Fort Crawford
Encyclopedia
Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army
located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
, during the 19th Century. The Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
in 1960.
The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien actually spanned the lifetime of two fortification
s, both of them named Fort Crawford. The first of these was occupied from 1816–1832, the second from 1832 - 1856. Both of the forts formed part of a string of fortifications along the upper Mississippi River
that also included Fort Snelling near Saint Anthony Falls
in Minnesota
, and Fort Armstrong
in Rock Island, Illinois
. Fort Crawford was also part of a string of forts built along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway
that included Fort Winnebago
in Portage, Wisconsin
and Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin
.
, when Fort Shelby
was built on an island of the Mississippi River that formed part of the town. On July 19, 1814, Fort Shelby was captured by British forces and renamed Fort McKay. The British would continue to occupy Prairie du Chien until 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent
restored the pre-war border between the United States and British Canada. When the British retreated from the city, they burned Fort McKay rather than giving it back to the Americans.
To protect Prairie du Chien against future invasion, U.S. forces returned to Prairie du Chien in June, 1816, with orders to construct a new fort on the site of Fort McKay. This fort was named Fort Crawford in honor of William H. Crawford
, the Secretary of War
under James Madison
. Built entirely of wood except for the magazine
, the fort measured 343 ft on each side and included Blockhouse
s at its northwest and southeast corners. Construction of the fort lasted through the summer of 1816.
Following the completion of Fort Crawford, the garrison was engaged primarily in peacekeeping between the new white settlers arriving in the region and Wisconsin's Native American
tribes. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth
, a former U.S. Indian Agent, was among the early commanders at the fort. The United States conducted several negotiations with American Indians at Fort Crawford during the 1820s. One of the largest Indian councils in U.S. history was held at the fort in 1825, when over 5000 representatives of nearly a dozen Native American nations gathered to discuss and sign the first Treaty of Prairie du Chien
.
Because of the first Fort Crawford's location alongside the Mississippi River, diseases such as malaria
and dysentery
were common among the troops, and the fort's wooden walls rotted because of the flooding that took place nearly every spring. The post took meteorological observations in 1822. In 1826, after a major flood, the garrison at Fort Crawford was ordered to leave Prairie du Chien and reinforce Fort Snelling in Minnesota.
During 1827, while no troops remained in Prairie du Chien, a group of hostile Winnebago
Indians led by chief Red Bird
murdered a family of settlers near the abandoned fort. This incident was the start of the Winnebago War
of 1827, and prompted return of soldiers to Prairie du Chien. Shortly after the troops returned, it was decided that the first Fort Crawford was no longer inhabitable. In 1828 a decision was made to build a new fort on higher ground. Maj. Stephen W. Kearny
, commanding officer at the time, surveyed the area and chose a site for the new fort upon a hill near the Mississippi River's eastern bank.
The construction of the second Fort Crawford began in 1829 under the direction of the new commander, Col. Zachary Taylor
, later President of the United States
. The new fort's location on the mainland in Prairie du Chien was much more floodproof. In addition, to make the fort more weather-proof, it was decided to construct the structure using quarried limestone rather than wood. This in addition to delays in federal funding meant that the construction of the second Fort Crawford would take much longer than that of the first, lasting from 1829 until 1835. Troops in Prairie du Chien were unable to fully occupy the new fort's barracks until 1832, and in the meantime remained at the first Fort Crawford, where army surgeon Dr. William Beaumont
did his best to keep the troops healthy. Beaumont would later achieve fame for a series of experiments on human digestion which he conducted at locations across the United States. Fifty-six of these experiments were conducted at Fort Crawford hospital, and allowed Beaumont to draw conclusions on the effects of temperature and emotion on the digestive process.
