Editing Battle of Fort Dearborn

{{Short description|Battle between the United States and Potawatomi in the War of 1812}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle of Fort Dearborn
|partof=the [[War of 1812]]
|image=[[File:Defense Henry Hering.jpg|200px]]
|caption=The Battle of Fort Dearborn is commemorated on the site of Fort Dearborn with ''Defense'' a 1928 sculpture by [[Henry Hering]] that adorns the southeastern tender's house of the [[DuSable Bridge]]
|date=August 15, 1812
|place=Present-day [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
|result=[[Potawatomi]] victory
|combatant1=[[Potawatomi]]
|combatant2={{flag|United States|1795}}
|commander1=Chief Blackbird
|commander2=Capt. [[Nathan Heald]]{{WIA}}<br /> Capt. [[William Wells (soldier)|William Wells]]{{KIA}}
|strength1=400–500
|strength2=66 military + 27 dependents
|casualties1=15
|casualties2='''Military'''<br>38 killed<br>28 captured<br>'''Civilian'''<br>14 killed<br>13 captured
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox War of 1812: Old Northwest}}
}}
The '''Battle of Fort Dearborn''' (sometimes called the '''Fort Dearborn Massacre''') was an engagement between [[United States]] troops and [[Potawatomi]] Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near [[Fort Dearborn]] in what is now [[Chicago]], Illinois (at that time, part of the [[Illinois Territory]]). The battle, which occurred during the [[War of 1812]], followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the commander of the [[Army of the Northwest (United States)|United States Army of the Northwest]], [[William Hull]]. The battle lasted about 15 minutes and resulted in a complete victory for the Native Americans. After the battle, Fort Dearborn was burned down. Some of the soldiers and settlers who had been taken captive were later ransomed.

Following the battle, the federal government became convinced that all Indians had to be removed from the territory and the vicinity of any settlements, as settlers continued to migrate to the area. The fort was rebuilt in 1816.

==Background==
{{See also|Origins of the War of 1812}}
[[File:Fort Dearborn 1808.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Plan of Fort Dearborn drawn by [[John Whistler]] in 1808]]
Fort Dearborn was constructed by [[United States]] troops under the command of [[Captain (U.S. Army)|Captain]] [[John Whistler]] in 1803.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pacyga|first=Dominic A.|title=Chicago: A Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/chicagobiography00pacy|url-access=limited|year=2009|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-64431-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/chicagobiography00pacy/page/n21 13]}}</ref> It was located on the south bank of the main stem of the [[Chicago River]] in what is now the [[Loop, Chicago|Loop]] [[Community areas of Chicago|community area]] of downtown [[Chicago]]. At the time, the area was seen as wilderness. In the view of a later commander, Heald, it was "so remote from the civilized part of the world."<ref name="Grossman">{{cite news | title=15 Historic Minutes | work=Chicago Tribune | date=August 12, 2012 |author=Grossman, Ron | page=22}}</ref> The fort was named in honor of [[Henry Dearborn]], then [[United States Secretary of War]]. It had been commissioned after the [[Northwest Indian War]] of 1785–1795 and the signing of the [[Treaty of Greenville]] at Fort Greenville (now [[Greenville, Ohio]]) on August 3, 1795. As part of the terms of the treaty, a coalition of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and [[frontiersmen]], known as the [[Western Confederacy]], turned over to the [[United States]] large parts of modern-day [[Ohio]] and various other parcels of land, including {{convert|6|sqmi|km2}} centered on the mouth of the Chicago River.<ref>{{cite web|author= Charles J. Kappler|title= TREATY WITH THE WYANDOT, ETC., 1795|url= http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/wya0039.htm#mn4|year= 1904|work= U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans|publisher= Oklahoma State University Library|access-date= 2011-12-28|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101108135038/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/wya0039.htm#mn4|archive-date= 2010-11-08|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | last=Keating| first=Ann Durkin| title=Fort Dearborn| url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/477.html|encyclopedia=The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago| publisher=Chicago History Society| access-date=2011-12-28}}</ref>

The [[British Empire]] had ceded the [[Northwest Territory]], comprising what is now [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Illinois]], [[Michigan]], [[Wisconsin]], and parts of [[Minnesota]], to the United States at the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1783. However, the area had been the subject of dispute between the Native American nations and the United States since the passage of the [[Northwest Ordinance]] in 1787.<ref>Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio</ref> The Indian Nations followed [[Tenskwatawa]], the Shawnee prophet and the brother of [[Tecumseh]]. Tenskwatawa had a vision of purifying his society by expelling the "children of the Evil Spirit," the American settlers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willig |first=Timothy D |year=2008 |title=Restoring the Chain of Friendship: British Policy and the Indians of the Great Lakes, 1783–1815 |url=https://archive.org/details/restoringchainfr00will |url-access=limited |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln & London |isbn=978-0-8032-4817-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/restoringchainfr00will/page/n223 207]}}</ref> Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh formed a confederation of numerous tribes to block American expansion. The British saw the Native American nations as valuable allies and a buffer to their [[Canada|Canadian]] colonies and provided them arms. Attacks on American settlers in the Northwest further worsened tensions between Britain and the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hitsman |first=J. Mackay |year=1965  |title=The Incredible War of 1812 |page=27 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press}}</ref> The confederation's raids hindered American access to potentially-valuable farmlands, mineral deposits, and fur trade areas.<ref>{{harvnb|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=253,392}}</ref>

In 1810, as a result of a long running feud, Captain Whistler and other senior officers at Fort Dearborn were removed.<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|pp=171–175}}</ref> Whistler was replaced by Captain [[Nathan Heald]], who had been stationed at [[Forts of Fort Wayne, Indiana#Fort Wayne|Fort Wayne, Indiana]]. Heald was dissatisfied with his new posting and immediately applied for and received a leave of absence to spend the winter in [[Massachusetts]].<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=176}}</ref> On his return journey to Fort Dearborn, he visited [[Kentucky]], where he married Rebekah Wells, the daughter of Samuel Wells, and they traveled together to the fort in June 1811.<ref name="HealdJournal">Nathan Heald's Journal, reproduced in {{harvnb|Quaife|1913|pp=402–405}}</ref>

As the United States and Britain moved towards war, antipathy between the settlers and Native Americans in the Fort Dearborn area increased.<ref name="ChicagoMagazine2009">{{cite journal | last=Johnson| first=Geoffrey| title=The True Story of the Deadly Encounter at Fort Dearborn| journal=Chicago Magazine| date=December 2009| volume=58| issue=12| pages=86–89| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/December-2009/The-True-Story-of-the-Deadly-Encounter-at-Fort-Dearborn/| access-date=2011-12-28}}</ref> In the summer of 1811, British emissaries tried to enlist the support of Native Americans in the region by telling them that the British would help them to resist the encroaching American settlement.<ref name="HarpersPokagon">{{cite journal | last=Pokagon| first=Simon| author-link=Simon Pokagon| title=The Massacre of Fort Dearborn at Chicago| journal=[[Harper's Magazine]]| date=March 1899| volume=98| issue=586| pages=649–656| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9w4wAAAAMAAJ| access-date=2011-12-31}}</ref> On April 6, 1812, a band of [[Ho-Chunk|Winnebago Indians]] murdered Liberty White, an American, and John B. Cardin, a French Canadian, at a farm called Hardscrabble, which was located on the south branch of the Chicago River, in the area now called [[Bridgeport, Chicago|Bridgeport]]. News of the murder was carried to Fort Dearborn by a soldier of the garrison, named John Kelso, and a small boy, who had managed to escape from the farm.<ref name="Quaife212-213">{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|pp=212–213}}</ref> Following the murder, some nearby settlers moved into the fort, and the rest fortified themselves in a house that had belonged to Charles Jouett, a Native American agent. Fifteen men from the civilian population were organized into a militia by Captain Heald and were armed with guns and ammunition from the fort.<ref name="Quaife212-213" />

