Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 34

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388

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FORT, Greenbury L., soldier and Congress- man, was born in Ohio, Oct. 17, 1835, and, in 1834, removed with his parents to Illinois. In 1850 he was elected Sheriff of Putnam County ; in 1852, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and, having mean- while been admitted to the bar at Lacon, became County Judge in 1857, serving until 1861. In April of the latter year he enlisted under the first call for troops, by re-enlistments serving till March 24, 1866. Beginning as Quartermaster of his regiment, he served as Chief Quartermaster of the Fifteenth Army Corps on the "March to the Sea," and was mustered out with the rank of Colonel and Brevet Brigadier-General. On his return from the field, he was elected to the State Senate, serving in the Twenty-fifth and Twenty- sixth General Assemblies, and, from 1873 to 1881, as Representative in Congress. He died, at Lacon, June 13, 1883.

FORT CHARTRES, a strong fortification erected by the French iu 1718, on the American Bottom, 16 miles northwest from Kaskaskia. The soil on which it stood was alluvial, and the limestone of which its walls were built was quarried from an adjacent bluff. In form it was an irregular quadrangle, surrounded on three sides by a wall two feet two inches thick, and on the fourth by a ravine, which, during the spring- time, was full of water. During the period of French ascendency in Illinois, Fort Chartres was the seat of government. Ahout four miles east soon sprang up the village of Prairie du Rocher (or Rock Prairie). (See Prairie du Rocher.) At the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1756), the original fortification was repaired and virtually rebuilt. Its cost at that time is esti- mated to have amounted to 1,000,000 French crowns. After the occupation of Illinois by the British, Fort Chartres still remained the seat of government until 1772, when one side of the fortification was washed away by a freshet, and headquarters were transferred to Kaskaskia. The first common law court ever held in the Mis- sissippi Valley was established here, in 1768, by the order of Colonel Wilkins of the English army. The ruins of the old fort, situated in the northwest corner of Randolph County, once con- stituted an object of no little interest to anti- quarians, but the site has disappeared during the past generation by the encroachments of the Mississippi.

FORT DEARBORN, the name of a United States military post, established at the mouth of the Chicago River in 1803 or 1804, on a tract of land six miles square conveyed by the Indians in

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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

the treaty of Greenville, concluded by General Wayne in 1795. It originally consisted of two block houses located at opposite angles (north- west and southeast) of a strong wooden stockade. with the Commandant's quarters on the east side of the quadrangle, soldiers' barracks on the south, officers' barracks on the west, and magazine, contractor's (sutler's) store and general store- house on the north-all the buildings being con- structed of logs, and all, except the block-houses, being entirely within the enclosure. Its arma- ment consisted of three light pieces of artillery. Its builder and first commander was Capt. John Whistler, a native of Ireland who had surrendered with Burgoyne, at Saratoga,, N. Y., and who subsequently became an American citizen, and served with distinction throughout the War of 1812. He was succeeded, in 1810, by Capt. Nathan Heald. As early as 1806 the Indians around the fort manifested signs of disquietude, Tecumseh, a few years later, heading an open armed revolt. In 1810 a council of Pottawato- mies, Ottawas and Chippewas was held at St. Joseph, Mich., at which it was decided not to join the confederacy proposed by Chief Tecumseh. In 1811 hostilities were precipitated by an attack upon the United States troops under Gen. William Henry Harrison at Tippecanoe. In April, 1812, hostile bands of Winnebagos appeared in the vicinity of Fort Dearborn, terrifying the settlers by their atrocities. Many of the whites sought refuge within the stockade. Within two months after the declaration of war against England, in 1812, orders were issued for the evacuation of Fort Dearborn and the transfer of the garrison to Detroit. The garrison at that time numbered about 70, including officers, a large number of the troops being ill. Almost simultaneously with the order for evacuation appeared bands of Indians clamoring for a dis- tribution of the goods, to which they claimed they were entitled under treaty stipulations. Knowing that he had but about forty men able to fight and that his march would be sadly hindered by the care of about a dozen women and twenty children, the commandant hesitated. The Pottawatomies, through whose country he would have to pass, had always been friendly, and he waited. Within six days a force of 500 or 600 savage warriors had assembled around the fort. Among the leaders were the Pottawatomie chiefs, Black Partridge, Winnemeg and Topenebe. Of these, Winnemeg was friendly. It was he who had brought General Hull's orders to evacuate. and, as the crisis grew more and more dangerous,