As the second fort's barracks were being completed in 1832, the Black Hawk War
broke out in Illinois
, and the troops at Fort Crawford were called to participate in the war. After the Battle of Bad Axe
near present day Victory, Wisconsin
, Chief Black Hawk
surrendered to Col. Zachary Taylor at Fort Crawford. Black Hawk was imprisoned at the fort until he was escorted by Lt. Jefferson Davis
to St. Louis, Missouri
. Davis, who had been assigned to Fort Crawford in 1831, would later become President of the Confederate States of America
. It was while assigned to Fort Crawford that Davis met and fell in love with the daughter of Zachary Taylor, Sarah Knox Taylor
. Colonel Taylor disapproved of the relationship between Davis and his daughter, and in 1834 Davis was reassigned to Fort Gibson
in Oklahoma
. Shortly afterwards, Davis resigned his commission in order to pursue his relationship with Sarah in Prairie du Chien. Upon discovering that Zachary Taylor would not consent to their marriage, the couple eloped to Kentucky
, where Davis married Sarah Taylor in 1835.
During the 1840s the garrison at Fort Crawford was assigned to build a road between Fort Crawford and Fort Winnebago in Portage. The route they chose for the road is now followed by U.S. Highway 18 eastward from Prairie du Chien towards Madison, Wisconsin
over Military Ridge, which is so named because of the military road which followed its crest. After the road was completed and the Winnebago Tribe was relocated from Wisconsin to Minnesota, the fort had little use. It was abandoned in 1849. In 1855 Fort Crawford was reoccupied when rumors circulated of an impending uprising among the remaining Native Americans, but no such event occurred, perhaps because of the fort's reoccupation, and troops left the fort for the last time on June 9, 1856.
, when the fort was used as both a recruitment center and hospital for Union soldiers, Fort Crawford was left unoccupied between 1856 and 1933. In 1933, the Daughters of the American Revolution
began work on restoring a portion of the fort's hospital, while clearing away the remaining parts of the dilapidated fort to allow for development. The fort's hospital was then transformed into a museum of medical history called the Fort Crawford Museum of Medical Progress. This museum, which focused around the experiments of Dr. Beaumont, but also featured exhibits on other aspects of early medicine, was operated by the Wisconsin Medical Society until 1995. In that year, the museum was sold to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society and converted into a museum of local history called the Prairie du Chien Museum at Fort Crawford. While the fort's hospital, which is registered as a National Historic Landmark
, still houses exhibits primarily on Dr. Beaumont and early medicinal practices, adjacent buildings are now filled with exhibits on other aspects of Prairie du Chien history.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,911 at the 2010 census. Its Zip Code is 53821....
, during the 19th Century. The Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1960.
The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien actually spanned the lifetime of two fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s, both of them named Fort Crawford. The first of these was occupied from 1816–1832, the second from 1832 - 1856. Both of the forts formed part of a string of fortifications along the upper Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
that also included Fort Snelling near Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
in Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
. Fort Crawford was also part of a string of forts built along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway
Fox-Wisconsin Waterway
The Fox–Wisconsin Waterway is a waterway formed by the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. First used by European settlers in 1673 during the expedition of Marquette & Joliet, it was one of the principal routes used by travelers between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River until the completion of the...
that included Fort Winnebago
Fort Winnebago
This article is about the U.S. Army fort. For the civil township of the same name, see Fort Winnebago, WisconsinFort Winnebago was a 19th century fortification of the United States Army located on a hill between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in Portage, Wisconsin...
in Portage, Wisconsin
Portage, Wisconsin
Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,662 at the 2010 census making it the largest city in Columbia County...
and Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
.
The First Fort Crawford
The U.S. Army's presence in Prairie du Chien began during the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, when Fort Shelby
Fort Shelby (Wisconsin)
Fort Shelby was a United States military installation in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, built in 1814. It was named for Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War soldier and first governor of Kentucky. The fort was captured by the British during the Siege of Prairie du Chien in July 1814...
was built on an island of the Mississippi River that formed part of the town. On July 19, 1814, Fort Shelby was captured by British forces and renamed Fort McKay. The British would continue to occupy Prairie du Chien until 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
restored the pre-war border between the United States and British Canada. When the British retreated from the city, they burned Fort McKay rather than giving it back to the Americans.
