History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin, Part 48

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1298

USA > Wisconsin > Richland County > History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin > Part 48
USA > Wisconsin > Crawford County > History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin > Part 48

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

and Wisconsin rivers; returned to Prairie du Chien and made a voyage to the Falls of St. Anthony, in a six-oared skiff, accompanied by a Mr. Hempstead as interpeter, and by two young men named King and Gun, grandsons of Capt. Jonathan Carver, who were going up to the Sauteurs to establish their claim to lands granted by those tribes to their grandfather. The day after his arrival (July 23d,) he examined the country to find a location better adapted for a post than the one then in use, but did not suc- cecd. While here he made excursions in the surrounding country, and refers to the remains of ancient earthworks above the mouth of the Wisconsin, more numerous and of greater ex- tent than had heretofore been noticed.

The following is his description of the ancient mounds-prehistorie earth works:

"The remains of ancient works, constructed probably for military purposes, were found more numerous and of greater extent on the high- lands, just above the month of the Wisconsin, than any of which a description has been made public, or that have as yet been discovered in the western country. There the parapets and mounds were found connected in one series of works. Whenever there was an angle in the principal lines, a mound of the largest size was erected at the angle; the parapets were termi- nated by mounds at each extremity, and also at the gateways. No ditch was observed on either side of the parapet. In many places the lines were composed of parapets and mounds in con- junction, the mounds being arranged along the parapets at their usual distance from each other, and operating as flank defences to the lines.

"The Indians in the vicinity of Prairie du Chien can give no account of these ancient works, and their only mode of explaining their existence is by supposing that the country was inhabited at a period anterior to the most re- mote traditions, by a race of white men similar to those of European origin, and that they were cut off by their fore-fathers. It is said that tomahawks of brass and other metals, different

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

from those in use among the present Indians, have been found under the surface of the ground, [Keating.] and stories are told of gigantic skeletons being often disinterred in the neigh- borhood. Mr. Brisbois, who has been for a long time a resident of Prairie du Chien, informs me that he saw the skeletons of eight persons that were fonnd in digging a cellar near his house, lying side by side. They were of gigantic size, measuring about eight feet from head to foot. He added, that he took a leg bone of one of them, and placed it by the side of his own leg, in order to compare the length of the two, the bone of the skeleton extended six inches above his knee. None of these bones could be pre- served, as they crumbled to dust soon after they were exposed to the atmosphere." *

What bearing this extract from the journal of Maj. Long has upon the subject of the "Old French Fort" will be discerned by a careful con- sideration of the following from Isaac Lee, the agent appointed to receive claims to land at "Prairie des Chiens" in 1820:

"The remains of what is commonly called the 'Old French Fort' are yet [1820] very disting- nishable. Though capacious and apparently strong, it was probably calculated for defense against musketry and small arms only. None can recollect the time of the erection of the fort-it was far beyond the memory of the old- est; nor can the time of its erection be deter- mined by any evidence to be obtained. Some difference of opinion seems to exist there [at Prairie des Chiens] as to the question whether it was originally built by the French or by the Spanish government. It is evidently very an- cient."

That "the remains of ancient works, con- structed probably for military purposes," as mentioned by Maj. S. H. Long, had (in the case of one of them), been used for the purpose of erecting upon it the log house described by

Capt. J. Long, seems extremely probable. The burning of this log house "in the second year of the Revolutionary War"-in reality in 1780 -accounts for the tradition as to the French Fort having been then burned; and "evi- dently very ancient" earthworks seen by Isaac Lee were manifestly one of the series of pre- historie earthworks first described by Maj. Long.

Concerning the "French Fort," the following is to be found in the "Illustrated Ilistorical At- las of Wisconsin," published in 1878:

"With regard to the establishment of a French post or fort at the prairie previous to the beginning of the. present settlement in 1783, the only account in contemporaneous records, is that by Lieut. Long, of the trading establish- ment burned in 1780. The current supposition of something earlier and more important, is founded in a misconstruction of the local tra- dition preserved among the early inhabitants of the place, as embodied in the testimony be- fore Isaac Lee, in 1820, and that gentleman's * report in relation to the same. * The map accompanying Lee's report, locates *

