without any danger to the garrison. During the day several Indians crept into an old stable and commenced shoot- ing out of it, but a shot from the cannon by Lieut. Barony Vasquez soon made their yellow jackets fly.
"On the 8th we heard but little from them; several canoes were seen crossing the river, and on the 9th not an Indian was to be seen, nor was a gun fired. I am happy to say no lives were lost in the fort, one man was slightly wounded in the nose. The Indians must have had many killed, as several of them were seen to fall."
This report has been quoted at length to show the conditions about Fort Madison at the time of the attack. From it the reader may see that there were a few houses about the fort-McNabb's and Julian's being burned-besides the factory building and smith shop. The loss of the factory department was considerable, as shown by a letter from the factor, John W. Johnson, to General Mason, superintendent of the Indian trade, under date of September 15, 1812, in which he tabulates the losses as follows :
Sixty packs of peltries at $30. $1,800
One hundred and twenty bear skins
I20
Other articles lost in the fire. 250
Value of buildings destroyed
3,300
Total. .$5,500
On the recommendation of Gen. Benjamin Howard, governor of the Missouri Territory, the war department wrote to Colonel Bissell on October 1, 1812, to withdraw the troops from Fort Madison and other points, with all army stores, provided Governor Howard should still advise such action. In his reply Colonel Bissell recommended that the posts be maintained until the following spring. Thus mat- ters stood until April 4, 1813, when Governor Howard wrote to Bissell, regarding the evacuation of the fort, as follows: "Had my opinion been taken before we were in hostility with the Indians, it certainly would have been in favor of its evacuation, but from a variety of considerations arising from existing circumstances, I deem the abandonment of it inadvisable. Were it to take place at this time the measure could be employed with great dexterity among the Indians by the British agents, as evidence of our inability to maintain
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it, and would embolden those who are now hostile, and probably decide the wavering to take part against us.
"The number of men now there and destined for the place, stated in your letter, is, in my opinion, entirely equal to its defense against any assault by Indians alone, if well supplied; but if a British force with artillery should cooperate, I fear it would be insufficient, unless the garrison is strengthened in a way not usual, nor necessary to repel attacks made by Indians."
At that time the garrison consisted of about one hundred men of the First and Twenty-fourth Infantry, with Lieut. Thomas Hamilton in command. Acting upon the recommendations of Governor How- ard, it was decided to maintain the fort until a more favorable opportunity for its abandonment presented itself. Twice during the month of July, 1813, the post was attacked by Indians, but in such small parties that they were easily repulsed. On July 18, 1813, two days after the second attack, Lieutenant Hamilton wrote to Colonel Bissell, giving an account of the assault and begging for certain supplies, if he should be expected to hold the fort. He closed his letter by saying: "I must repeat that I do expect to hear from you within one month, and when I do, I wish most cordially that it may be for the evacuation or removal of this garrison. If I do not hear from you by the 20th of August and the Indians continue to harass me in the manner they appear determined to do, I do not know but I shall take the responsibility on myself, that is, if they will permit me to go away. It is impossible for us to do duty long in the manner that I have adopted."
This was the last official communication ever written from Fort Madison. The Indians, urged on by British agents, foremost among whom was the notorious Dixon, became daily more threatening and late in August began a regular siege. Reduced to the greatest extremity for want of ammunition and provisions, and seeing no dis- position on the part of the authorities to relieve the situation, Lieu- tenant Hamilton decided to abandon the post and accept the conse- quences. By working under cover of night, a trench was dug from the southeast block-house to the river, where the boats belonging to the garrison lay. On the night of September 3, 1813, the garrison, moving noiselessly along this trench on their hands and knees and carrying the little remaining stock of provisions, their arms and a few valuables, gained the boats. They were fortunate enough to capture a large dugout belonging to the Indians. When all was in readiness, the torch was applied, the boats shot out upon the broad bosom of the Mississippi, and, although the Indians were encamped within easy
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gunshot of the fort, the movements of Hamilton and his men had been conducted with such secrecy that they were gone and the fort was in flames before the savages discovered what had taken place. Thus ended the history of Fort Madison as a military post-the first ever erected by order of the Government in what is now the State of Iowa.