To protect Prairie du Chien against future invasion, U.S. forces returned to Prairie du Chien in June, 1816, with orders to construct a new fort on the site of Fort McKay. This fort was named Fort Crawford in honor of William H. Crawford
William H. Crawford
William Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1815 to 1816 and United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to 1825, and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824.-Political...
, the Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
under James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
. Built entirely of wood except for the magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, the fort measured 343 ft on each side and included Blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
s at its northwest and southeast corners. Construction of the fort lasted through the summer of 1816.
Following the completion of Fort Crawford, the garrison was engaged primarily in peacekeeping between the new white settlers arriving in the region and Wisconsin's Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians...
, a former U.S. Indian Agent, was among the early commanders at the fort. The United States conducted several negotiations with American Indians at Fort Crawford during the 1820s. One of the largest Indian councils in U.S. history was held at the fort in 1825, when over 5000 representatives of nearly a dozen Native American nations gathered to discuss and sign the first Treaty of Prairie du Chien
Treaty of Prairie du Chien
The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg Native American peoples.-1825:The first treaty of Prairie du...
.
Because of the first Fort Crawford's location alongside the Mississippi River, diseases such as malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
were common among the troops, and the fort's wooden walls rotted because of the flooding that took place nearly every spring. The post took meteorological observations in 1822. In 1826, after a major flood, the garrison at Fort Crawford was ordered to leave Prairie du Chien and reinforce Fort Snelling in Minnesota.
During 1827, while no troops remained in Prairie du Chien, a group of hostile Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
Indians led by chief Red Bird
Red Bird
Red Bird was a leader of the Winnebago Native American tribe. He was a leader in the Winnebago War against the United States. He attacked settlers in the area of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, but surrendered when American forces marched into Ho-Chunk territory. He died in prison in 1828 while...
murdered a family of settlers near the abandoned fort. This incident was the start of the Winnebago War
Winnebago War
The Winnebago War was a brief conflict that took place in 1827 in the Upper Mississippi River region of the United States, primarily in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Not quite a war, the hostilities were limited to a few attacks on American civilians by a portion of the Winnebago Native...
of 1827, and prompted return of soldiers to Prairie du Chien. Shortly after the troops returned, it was decided that the first Fort Crawford was no longer inhabitable. In 1828 a decision was made to build a new fort on higher ground. Maj. Stephen W. Kearny
Stephen W. Kearny
Stephen Watts Kearny surname also appears as Kearney in some historic sources; August 30, 1794 October 31, 1848), was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican-American War, especially the conquest...
, commanding officer at the time, surveyed the area and chose a site for the new fort upon a hill near the Mississippi River's eastern bank.
The Second Fort Crawford
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, later President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. The new fort's location on the mainland in Prairie du Chien was much more floodproof. In addition, to make the fort more weather-proof, it was decided to construct the structure using quarried limestone rather than wood. This in addition to delays in federal funding meant that the construction of the second Fort Crawford would take much longer than that of the first, lasting from 1829 until 1835. Troops in Prairie du Chien were unable to fully occupy the new fort's barracks until 1832, and in the meantime remained at the first Fort Crawford, where army surgeon Dr. William Beaumont
William Beaumont
William Beaumont was a surgeon in the U.S. Army who became known as the "Father of Gastric Physiology" following his research on human digestion.-Early life:...
did his best to keep the troops healthy. Beaumont would later achieve fame for a series of experiments on human digestion which he conducted at locations across the United States. Fifty-six of these experiments were conducted at Fort Crawford hospital, and allowed Beaumont to draw conclusions on the effects of temperature and emotion on the digestive process.
As the second fort's barracks were being completed in 1832, the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
broke out in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and the troops at Fort Crawford were called to participate in the war. After the Battle of Bad Axe
Battle of Bad Axe
The Battle of Bad Axe, also known as the Bad Axe Massacre, occurred 1–2 August 1832, between Sauk and Fox Indians and United States Army regulars and militia. This final battle of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin in the United States...
near present day Victory, