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r e g e n a j o s c h a n T z Fort armstrong, 1816–1836 In my early life I spent many happy days on this island. A good spirit had charge of it, which lived in a cave in the rocks immediately under the place where the fort now stands. This guardian spirit has often been seen by our people. It was white, with large wings like a swan’s, but ten times larger. We were particular not to make much noise in that part of the island which it inhabited, for fear of disturbing it. But the noise at the fort has since driven it away, and no doubt a bad spirit has taken its place.—Black Hawk It is certain that the Indians do not like the Americans—nay, it is true that they hate them with an inextinguishable hatred—Yet our posts are before their eyes—and they will be quiet—Major Willoughby Morgan, 1817 On May 10, 1816, the Rifle Regiment under Brigadier General Thomas A. Smith and the Eighth Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel William Lawrence arrived on Rock Island and began felling trees for a fort. The island, located in the middle of the Mississippi River and at the lower end of a 14-mile-long stretch of rapids, had been noted years earlier by Captain Zebulon Pike on his exploration to the source of the great river. It was an ideal vantage point for commanding the upper river and just 3miles from Saukenuk, the main Sauk village. General Smith considered it unsurpassed in beauty and strength of position (Smith 1816). The Sauk were perceived as belligerent by the United States during rancorous treaty talks the previous summer at Portage des Sioux; the new fort was designed to keep the Sauk in check and to provide security for settlers. As the fort was built, Sauk representatives went to St. Louis to reaffirm their peaceful intentions toward the American government and to protest the new fort. General Smith reported that “the Sauks in open council 8 96 | Fort Armstrong openly expressed their dissatisfaction” with the fort’s erection (Smith 1816). The Sauk were known for their hostility toward the U.S. government and their loyalty to the British. Black Hawk explained the Sauk animosity toward the fort: We found that the troops had come to build a fort on Rock Island. This, in our opinion, was a contradiction to what we had done—“to prepare for war in time of peace.” We did not object, however, to their building their fort on the island, but were very sorry, as this was the best one on the Mississippi, and had long been the resort of our young people during the summer. It was our garden, like the white people have near their big villages, which supplied us with strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries , plums, apples and nuts of different kinds. Being situated at the foot of the rapids its waters supplied us with the finest fish. (Black Hawk 1882:56–57) Forsyth (1824) estimated the total population of the Sauk and Meskwaki to be about 6,400. Well organized, the Sauk numbered about 1,000 warriors , 650 of whom were well armed with good rifles and the remaining armed with “indifferent” rifles, shotguns, and bows. The allied Meskwaki were a much smaller tribe, mustering only about 400 warriors, two-thirds of whom were well armed. Throughout the summers of 1816 and 1817 the fort was constructed, with minor threats from neighboring tribes (figs. 8.1 and 8.2). Marston (1820) described the fort as “270 ft square with three blockhouses mounting three six-pounders.” Barracks were constructed of hewn timber and sufficient to house three companies. The commanding officer’s quarters was a two-story house, 28 feet in length, flanked by one-story wings and piazzas in front and rear. The magazine, located in the southwest corner, was made of stone. A strong picket surrounded the site and afforded a measure of security (figs. 8.2 and 8.3). Storehouses for rations and the bake oven were constructed under the direction of the government contractor, whose agent on the island was George Davenport. Cattle arrived in August and were allowed to graze on the island. Susan Lewis arrived in the summer of 1816 and described how the bake house was constructed with hickory and caten clay by an old French baker named Baptiste LaMott (Daily Argus 1876). In addition to the soldiers, Fort...

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