he offered sound advice. He urged instantaneous departure before the Indians had time to agree upon a line of action. But Captain Heald decided to distribute the stores among the sav- ages, and thereby secure from them a friendly escort to Fort Wayne. To this the aborigines readily assented, believing that thereby all the whisky and ammunition which they knew to be within the enclosure, would fall into their hands. Meanwhile Capt. William Wells, Indian Agent at Fort Wayne, had arrived at Fort Dearborn with a friendly force of Miamis to act as an escort. He convinced Captain Heald that it would be the height of folly to give the Indians liquor and gun- powder. Accordingly the commandant emptied the former into the lake and destroyed the latter. This was the signal for war. Black Partridge claimed he could no longer restrain his young braves, and at a council of the aborigines it was resolved to massacre the garrison and settlers. On the fifteenth of August the gates of the fort were opened and the evacuation began. A band of Pottawatomies accompanied the whites under the guise of a friendly escort. They soon deserted and, within a mile and a half from the fort, began the sickening scene of carnage known as the "Fort Dearborn Massacre." Nearly 500 Indians participated, their loss being less than twenty. The Miami escort fled at the first exchange of shots. With but four exceptions the wounded white prisoners were dispatched with savage ferocity and promptitude. Those not wounded were scattered among various tribes. The next day the fort with its stockade was burned. In 1816 (after the treaty of St. Louis) the fort was rebuilt upon a more elaborate scale. The second Fort Dearborn contained, besides bar- racks and officers' quarters, a magazine and provision-store, was enclosed by a square stock- ade, and protected by bastions at two of its angles. It was again evacuated in 1823 and re-garrisoned in 1828. The troops were once more withdrawn in 1831, to return the following year during the Black Hawk War. The final evacnation occurred in 1836.

FORT GAGE, situated on the eastern bluffs of the Kaskaskia River, opposite the village of Kas- kaskia. It was erected and occupied by the British in 1772. It was built of heavy, square timbers and oblong in shape, its dimensions being 290x251 feet. On the night of July 4, 1778, it was captured by a detachment of American troops commanded by Col. George Rogers Clark, who held a commission from Virginia. The soldiers, with Simon Kenton at their head, were secretly

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admitted to the fort by a Pennsylvanian who happened to be within, and the commandant, Rocheblave, was surprised in bed, while sleeping with his wife by his side.

FORT JEFFERSON. I. A fort erected by Col. George Rogers Clark, under instructions from the Governor of Virginia, at the Iron Banks on the east bank of the Mississippi, below the mouth of the Ohio River. He promised lands to all adult, able-bodied white males who would emi- grate thither and settle, either with or without their families. Many accepted the offer, and a considerable colony was established there. Toward the close of the Revolutionary War, Vir- ginia being unable longer to sustain the garrison, the colony was scattered, many families going to Kaskaskia. II. A fort in the Miami valley, erected by Governor St. Clair and General Butler, in October, 1791. Within thirty miles of the post St. Clair's army, which had been badly weakened through desertions, was cut to pieces by the enemy, and the fortification was aban- doned.

FORT MASSAC, an early French fortification, erected about 1711 on the Ohio River, 40 miles from its mouth, in what is now Massac County. It was the first fortification (except Fort St. Louis) in the "Illinois Country," antedating Fort Chartres by several years. The origin of the name is uncertain. The best authorities are of the opinion that it was so called in honor of the engineer who superintended its construction ; by others it has been traced to the name of the French Minister of Marine; others assert that it is a .corruption of the word "Massacre," a name given to the locality because of the massacre there of a large number of French soldiers by the Indians. The Virginians sometimes spoke of it as the "Cherokee fort." It was garrisoned by the French until after the evacuation of the country under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. It later became a sort of depot for American settlers, a few families constantly residing within and around the fortification. At a very early day a military road was laid out from the fort to Kaskaskia, the trees alongside being utilized as milestones, the number of miles being cut with irons and painted red. After the close of the Revolutionary War, the United States Govern- ment strengthened and garrisoned the fort by way of defense against inroads by the Spaniards. With the cession of Louisiana to the United States, in 1803, the fort was evacuated and never re-garrisoned. . According to the "American State Papers," during the period of the French

occupation, it was both a Jesuit missionary station and a trading post.