==Battle==
{{Further|Peoria War}}
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| image1 = William_Hull.jpg
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| caption1 = [[William Hull]]
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| caption2 = [[William Wells (soldier)|William Wells]]
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On June 18, 1812, the United States declared [[War of 1812|war on the British Empire]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Senate Journal—Wednesday, June 17, 1812| url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(sj005181))| work=Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789–1873| publisher=Library of Congress| access-date=2011-12-28}}</ref> and on July 17, British forces [[Siege of Fort Mackinac|captured Fort Mackinac]] near the north coast of [[Lake Michigan]].<ref>{{harvnb|Heidler|Heidler|1997|p=347}}</ref> On July 29, General [[William Hull]] received news of the fall of Fort Mackinac and immediately sent orders to Heald to evacuate Fort Dearborn near the south coast of Lake Michigan, for fear that it could no longer be adequately supplied with provisions.<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|pp=215–216}}</ref> In his letter to Heald, which arrived at [[Fort Dearborn]] on August 9,<ref name="HealdJournal" /> Hull ordered Heald to destroy all the arms and ammunition and to give the remaining goods to friendly Indians in the hope of attaining an escort to Fort Wayne.{{refn|A facsimile copy of Hull's letter to Heald appears in {{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=217}}|group=n}} Hull also sent a copy of these orders to [[Fort Wayne]] to the southeast of Lake Michigan, with additional instructions to provide Heald with all the information, advice and assistance within their power.<ref name="Irwin1812-11-12">Letter of Matthew Irwin to General John Mason, October 12, 1812. Published in {{harvnb|Quaife|1915|pp=566–570}}</ref> In the following days, the sub-Native American agent at Fort Wayne, Captain [[William Wells (soldier)|William Wells]], who was the uncle of Heald's wife, Rebekah, assembled a group of about 30 [[Miami people|Miami]] Native Americans. Wells, Corporal Walter K. Jordan, and the Miamis traveled to Fort Dearborn to provide an escort for the evacuees.{{refn|Wells had been brought up by the Miami, and was married to [[Wanagapeth]], the daughter of Miami Chief, [[Little Turtle]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hutton|first=Paul A.| title=William Wells: Frontier Scout and Indian Agent| journal=Indiana Magazine of History| date=September 1978| volume=74| issue=3| pages=183–222| jstor=27790311}}</ref>|group=n}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Brice| first=Wallace A.| title=History of Fort Wayne| year=1868| publisher=D. W. Jones & Son| location=Fort Wayne, Indiana| pages=206–207| url=https://archive.org/details/historyoffortway00briciala}}</ref>

Wells arrived at Fort Dearborn on August 12 or 13 (sources differ),<ref name="Heald Report" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Helm|1912|p=16}}</ref> and on August 14, Heald held a council with the Potawatomi leaders to inform them of his intention to evacuate the fort.<ref name="HarpersPokagon" /> The Native Americans believed that Heald told them that he would distribute the firearms, ammunition, provisions, and whiskey among them and that if they would send a band of Potawatomis to escort them safely to Fort Wayne, he would pay them a large sum of money. However, Heald ordered all the surplus arms, ammunition, and liquor destroyed "fearing that [the Native Americans] would make bad use of it if put in their possession."<ref name="Heald Report" /> On August 14, a Potawatomi chief called [[Black Partridge (chief)|Black Partridge]] warned Heald that the young men of the tribe intended to attack and that he could no longer restrain them.<ref name="HarpersPokagon" /><ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|pp=220–221}}</ref>