For many years after the destruction of the fort, one of the stone chimneys remained standing and the place became known to traders, trappers and travelers on the Mississippi as the "Lone Chimney." The Indians gave the site of the fort the name "Po-to-wo-nok," signifying the place of fire. One of the streets in the present City of Fort Madison is called Potowonok. The old fort stood near the southwest corner of the square bounded by Front, Second, Oak and Broadway streets. At the foot of Broadway, Jean Espy Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, erected a monument in the form of a chimney, called the "Lone Chimney Monument," to mark the site. It was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on October 28, 1908, approximately a century after the fort was established by Lieu- tenant Kingsley. Where the fireplace would be in a real chimney is a tablet bearing the inscription :
"Erected 1908 by Jean Espy Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution on site of Old Fort Madison Built 1808 Evacuated and Burned by Garrison 1813."
For nineteen years after the abandonment of Fort Madison, the beautiful valley where it stood remained unoccupied by civilized man. In 1832 Peter Williams, whom Isaac R. Campbell describes as "a botanical mullein leaf doctor," built a log cabin on the bank of the Mississippi, four or five hundred yards below the ground once occupied by the fort. The region had not yet been opened to settle- ment and a detail of soldiers was sent down from Fort Armstrong (now Rock Island, Illinois) to remove the trespasser. Williams' cabin was torn down, the logs were thrown into the river, and he was taken to Nauvoo as a prisoner. There some of his friends interceded
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for him and he was released, probably with the injunction: "Go and sin no more."
The same year that Peter Williams was dispossessed, Gen. John H. Knapp, while on his way up the Mississippi River to Fort Snell- ing, learned from the steamboat captain that the site of Fort Madison was claimed by Augustus Horton, who lived on an island a few miles down the river. Knapp bought Horton's claim, took possession, and built a log cabin near the foot of Broadway, where he established an Indian supply store. After a short time he sold his stock of goods to Judge Cutler and spent the winter at a hotel kept by his cousin, Nathaniel Knapp, at Quincy, Illinois.
General Knapp is credited by some authorities with being the first white man to effect a permanent establishment at Fort Madison. He was born at Goshen, New York, May 30, 1791, and in his boyhood was apprenticed to a saddler. In the fall of 1814 he was a lieutenant for about three months in Captain Tuthill's company of New York militia and subsequently was commissioned brigadier-general of state militia. For some time he was engaged in coal and iron mining in the Tioga Field. In 1830 he made a trip via Buffalo and the Missis- sippi River to New Orleans, and it was while returning east that he decided to locate at Fort Madison. In the spring of 1833, accom- panied by his cousin Nathaniel, he returned to his claim.
When the United States, in June, 1833, acquired full title to the lands of the Black Hawk Purchase, Peter Williams returned and reoccupied his claim, erecting his cabin on the bank of the river, between the present Chestnut and Walnut streets. After a brief residence there he removed to the Des Moines River, where he died in 1835.
Some time in 1833 Richard Chaney, who had previously located on the creek bearing his name opposite Keokuk, attracted by the settlement at Fort Madison, came up the river and made a claim on the upper part of the town site. He built his cabin near the mouth of the creek that empties into the Mississippi not far from the peni- tentiary. His claim included the old field that had been cultivated by the soldiers of the garrison twenty years before. Other early settlers were Aaron White and Zachariah Hawkins.
In 1835 John H. Knapp built a hewed log house on the exact site of the old fort, one of the old chimneys of which he utilized for his residence, cleaned out the old well that had been used by the garrison, erected a new store building and sent for his family. On October 9, 1835, his wife, Harriet, two sons, John H., Jr., and Jonas S., and a
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VIEWS OF BLACK HAWK HEIGHTS
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daughter, Elizabeth, arrived. They were accompanied by a married daughter, Mrs. Joseph S. Douglass, her husband and two children.
In June, 1835, John H. and Nathaniel Knapp employed Adolphus Allen to survey and lay out a town, the eastern limit of which is the present Oriental Street, and the western boundary was a short distance above Pine street. The boundaries, as given by Mr. Allen in his report, were as follows: "Commencing at low-water mark on the Mississippi River, due south of a red or Spanish oak tree standing on the bank of the river and running due north one-half mile; thence due east 112 rods, or thereabout; thence due south to low-water mark on said river; thence westerly, following the meandering of said river, by the said low-water mark, to the place of beginning."
Between Front Street and the river were several fractional lots, on one of which stood the store first built by General Knapp and sold to Judge Jacob Cutler. Not long after the Knapps had their town surveyed by Mr. Allen, Dr. John Cutler, a son of the judge, James D. Shaw and a Doctor Ferris bought the claim of Peter Williams and laid it out in lots, their plat adjoining that of the Knapps on the west.
During the year 1836 there was a material increase in the popula- tion of the new town and a number of new buildings were erected. In this year General Knapp built a large frame house on the site of the old fort and opened it as a hotel under the name of the "Madison House." It had accommodations for about fifty guests and also had a large assembly room for conventions, etc. Nathaniel Knapp also built a frame hotel known as the "Washington House." Both these hotels did a prosperous business, as at that time there was a heavy tide of emigration westward and sometimes as many as one hundred wagons would be lined up on the Illinois side of the river, waiting to be ferried over.
Among the patrons of General Knapp's store was Chief Black Hawk, whose son, Nes-se-as-suk, was about the age of John and Jonas Knapp. The three boys became playmates and the old chief would frequently gather them about him in front of the store and tell them stories of his hunting expeditions and his experiences in war. The Indians were generally good customers and rarely failed to pay their debts, though Black Hawk left an unpaid bill of some ten or twelve dollars at Judge Cutler's store.
About the time the Madison House was built the First United States Dragoons constituted the garrison at Fort Des Moines, where Montrose now stands. Among the officers were James C. Parrott, afterward colonel of the Seventh Iowa Infantry in the Civil war, and
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Robert E. Lee, who became commander of the Confederate armies in that great internecine struggle. The officers of the dragoons made frequent visits to Fort Madison and were entertained by General Knapp at the Madison House. On the evening of January 2, 1837, General Knapp attended a reception and ball at the hotel. During the evening he contracted a slight cold, which developed into quinsy and he died two days later. His body was the first to be buried in the Fort Madison Cemetery. After his death the hotel was conducted for some time by his son-in-law, Joseph S. Douglass, when he died of typhoid fever. Mrs. Knapp then leased the building to Lorenzo Bullard, who remained in charge until 1845, when he removed to Wisconsin.
The death of Nathaniel Knapp was more tragic. On July 13, 1837, accompanied by a friend named Doyle, he went to Bentonsport, in Van Buren County on some business connected with the court. Upon their arrival they registered at a hotel and engaged lodging, after which they went out in town. Later in the evening. another guest-Isaac Hendershott, of Burlington-arrived at the hotel and the landlord, assuming that Knapp and Doyle were out to "make a night of it," and the rooms all being taken, assigned Hendershott to the room engaged by the two Fort Madison men. Toward midnight Knapp and Doyle came in, took up a lighted candle and proceeded to their room to find the bed occupied. Knapp somewhat indignantly demanded to know what the occupant was doing in that bed, and, according to Hendershott's statement afterward, made a gesture as if to draw a weapon of some kind. Hendershott sprung from the bed, unsheathed a sword from the cane he carried and stabbed Knapp near the heart. The wounded man exclaimed, "Doyle, I'm a dead man," and sank to the floor, still holding the candle in his hand. He lived but a few minutes and in the excitement which followed Hen- dershott made his escape. The following spring a steamboat stopped at Fort Madison and some one recognized Hendershott as one of the passengers. The news spread rapidly and in a short time an infuriated crowd headed by Thomas Fulton, a relative of Knapp, boarded the boat and gave the assassin a terrible beating. At the next term of the District Court in Van Buren County, Hendershott ap- peared at Farmington, relying upon his theory of self defense to secure an acquittal, but upon learning that an indictment for murder had been returned by the grand jury, he hastily decamped and was never seen in Iowa afterward.
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