Siege of Fort Wayne

Siege of Fort Wayne
Part of the War of 1812
Fort Wayne
Date September 5 – September 12, 1812 Location Fort Wayne, Indiana Result United States victory
Belligerents
Miami Potawatomi	United States
Commanders and leaders
Chief Winamac Chief Five Medals	James Rhea, Philip Ostander, William Henry Harrison
Strength
500 warriors	100 (garrison) 2,200 (relief force)
Casualties and losses
about 25 killed	?

The Siege of Fort Wayne took place during the War of 1812, between United States and American Indian forces in the wake of the successful British campaigns of 1812.

Since 1811, after the severe defeat at the Battle of Tippecanoe, Native American tribes on the Northwest frontier had been growing bitter at the U.S. presence there. Encouraged by other British/Native American victories at places such as Fort Dearborn and Detroit, native tribes began to undertake campaigns against other smaller American outposts.

Fort Wayne, in northeast Indiana Territory, had fallen into disrepair in the years leading up to 1812. As a frontier outpost stationed in a busy Native American town, the garrison was often insubordinate, and Captain James Rhea had allowed many of the buildings to deteriorate. The walls, once strong enough to withstand cannonballs, had not been maintained. Although there was a good well inside the fort, the food stores had gotten low by September.

The garrison first learned of the fall of Fort Dearborn on 26 August, when Corporal Jordan returned after escaping the massacre. On 28 August, Stephen Johnston, the assistant trade factor at Fort Wayne, was killed a mile away from Fort Wayne. The news was met with alarm, and John Johnston of Piqua, Ohio sent Shawnee Captain Logan to help evacuate women and children to the relative safety of Ohio.

In September 1812, Indians from the Potawatomi and Miami tribes, led by Chief Winamac, gathered around Fort Wayne. Captain James Rhea sent letters to John Johnston and Ohio Governor Return Meigs to ask for assistance. The growing Indian threat outside the fort led Rhea to begin drinking heavily. On several occasions Rhea invited Indian delegates into the fort to discuss terms of peace with the Indians (mostly to ensure his own personal safety).

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Wikipedia