FORT SACKVILLE, a British fortification, erected in 1769, on the Wabash River a short distance below Vincennes. It was a stockade, with bastions and a few pieces of cannon. In 1778 it fell into the hands of the Americans, and was for a time commanded by Captain Helm, with a garrison of a few Americans and Illinois French. In December, 1778, Helm and one private alone occupied the fort and surrendered to Hamilton, British Governor of Detroit, who led a force into the country around Vincennes.

FORT SHERIDAN (formerly Highwood), a village and United States Military Post, in Lake County, on the Milwaukee Division of the Chi- cago & Northwestern Railway, 34 miles north of Chicago. Population (1890), 451.

FORT ST. LOUIS, a French fortification on a rock (widely known as "Starved Rock"), which .consists of an isolated cliff on the south side of the Illinois River nearly opposite Utica, in La Salle County. Its height is between 130 and 140 feet, and its nearly round summit contains an area of about three-fourths of an acre. The side facing the river is nearly perpendicular and, in natural advantages, it is well-nigh impregnable. Here, in the fall of 1682, La Salle and Tonty began the erection of a fort, consisting of earth- works, palisades, store-houses and a block house, which also served as a dwelling and trading post. A windlass drew water from the river, and two small brass cannon, mounted on a parapet, com- prised the armament. It was solemnly dedicated by Father Membre, and soon became a gathering place for the surrounding tribes, especially the Illinois. But Frontenac having been succeeded as Governor of New France by De la Barre, who was unfriendly to La Salle, the latter was dis- placed as Commandant at Fort St. Louis, while plots were laid to secure his downfall by cutting off his supplies and inciting the Iroquois to attack him. La Salle left the fort in 1683, to return to France, and, in 1702, it was abandoned as a military post, though it continued to be a trad- ing post until 1718, when it was raided by the Indians and burned. (See La Salle.)

FORT WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD. (See Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway.) FORT WAYNE & ILLINOIS RAILROAD. (See New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway.)

FORTIFICATIONS, PREHISTORIC. Closely related in interest to the works of the mound- builders in Illinois-though, probably, owing their origin to another era and an entirely different

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race-are those works which bear evidence of having been constructed for purposes of defense at some period anterior to the arrival of white men in the country. While there are no works in Illinois so elaborate in construction as those to which have been given the names of "Fort Ancient" on the Maumee in Ohio, "Fort Azatlan" on the Wabash in Indiana, and "Fort Aztalan" on Rock River in Southeru Wisconsin, there are a number whose form of construction shows that they must have been intended for warlike pur- poses, and that they were formidable of their kind and for the period in which they were con- structed. It is a somewhat curious fact that, while La Salle County is the seat of the first fortification constructed by the French in Illinois that can be said to have had a sort of permanent character ( see Fort St. Louis and Starved Rock), it is also the site of a larger number of prehistoric fortifications, whose remains are in such a state of preservation as to be clearly discernible, than any other section of the State of equal area. One of the most formidable of these fortifications is on the east side of Fox River, opposite the mouth of Indian Creek and some six miles northeast of Ottawa. This occupies a position of decided natural strength, and is surrounded by three lines of circumvallation, showing evidence of consider- able engineering skill. From the size of the trees within this work and other evidences, its age has been estimated at not less than 1,200 years. On the present site of the town of Marseilles, at the rapids of the Illinois, seven miles east of Ottawa, another work of considerable strength existed. It is also said that the American Fur Company had an earthwork here for the protection of its trading station, erected about 1816 or '18, and consequently belonging to the present century. Besides Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock, the out- line of another fort, or outwork, whose era has not been positively determined, about half a mile south of the former, has been traced in recent times. De Baugis, sent by Governor La Barre, of Canada, to succeed Tonty at Fort St. Louis, is said to have erected a fort on Buffalo Rock, on the opposite side of the river from Fort St. Louis, which belonged practically to the same era as the latter .- There are two points in Southern Illinois where the aborigines had constructed fortifica- tions to which the name "Stone Fort" has been given. One of these is a hill overlooking the Saline River in the southern part of Saline County, where there is a wall or breastwork five feet in height enclosing an area of less than an acre in extent. The other is on the west side of