* what was commonly called the 'Old French Fort,' burned during the Revolutionary War, which he refers to 'as apparently strong, as the remains were yet very distinguishable.' The location and the circumstances and date of burning, harmonize with Long's account of the trading post; the remains of a wooden structure burned in 1780, would scarcely be distinguish- able in 1820; but a contemporary account, per- haps sheds some light on the nature of these so- called remains, and shows how easily Lee might have been misled by proximity of loca- tion and current popular opinion. In 1817, Maj. Stephen II. Long, of the United States army, found at Prairie du Chien some earth- works, which he describes as of ancient con- struction, for military purposes, delineating their fortified lines, parapets, gateways and sally-ports. The Indians, he says, ascribed them to a race of white people like the present,

* As Maj. Long's Journal is elsewhere quoted from in this history, we only give so mueb as relates to the ancient earth- works. in this connection, for reasons which will soon appear.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

from the manner in which human skeletons were found buried in them. They were, in fact, a series of interesting monuments of the labor of the pre-historic mound-builders, as subse- «ment investigation has shown."

The location of what the people of Crawford county called the "Old French Trading Fort" in 1824, identical with the so-called "French Fort" of 1820 and 1821, but which we have shown was not a French Fort at all, but the re- mains of a pre-historic earth-work on which there was erected during the first year of the Revolution a log house, used as a store house by fur traders, and burned in 1780, has been of late a matter of dispute. But its position, what- ever it may have been, has no historical signifi- cation; and we shall not, therefore, attempt to fix its site.

THE FIRST FORT CRAWFORD.

The building of a regular fort in Crawford county, by the United States, was begun on the "prairie" in 1816. The site was that of Fort Mckay, described in another chapter. Here, during .that summer, four companies of United States riflemen were employed in the work. The quarters consisted of long block-houses, with shed roofs sloping outward, and arranged so as to inclose a space 340 feet square. These walls were covered at opposite corners-the northwest and southeast-by two square block- houses, of two stories each, the upper story placed diagonally across the first, so as to pre- sent eight faces. These were each armed with two pieces of artillery. The remaining corners were stockaded. The works contained accom- modations for five companies.

While the work was going on, James H. Lockwood arrived at Prairie du Chien; and he records the following concerning the fort:

"When I arrived at Prairie du Chien, Sept. 16, 1816, there were four companies of riflemen under command of Brevet Maj. Morgan, build- ing a fort, which was constructed by placing the walls of the quarters and store houses on the lines, the highest outside, and the slope of

the roof descending within the fort. There were block honses at two corners and large pickets at the others, so as entirely to enclose the fort. John W. Johnson, from Maryland, was United States factor, with a certain Mr. [Robert B.] Belt as assistant and book-keeper, and John P. Gates was interpreter. Col. Alex- ander McNair was the sutler of the fort, and his nephew, Thomas MeNair, and John L. Findly, were the clerks in bis employ and had charge of the business."

The work when completed was called "Fort Crawford," in honor of the (theu) Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. As the name was afterwards extended to the county, it is proper that some mention should be made of the man.

WILLIAM HARRIS CRAWFORD,

a lawyer and statesman, was born in Nelson Co., Va., Feb. 24, 1772; he died near Elberton, Ga., Sept. 15, 1834. His father, Joel, in 1783, removed his family to Georgia, but died in 1788; and young Crawford, after assisting his mother to support the family by teaching, for several years, at length studied law. In 1799 he commenced practice in Lexington, Ogle- thorpe county, and soon became distinguished in his profession. In 1800 he was appointed, with Horatio Marbury, to revise the laws of Georgia, and compiled the first digest of her laws, which was published in Savannah, in 1802. He was a member of the State Legislature, 1803-7; United States Senator, 1807-13; and was its president pro tem in March, 1812. In this body he shone pre-eminently, soon making himself known and respected by the force of natural ability, energy and loftiness of mind. His influence was further increased by his per- fect integrity and unflinching firmness. He evinced, in the consideration of many impor- tant and exciting questions, statesmanship of a high'order. He was oppo ed to the policy of a war with Great Britain, but finally voted for it.

