Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682-1862

6. Fort Shelby, Fort McKay, and the First Fort Crawford, 1814–1831

Fort shelby, Fort Mckay, and the First Fort crawford, 1814–1831 Our difficulties with the Indians will not terminate without an imposing campaign carried as far at least, as the Oisconcen [Wisconsin], and the erection of a garrison commanding the entrance of that river into the Mississippi. —U.S. General Benjamin Howard, April 4, 1813 Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, is one of the Upper Midwest’s oldest EuroAmerican cities. The confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers made Prairie du Chien a strategic spot for explorers, fur traders, lead miners , and homesteaders. Prairie du Chien was a focal point for many aspects of midwestern history: the arrival of the French, the influence of the Spanish in the trans-Mississippi country, the establishment of military posts by the United States, and the founding of American communities (Mahan 1926:1). The nascent U.S. government established control of the Upper Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, first with the short-lived Fort Shelby, and later with First Fort Crawford. Prairie du Chien In the 1700s the French established trading posts and semipermanent small settlements near the mouth of the Wisconsin, such as Fort St. Nicholas (Mahan 1926; Scanlan 1937; see chapter 2). In 1766 Jonathon Carver, a New Englander and a former soldier, visited the largest town, a collection of about 300 Native American huts. Carver called this settlement Prairie Les Chiens (Scanlan 1937:61), meaning prairie of the dog or dog plains, named after a Meskwaki chief, Alim, or Big Dog (Earll and Evans 1932). Bev I c k I l. T W I n d e-j av n e r 6 76 | Fort Shelby, Fort McKay, and the First Fort Crawford fore the Revolutionary War, French and British traders shipped furs from Prairie du Chien to France, England, Russia, and China (Earll and Evans 1932:160–161). French, British, Spanish, and Americans competed for influence in the Upper Mississippi, and all realized that controlling Prairie du Chien was crucial. The French dominated the regional fur trade from the late seventeenth to the late eighteenth century. The French settled the area in the mid-eighteenth century, and Prairie du Chien became a key rendezvous point, where Native Americans and traders met in vast numbers at specific times of the year. Following the French and Indian War (1754–1763), direct French leadership ended, but French traders still dominated. After the American Revolution (1776–1783), Britain, Spain, and the United States struggled to take over control of the fur trade and lead mining in the area, with the British and Americans being the most successful. The quality of British traded materials far surpassed that of the Americans’ goods; therefore the Native Americans began favoring the British and often sided with them against American influence (Mahan 1926). President Thomas Jefferson sent Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, accompanied by 20 men, to explore the Mississippi north from St. Louis in 1805– 1806. This mission was to negotiate peace between the Ojibwe and Dakota, identify adequate sites for military posts, map the position of British operations , and build tribal alliances. During this trip, Pike was twice at Prairie du Chien. He described the town as “eighteen dwelling houses in two streets, sixteen in Front Street and two in First Street” (Mahan 1926:27). These, combined with houses in the surrounding area, gave the town a population of about 370, which grew to 500 or 600 Europeans during the fall and spring rendezvous. “The men are generally French Canadians, who have mostly married Native American wives. Perhaps not more than twelve white females are to be found in the settlement,” wrote Nicholas Boilvin, as U.S. Indian agent (Washburne 1888:252). Boilvin reported in 1811that as many as 6,000 Native Americans visited Prairie du Chien annually (Washburne 1888:250). Attempting to control the fur trade, Jefferson proposed a trading house system for the Upper Mississippi area in 1808. This was to be centered at Fort Madison, a military fortification built in southeastern Iowa. This American action was opposed by the British and not supported by the tribes (see chapter 5). Following the Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812, the U.S. Army played a major role at Prairie du Chien by breaking Vicki L. Twinde-Javner | 77 the influence of British traders with Native Americans, stopping Native American uprisings, and upholding the authority of Indian agents and American law (Scanlan 1937:113). Forts Shelby...