At 9:00 am on August 15, the garrison, comprising, according to Heald's report, 54 US regulars, 12 militia,{{refn|Three of the 15 militia had deserted shortly after the militia had been formed.<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=213}}</ref>|group=n}} nine women and 18 children, left Fort Dearborn with the intention of marching to Fort Wayne.<ref name="Heald Report">Captain Heald's Official Report of the Evacuation of Fort Dearborn, dated October 23, 1812. Reproduced in {{cite book | last=Brannan| first=John| title=OfficialLletters of the Military and Naval Officers of the United States, During the War with Great Britain in the Years 1812, 13, 14, & 15| year=1823| publisher=Way & Gideon| pages=84–85| url=https://archive.org/details/officialletterso00branuoft}}</ref> Wells led the group with some of the Miami escorts, while the rest of the Miamis were positioned at the rear.<ref>{{Harvnb|Helm|1912|p=53}}</ref> About {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km}} south of Fort Dearborn, a band of [[Potawatomi]] warriors ambushed the garrison. Heald reported that, upon discovering that the Indians were preparing to ambush from behind a dune, the company marched to the top of the dune, fired off a round and charged at the Native Americans.<ref name="Quaife 1913 227">{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=227}}</ref>

The maneuver separated the cavalry from the wagons, which allowed the overwhelming Native American force to charge into the gap, divide, and surround both groups. During the ensuing battle, some of the Native Americans charged at the wagon train that contained the women and children and the provisions. The wagons were defended by the militia, as well as Ensign Ronan and the fort physician Van Voorhis. The officers and militia were killed, along with two of the women and most of the children.<ref name="Quaife 1913 227"/> Wells disengaged from the main battle and attempted to ride to the aid of those at the wagons.<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=228}}</ref> In doing so, he was brought down. According to eyewitness accounts, he fought off many Native Americans before being killed, and a group of Indians immediately cut out his heart and ate it to absorb his courage.<ref>{{harvnb|Quaife|1913|p=411}}</ref>

The battle lasted about 15 minutes, when Heald and the surviving soldiers withdrew to an area of elevated ground on the prairie. They surrendered to the Native Americans, who took them as prisoners to their camp near Fort Dearborn.<ref name="Heald Report" /> In his report, Heald detailed the American loss at 26 regulars, all 12 of the militia, two women and twelve children killed, with the other 28 regulars, seven women, and six children taken prisoner.<ref name="Heald Report" /> Survivors of the massacre filed different accounts regarding the [[Miami warriors]]. Some said that they fought for the Americans, and others said they did not fight at all.<ref name="Birzer"/>

==Accounts==
The recollections of a number of the survivors of the battle have been published. Heald's story was recorded on September 22, 1812, by Charles Askin in his diary,<ref name="Askin1812-09-22">Extract from a diary kept by Charles Askin, September 22, 1812. Published in {{harvnb|Quaife|1915|pp=563–565}}</ref> Heald also wrote brief accounts of events in his journal<ref name="HealdJournal" /> and in an official report of the battle.<ref name="Heald Report" /> Walter Jordan recorded his version of events in a letter to his wife dated October 12, 1812.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Barnhart| first=John D.| title=A New Letter About the Massacre at Fort Dearborn| journal=Indiana Magazine of History| date=June 1945| volume=41| issue=2| pages=187–199| jstor=27787494}}</ref> Helm wrote a detailed narrative of events, but his fear of being court-martialed for his criticism of Heald made him delay publication until 1814.<ref>{{harvnb|Helm|1912}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/dearbornmassacr00helmrich The Fort Dearborn Massacre]</ref> [[John Kinzie]]'s recollections of the battle were recorded by [[Henry Schoolcraft]] in August 1820.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Williams| first=Mentor L.| title=John Kinzie's Narrative of the Fort Dearborn Massacre| journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society| year=1953| volume=46| issue=4| pages=343–362| jstor=40189329}}</ref>