Having declined the war secretaryship in 1813, Mr. Crawford accepted the post of minis-

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ter to France, where he remained two years, and acquired the friendship of La Fayette, who appointed him agent for his American lands, and with whom, after his return home, he car- ried on a confidential correspondence. On his return to the United States, he was appointed to the war department, but in October, 1816, was transferred to the treasury department, the duties of which he continued to discharge until 1825, when he became the democratic nominee for the Presidency, but was defeatcd. A long and severe sickness destroyed all chance of his election by the House, and removed him henee- forth from the political arena. Mr. Adams offered to continue him as Secretary of the Treasury; but be deelined. He was strongly opposed to the nullification movement, and was generally regarded as the greatest of the citi- zens of Georgia. In 1827 he was appointed judge of the northern circuit court of that State, which office he retained until his death.

A REIGN OF TERROR.

United States troops landed in Prairie du Chien, June 21, 1816, under Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Smith. Immediately, there succeeded a reign of terror.

The conduct of the commanding officer was not calculated to win the good will of the peo- ple. Choosing to regard them as intruders, he turned out the occupants of such houses as he wished to use for the purposes of the troops. Fort Crawford was commenced, as we have seen, on the site of Fort McKay, and the dwellings in the vieinity were ordered to be taken down and removed. Upon Gen. Smith's departure, lie directed the officer left in command, as shown in another chapter, to destroy the settlement and send the male portion of the people under arrest to distant points to be tried for the offense of inhabiting the place, whenever he should see proper. Lient. Col. Talbot Chambers as- sumed command during the following winter. One of his first acts was the arrest of Michael Brisbois upon a charge of treason for having engaged in the British service during the War

of 1812. He was sent to St. Lonis under arrest; but no charge being preferred against him, he was discharged. Upon some trivial pretext, Joseph Rolette was banished to an island in the Mississippi, where he was compelled to pass the winter. Citizens of the place were tried by courts martial, and sometimes publicly whipped for slight disobedience of the commanding offieer's orders. Disputes between citizens upon a mere matter of property were dragged before military tribunals, whose decrees were rigidly enforced. The small beginings of civil anthor- ity previously established were thus almost altogether supplanted for a while. Perhaps, in the main, the ends of justice were practically attained in the regulation of disputes and the punishment of offenses; but there was no excuse for treating the unoffending inhabitants as a conquered people. Happily, the authority of those mentioned was brief, and their successors were men of less arbitrary proclivities.

Concerning the arbitrary acts of Gen. Smith and Col. Chambers, one of the pioneers, James HI. Lockwood, says:

"Brevet General Smythe [Smith], the colonel of the rifle regiment, who came to Prairie du Chien in 1816 to ereet Fort Crawford, arrived in June and seleeted the wound where the stockade had been built and the ground in front to include the most thickly inhabited part of the village. The ground thus selected en- croached upon the ancient burying ground of the Prairie, so that the inhabitants were obliged to remove their dead to another place.

"During the winter of 1816 or early in the spring of 1817, Lient. Col. Talbot Chambers arrived at Fort Crawford, and assumed the com- mand, and the houses in the village being an obstruction to the garrison, in the spring of 1817, he ordered those houses in front and about the fort to be taken down by their owners, and removed to the lower end of the village, where he pretended to give them lots.

"When Gen. Smythe [Smith], first arrived at Prairie du Chien, he arrested Michael Brisbois,

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

then the most prominent citizen of the Prairie, and placed him under a guard of soldiers for sev- eral days, charging him with treason, for having taken up arms against the United States. After keeping him in duress for several days, he was sent on board of a boat under a guard to St. Louis, Gen. Smythe refusing to let Mrs. Bris- bois send her husband a package of beaver pelts to raise money in St. Louis to pay his expenses. The guard took him to St. Louis and landed him on the levee, where they left him, not hav- ing delivered him over to the civil authorities, or instituted any proceedings against him, but left him there without money or means to re- turn home. But Mr. Brisbois was known in St. Louis, at least by reputation, and readily found friends who assisted him to return home. Dur- ing his absence the commandant, who I believe was Lieut. Col. Hamilton, ordered Mrs. Brisbois and family out of her house, and took possession of it, in which to spread the contractor's flour to dry; and also took possession of Mr. Brisbois' bake-house, with about two hundred cords of dry oven wood, which was used by the commis- sary or contractor, for which aggresssions and injuries Mr. Brisbois received no compensation.