Lusk's Creek, in Pope County, where a breast- work has been constructed by loosely piling up the stones across a ridge, or tongue of land, with vertical sides and surrounded by a bend of the creek, Water is easily obtainable from the creek below the fortified ridge .- The remains of an old Indian fortification were found by early settlers of McLean County, at a point called "Old Town Timber," about 1822 to 1825. It was believed then that it had been occupied by the Indians during the War of 1812. The story of the Indians was, that it was burned by General Harrison in 1812; though this is improbable in view of the absence of any historical mention of the fact. Judge H. W. Beckwith, who examined its site in 1880, is of the opinion that its history goes back as far as 1752, and that it was erected by the Indians as a defense against the French at Kas- kaskia. There was also a tradition that there had been a French mission at this point .- One of the most interesting stories of early fortifications in the State, is that of Dr. V. A. Boyer, an old citizen of Chicago, in a paper contributed to the Chicago Historical Society. Although the work alluded to by him was evidently constructed after the arrival of the French in the country, the exact period to which it belongs is in doubt. According to Dr. Boyer, it was on an elevated ridge of timber land in Palos Township, in the western part of Cook County. He says: "I first saw it in 1833, and since then have visited it in company with other persons, some of whom are still living. I feel sure that it was not built dur- ing the Sac War from its appearance. . . . It seems probable that it was the work of French traders or explorers, as there were trees a century old growing in its environs. It was evidently the work of an enlightened people, skilled in the science of warfare. .. . As a strategic point it most completely commanded the surrounding country and the crossing of the swamp or 'Sag'." Is it improbable that this was the fort occupied by Colonel Durantye in 1695? The remains of a small fort, supposed to have been a French trad- ing post, were found by the pioneer settlers of Lake County, where the present city of Waukegan stands, giving to that place its first name of "Little Fort." This structure was seen in 1825 by Col. William S. Hamilton (a son of Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury), who had served in the session of the General Assembly of that year as a Representative from Sangamon County, and was then on his way to Green Bay, and the remains of the pickets or palisades were visible as late as 1835. While the date of its

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erection is unknown, it probably belonged to the latter part of the eighteenth century. There is also a tradition that a fort or trading post, erected by a Frenchman named Garay (or Guarie) stood on the North Branch of the Chicago River prior to the erection of the first Fort Dearborn in 1803.

FOSS, George Edmund, lawyer and Congress- man, was born in Franklin County, Vt., July 2, 1863; graduated from Harvard University, in 1885; attended the Columbia Law School and School of Political Science in New York City, finally graduating from the Union College of Law in Chicago, in 1889, when he was admitted to the bar and began practice. He never held any political office until elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress (1894), from the Seventh Illinois District, receiving a majority of more than 8,000 votes over his Democratic and Populist competitors. In 1896 he was again the candidate of his party, and was re-elected by a majority of over 20,000, as he was a third time, in 1898, by more than 12,000 majority. In the Fifty-fifth Congress Mr. Foss was a member of the Committees on Naval Affairs and Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture.

FOSTER, (Dr.) John Herbert, physician and educator, was born of Quaker ancestry at Hills- borough, N. H., March 8, 1796. His early years were spent on his father's farm, but at the age of 16 he entered an academy at Meriden, N. H., and, three years later, began teaching with an older brother at Schoharie, N. Y. Having spent some sixteen years teaching and practicing medicine at various places in his native State, in 1832 he came west, first locating in Morgan County, Ill. While there he took part in the Black Hawk War, serving as a Surgeon. Before the close of the year he was compelled to come to Chicago to look after the estate of a brother who was an officer in the army and had been killed by an insubordinate soldier at Green Bay. Having thus fallen heir to a considerable amount of real estate, which, in subsequent years, largely appreciated in value, he became identified with early Chicago and ultimately one of the largest real-estate owners of his time in the city. He was an active promoter of education during this period, serving on both City and State Boards. His death occurred, May 18, 1874, in consequence of injuries sustained by being thrown from a vehicle in which he was riding nine days previous.