The accounts of details of the conflict are discrepant, particularly in their attribution of blame for the battle. [[Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie]]'s ''Wau-Bun: The Early Day in the Northwest'', which was first published in 1856, provides the traditional account of the conflict. However, it is based on family stories and is regarded as historically inaccurate. Nonetheless, its popular acceptance was surprisingly strong.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/410079.html| title=Case Study: Fort Dearborn: Juliette Kinzie's Wau-Bun, 1856 | access-date=2011-12-30| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]]| publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]}}</ref>

The Battle of Fort Dearborn has also been referred to as the "Fort Dearborn Massacre" by the defending Americans. The battle has been claimed a massacre due to the large number of Americans killed including women and children, as opposed to the relatively-smaller Potawatomi losses incurred. The conflict has also been argued to have been a measure of self-defense on the part of the Potawatomi.<ref>{{cite news | last=Grossman| first=Ron| title=Site of Chicago's Ft. Dearborn Massacre to be Called 'Battle of Ft. Dearborn Park'| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-08-14/news/0908130999_1_chicagoans-battle-dearborn-group| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024101108/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-08-14/news/0908130999_1_chicagoans-battle-dearborn-group| url-status=dead| archive-date=October 24, 2012| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| access-date=4 March 2014}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
After the battle, the Native Americans took their prisoners to their camp near Fort Dearborn and the fort was burned to the ground.<ref name="Heald Report" /> The region remained empty of U.S. citizens until after the war ended.<ref>{{cite book | last=Grover| first=Frank R.| title=Antoine Ouilmette| year=1908| publisher=Evanston Historical Society| url=https://archive.org/details/antoineouilmette00grov| pages=7–8}}</ref> Some of the prisoners died in captivity, and others were later ransomed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago |last=Keating |first=Ann Durkin |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780226428987 |pages=164 |language=en}}</ref> The fort, however, was rebuilt in 1816.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/fort-dearborn/ |title=Architecture Dictionary: Fort Dearborn |website=Chicago Architecture Center |language=en |access-date=2019-08-13}}</ref>

General [[William Henry Harrison]], who was not present at the battle, later claimed the Miami had fought against the Americans, and he used the Battle of Fort Dearborn as a pretext to attack Miami villages. Miami Chief, [[Pacanne]], and his nephew, [[Jean Baptiste Richardville]], accordingly ended their neutrality in the War of 1812 and allied with the British.<ref name="Birzer">{{cite encyclopedia | author=Birzer, Bradley J.| url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/825.html| title=Miamis| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]]| publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]| access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref>

==Historical perspective==
Seen from the perspective of the War of 1812, and the larger conflict between Britain and France which precipitated it, this was a very small and brief battle, but it ultimately had larger consequences in the territory. Arguably, for the Native Americans, it was an example of "winning the battle but losing the war" since the US later pursued a policy of removing the tribes from the region, resulting in the [[1833 Treaty of Chicago]], which was marked at its culmination in 1835 by the last great Native American [[war dance]] in the nascent city. Thereafter, the Potawatomi and other tribes were moved further west.<ref name="Grossman"/>

==Location==
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| image1 = Chicago in 1812 Andreas.png
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| caption1 = Map, reproduced from {{harvnb|Andreas|1884|p=81}}, showing Chicago in 1812 with the sites of Fort Dearborn by the river and the battle marked at left (west is up)
| image2 = Battle of Fort Dearborn tree Andreas 1884.jpg
| width2 = 129
| caption2 = 1884 drawing of the tree said to have marked the site of the start of the battle}}
Eyewitness accounts place the battle on the lake shore somewhere between {{convert|1|and|2|mi|km}} south of Fort Dearborn.<ref name=Musham1943>{{cite journal |last=Musham| first=H. A.| title=Where Did the Battle of Chicago Take Place?| journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society| date=March 1943| volume=36| issue=1| pages=21–40 |jstor=40188830}}</ref> Heald's official report said the battle occurred {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km}} south of the fort,<ref name="Heald Report" /> placing the battle at what is now the intersection of [[Roosevelt Road]] (12th Street) and [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]].<ref name=Musham1943 /> Juliette Kinzie, shortly before her death in 1870, stated that the battle had started by a large cottonwood tree, which still stood on 18th Street between [[Prairie Avenue]] and the lake.<ref>{{harvnb|Andreas|1884|p=31}}</ref> The tree was supposed to have been the last remaining of a grove of trees that had been saplings at the time of the battle.<ref name=Musham1943 />