"Although in a time of peace, and our gov- ernment had received the country by treaty stipulation, the officers of the army treated the inhabitants as a conquered people, and the com- mandants assumed all the authority of gov- ernors of a conquered country, arraigning and trying the citizens by courts-martial and sen- tencing them to ignominious punishments. This was more particularly the case under the reign of Col. Chambers, who was a brave soldier in the field, but a weak man and not qualified for a commandant, as he was generally governed by some favorite officer or officers, who, not being responsible for the outrage committed by their superior, would induce him to do acts to gratify their whims or prejudices.

"Charles Menard, the husband of the notable Mary Ann, was arrested, having been charged with selling whisky to the soldiers. He was

brought about five miles from his residence under a guard, tried by a court-martial, whip- ped, and with a bottle hung to his neck, marched through the streets, with music play- ing the rogue's march after him. Menard pro- tested that he had- not sold liquor to the sol- diers, but that they asked him for it, and that he refused to let them have any, as he did not keep liquor for sale.

"And during Col. Chamber's reign, for some alleged immoral conduct, he banished Joseph Rolette to an island about seven miles above Prairie du Chien, where he obliged him to pass the winter, but in the spring permitted him to return to the village to attend to his business, as his outfits were coming in from the Indian country."

A MILDER REIGN.

In 1819, Lieut. Col. Leavenworth was sent with the 5th regiment, of United States In- fantry, to occupy Forts Crawford and Arm- strong, and to build a fort at the mouth of the St. Peters ; and, from this time onward, affairs at the first mentioned post were conducted less arbitrarily towards the citizens of Crawford county. During this year, Maj. Nathan Clarke, of the United States army, was at the fort with his wife. Here, his daughter, afterward Mrs. Charlotte O. Vancleve, was born. The next year (1820) the garrison consisted of a company of infantry, ninety-six strong, under command of Capt. Fowle. In 1826, because of high water, the troops for awhile abandoned the fort and took possession of the higher ground east of the slough. This was in May, and the water rose twenty-six feet in the Mississippi, above low water mark. Another notable flood occur- red in 1828.

Fort Crawford continued to be occupied until 1826, when it was evacuated, the troops being transferred to Fort Snelling ; but it was re-oc- cupied in Atigust, 1827, by four companies from Fort Snelling, under Maj. Fowle, in conse- quence of troubles with the Winnebagoes. In 1829, Maj. Stephen Watts Kearney was in com-

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mand. His successor was Col. Zachary Taylor, who continued to occupy the fort until the year 1831, when the garrison was removed by him to a new fort on the "prairie," leaving the sick in the old hospital and the surgeon in the old fort. The next, however, the complete evacuation took place.

THE FIRST FORT CRAWFORD IN 1833.

In 1833, the English traveler, Latrobe, was, as already mentioned, in Prairie du Chien. Of the first Fort Crawford, he says:

"To the north of the village an ancient quad- rangular block-house, built of squared logs, and as usual, so contrived as to present eight faces ; the upper part of the square standing across the angles of the lower, marks the position of the old military post." The fort was located on village lots numbered 9, 10 and 11, as marked on the map of 1820, accompanying the report of Isaac Lee, on private land claims in "Prairie des Chiens."* It was near what is now (1884) the Dousman residence, in the fourth ward of the city of Prairie du Chier.

ZACHARY TAYLOR

was born in Orange county, Virginia, 1790, and was descended from an English family who settled in that State in 1692. Ilis father, Col. Richard Taylor, was a companion-in-arms of Washington, and bore a name dreaded in In- dian warfare; his mother, as usual in the case of men who in any way distinguished them- selves, was a women of high spirit and intelli- gence. The military life of Zachary Taylor, who was always noted for his hardihood, com- menced at the out-break of the war with Eng- land in 1812, when he was commissioned as lieutenant, and sent to defend the borders against the Indians; his great exploit on this occasion was the defence of Fort llarrison on the Wabash, at the head of a garrison number- ing only fifty-two men. He rose from grade to grade till he became general in the subsequent Indian wars of Florida and Arkansas, but ac-

quired his great popularity in the invasion of Mexico, 1846, when he crossed the Rio Grande, and gained in succession the battles of Palo- Alto, Reseca-de-la-Palma, Monterey and Buena- Vista. ITis character is very well expressed by the nick-name of 'Rough-and-ready; given to him, according to a very natural practice on the part of a free people, of characterizing, by an expressive term, a popular favorite. Gen. Tay- lor was elected President in November, 1848, and entered upon office in March, 1849. Ile was carried off suddenly, before completing his term, by an attack of eholera, in July, 1850, and was succeeded by Vice-President Fillmore.