FOSTER, John Wells, author and scientist, was born at Brimfield, Mass., in 1815, and edu- cated at Wesleyan University, Conn ; later studied law and was admitted to the bar in Ohio, but

soon turned his attention to scientific pursuits, being employed for several years in the geological survey of Ohio, during which he investigated the coal-beds of the State. Having incidentally devoted considerable attention to the study of metallurgy, he was employed about 1844 by mining capitalists to make the first systematic survey of the Lake Superior copper region, upon which, in conjunction with J. D. Whitney, he made a report which was published in two vol- umes in 1850-51. Returning to Massachusetts, he participated in the organization of the "American Party" there, though we find him soon after breaking with it on the slavery question. In 1855 he was a candidate for Congress in the Springfield (Mass.) District, but was beaten by a small majority. In 1858 he removed to Chicago and, for some time, was Land Commissioner of the Illinois Central Railroad. The latter years of his life were devoted chiefly to archaeological researches and writings, also serving for some years as Professor of Natural History in the (old) University of Chicago. His works include "The Mississippi Valley; its Physical Geography, Min- eral Resources," etc. (Chicago, 1869); "Mineral Wealth and Railroad Development," (New York, 1872); "Prehistoric Races of the United States," (Chicago, 1873), besides contributions to numer- ous scientific periodicals. He was a member of several scientific associations and, in 1869, Presi- dent of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science. He died in Hyde Park, now a part of Chicago, June 29, 1873.

FOUKE, Philip B., lawyer and Congressman, was born at Kaskaskia, Ill., Jan. 23, 1818; was chiefly self-educated and began his career as a clerk, afterwards acting as a civil engineer ; about 1841-42 was associated with the publication of "The Belleville Advocate," later studied law, and, after being admitted to the bar, served as Prosecuting Attorney, being re-elected to that office in 1856. Previous to this, however, he had been elected to the lower branch of the Seven- teenth General Assembly (1850), and, in 1858, was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth Congress and re-elected two years later. While still in Congress he assisted in organizing the Thirtieth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, of which he was commissioned Colonel, but resigned on account of ill-health soon after the battle of Shilolı. After leaving the army he removed to New Orleans, where he was appointed Public Adminis- trator and practiced law for some time. He then took up the prosecution of the cotton-claims against the Mexican Government, in which he

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was engaged some seven years, finally removing to Washington City and making several trips to Europe in the interest of these suits. He won his cases, but died soon after a decision in his favor, largely in consequence of overtaxing his brain in their prosecution. His death occurred in Washington, Oct. 3, 1876, when he was buried in the Congressional Cemetery, President Grant and a number of Senators and Congressmen acting as pall-bearers at his funeral.

FOWLER, Charles Henry, Methodist Episcopal Bishop, born in Burford, Conn., August 11, 1837; was partially educated at Rock River Seminary, Mount Morris, finally graduating at Genesee College, N. Y., in 1859. He then hegan the study of law in Chicago, but, changing his purpose, entered Garrett Biblical Institute, at Evanston, graduating in 1861. Having been admitted to the Rock River Methodist Episcopal Conference he was appointed successively to Chicago churches till 1872; then became President of the North- western University, holding this office four years, when he was elected to the editorship of "The Christian Advocate" of New York. In 1884 he was elected and ordained Bishop. His residence is in San Francisco, his labors as Bishop being devoted largely to the Pacific States.

FOX RIVER (of Illinois)-called Pishtaka by the Indians-rises in Waukesha County, Wis., and, after running southward through Kenosha and Racine Counties in that State, passes into Illinois. It intersects McHenry and Kane Couu- ties and runs southward to the city of Aurora, below which point it flows southwestward, until it empties into the Illinois River at Ottawa. Its length is estimated at 220 miles. The chief towns on its banks are Elgin, Aurora and Ottawa. It affords abundant water power.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 34

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1388

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388