The tree was blown down in a storm on May 16, 1894, and a portion of its trunk was preserved at the [[Chicago History Museum|Chicago Historical Society]].<ref name=Musham1943 /> The historian Harry A. Musham points out that the testimony relating to the tree is all second hand and came from people who had settled in Chicago more than 20 years after the battle. Moreover, based on the diameter of the preserved section of trunk (about {{convert|3|ft|m}}) he estimated the age of the tree at the time that it was blown over at no more than 80 years and, therefore, he asserted that it could not have been growing at the time of the battle.<ref name=Musham1943 /> Nevertheless, the site at 18th Street and Prairie Avenue has become the location traditionally associated with the battle,<ref name=Musham1943 /> and on the battle's 197th anniversary in 2009, the [[Chicago Park District]], the [[Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance]] and other community partners dedicated "Battle of Fort Dearborn Park" near the site at 18th Street and Calumet Avenue.<ref name="park">{{cite news | last = Grossman | first = Ron | title = Site of Chicago's Ft. Dearborn Massacre to be called 'Battle of Ft. Dearborn Park' | work = Chicago Tribune | place = Chicago | publisher = Tribune | date = 2009-08-14 | url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fort-dearborn-massacre-renamaug14,0,4033765.story | access-date = 2009-08-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090817211441/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fort-dearborn-massacre-renamaug14,0,4033765.story | archive-date = 2009-08-17 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Monuments==
{{Main|The Fort Dearborn Massacre Monument}}
In 1893, George Pullman had a sculpture he had commissioned from [[Carl Rohl-Smith]] erected near his house. It portrays the rescue of Margaret Helm, the stepdaughter of Chicago resident [[John Kinzie]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/browse/bioH.html| title=Hh| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]]| access-date=2011-12-30| publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]}}</ref> and wife of Lieutenant Linai Taliaferro Helm,<ref>{{Harvnb|Helm|1912|p=93}}</ref> by Potawatomi chief [[Black Partridge (chief)|Black Partridge]], who led her and some others to Lake Michigan and helped her escape by boat.<ref name="Isaacs">{{cite web| url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/thebusiness/070323/| title=Blood on the Ground / Investing in the Future: Neighbors who want the Fort Dearborn massacre monument returned to its site are likely to face a battle.| author=Isaacs, Deanna| date=March 23, 2007| access-date=6 January 2009| work=[[Chicago Reader]]| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130408211055/http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/thebusiness/070323/| archive-date=8 April 2013| url-status=dead}}</ref> The monument was moved to the lobby of the [[Chicago History Museum|Chicago Historical Society]] in 1931. In the 1970s, however, Native American groups protested the display of the monument, and it was removed.

In the 1990s, the statue was reinstalled near 18th Street and Prairie Avenue, close to its original site, at the time of the revival of the [[Prairie Avenue District|Prairie Avenue Historic District]].<ref name="park" /> It was later removed for conservation reasons by the Office of Public Art of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.<ref name=FDMc1920>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/6410.html| title=Fort Dearborn Monument, c.1920s| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]]| publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]| access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref> There are some efforts to reinstall the monument, but it is meeting resistance from the Chicago [[American Indian Center]].<ref name="Isaacs" />