NOTABLE EVENTS.

There are many events worthy of record which happened during the occupation of the first Fort Crawford,no one, however, more tragic or fatal in its consequences than the following, related by a person who was on the "pmirie" at the time, and a soldier:

"The old Fort Crawford was then [June, 1829,] commanded by Maj. Kearney, and gar- risoned by the first regiment of the United States Infantry. Among the soldiers were many persons who possessed thorough and even classical educations, whom adventure or some other motive, had enlisted in the United States army. There was a young man of this class in Fort Crawford, named Reneka. Ile was a fa- vorite with both the officers and men. Ilis striet, soldier-like attention to duty, and cour- teous bearing, made him many friends, and he bid fairto occupy the highest non-commissioned rank in the army. But in an unguarded mo- ment he allowed himself to accept the proffered invitation of his comrades, to join them in a so- cial glass, and-fell.

"Unaccustomed to liquor, the poison soon flew to his brain, and he complained of being dreadfully sick; he immediately left his com- panions, and started for the barracks. Entering the sally-port with a firm but excited tread, he passed the sentry on his way to his quarters, from which he was directly afterward seen to issue

*See American State Papers-Public Lands, Vol IV ; also Lyon's Map of 1828, of the survey of private land claims, at Prairie des Chien.

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with a rifle. The rifle was one which he had purchased a short time before, for the purpose of hunting, and always kept it in his quarters, ready loaded.

"It is supposed that, on reaching his room, the liquor he drank had made him crazy, for taking his rifle he rushed out into the parade, and rav- ing like a maniac, he whirled the heavy rifle around his head. Aroused by the disturbance, the officer of the day, Lieut. Mackenzie* came out of his quarters at the further end of the long parade, and calling to the corporal of the guard, told him to "take that fellow to the guard-house." Hardly had the order escaped his lips, when Rencka observed him, and in- stantly poising his rifle, shot Mackenzie through the brain. It was a long shot, but a deadly onc. In making it, Reneka had killed his bosom friend. IIc was arrested and con- fined in the guard-house, and when he became sanc, and learned he had killed his best friend, no words of mine can picture the heart-rending agony of remorse that seized him. But he was delivered over to the civil anthorities, convicted of murder, and sentenced to be hung and brought back here to be executed.

"The gallows was erected over the slough, and the day of execution arrived. I did not go to see him hung, but it is said he made an affect- ing speech to his comrades, warning them against strong drink. He showed up his own case in the strongest light, and described the grief of his mother when she should hear of her boy's disgrace. Many an old veteran shed tears when Rencka was swung off into eternity. But this is not an isolated instance where youth, talent, hope-all, were sacrificed to king alcohol. The army and early history, present a multitude of such victims; even now, none are exempt from the baleful effects of the curse; every individ- ual feels, or has felt, personally or socially, its injurious influence."

In 1829, a daughter of Col. Taylor was mar- ried in the fort to Dr. A. C. Wood. The mar- riage of another daughter to Jefferson Davis has been the cause of much speculation and a good deal of romancing. Concerning this marriage a recent writer says:

"Many are the historical reminiscences given of the early days of Fort Crawford, and many are the incidents and adventures of the men whe subsequently became conspicnous in the annals of our history. Perhaps none figure more conspicuously, or so often, as does Jeff. Davis. Ilere [in Fort Crawford] he first received his first initiation into the vigor of military life on the frontier; but, as he remained here but a short time, being ordered to Fort Winnebago as speedily as possible by Col. Taylor, who dis- liked him heartily, we cannot credit that he figured in all the incidents related of him, as it would have necessitated a continual season of wakefu'ness and fasting, neither of which are leading characteristics of our Jeff.

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History of Crawford and Richland counties, Wisconsin, Part 48

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1298

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. [from old catalog]; Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1298