The battle is also memorialized with a sculpture by Henry Hering, called ''Defense'', which is located on the south western tender's house of the [[Michigan Avenue Bridge]], which partially covers the site of Fort Dearborn. There are also memorials in Chicago to individuals who fought in the battle. William Wells is commemorated in the naming of Wells Street,<ref>{{cite book | last=Hayner| first=Don| title=Streetwise Chicago: A History of Chicago Street Names| year=1988| publisher=Loyola University Press| isbn=0-8294-0597-6| author2=McNamee, Tom| page=132}}</ref> a north–south street and part of the original 1830 58-block [[plat]] of Chicago, while Nathan Heald is commemorated in the naming of [[Heald Square Monument|Heald Square]]. Ronan Park on the city's Far North Side honors Ensign [[George Ronan]], who was the first [[West Point]] graduate to die in battle.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Ronan-Park/| title=Ronan Park| publisher=[[Chicago Park District]]| access-date=2012-06-09}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of battles fought in Illinois]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book|last=Andreas|first=Alfred Theodore|title=History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time (volume 1)|year=1884|publisher=Chicago, A. T. Andreas |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchicago01inandr|access-date=2011-12-28}}
*{{cite book|last=Currey|first=J. Seymour|title=The Story of Old Fort Dearborn|year=1912|publisher=A. C. McClurg & Co.|location=Chicago|url=https://archive.org/details/oldfortdearborn00currrich|access-date=2012-05-06}}
*{{cite book|last=Helm|first=Linai Taliaferro|editor=Gordon, Nelly Kinzie|title=The Fort Dearborn Massacre|publisher=Rand, McNally & Company|year=1912|url=https://archive.org/details/fortdearbornmass00lchelm|access-date=2011-12-28}}
*{{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Heidler|editor-first=David S. |editor2-first=Jeanne T.|editor2-last=Heidler|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the War of 1812|year=1997|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=1-59114-362-4}}
*{{cite book|last1=Keating|first1=Ann Durkin|title=Rising up from Indian country : the battle of Fort Dearborn and the birth of Chicago|date=2012|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago and London|isbn=9780226428963}}
*{{cite book|last=Kinzie|first=Juliette Augusta Magill|title=Narrative of the Massacre at Chicago, August 15, 1812, and of some preceding events|year=1844|publisher=Ellis & Fergus|location=Chicago|url=https://archive.org/details/narrativeofmassa00inkinz|access-date=2012-05-06}}
*{{cite book|last=Kinzie|first=Juliette|title=Wau-Bun, the "Early Day" in the North-West|year=1856|publisher=Derby and Jackson|author-link=Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie|url=https://archive.org/details/waubunearlydayin00kinz|access-date=2012-05-06}}
*{{cite journal|last=Kirkland|first=Joseph|title=The Chicago Massacre in 1812|journal=Magazine of American History|date=August 1892|volume=28|issue=2|pages=111–122|url=https://archive.org/details/magazineofameric28stevrich|access-date=2012-05-06}}
*{{cite book|last=Quaife|first=Milo Milton|title=Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673–1835|year=1913|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|url=https://archive.org/details/chicagooldnorthw00quai|access-date=2011-12-28}}
*{{cite journal|last=Quaife|first=Milo M.|title=The Fort Dearborn Masscre|journal=The Mississippi Valley Historical Review|date=March 1915|volume=1|issue=4|pages=566–570|doi=10.2307/1886956|jstor=1886956}}
*{{cite book|last=Quaife|first=Milo Milton|title=Checagou From Indian Wigwam To Modern City 1673–1835|year=1933|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|url=https://archive.org/stream/checagoufromindi001651mbp|access-date=2012-05-05}}
{{Refend}}

{{Battles of the War of 1812}}
{{Illinois conflicts}}
{{Authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Dearborn}}
[[Category:History of Chicago]]
[[Category:Wars involving Illinois]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Illinois]]
[[Category:Battles of the War of 1812]]
[[Category:Battles in Illinois]]
[[Category:Battles in the Old Northwest]]
[[Category:1812 in Illinois Territory]]
[[Category:August 1812]]
[[Category:Fort Dearborn]]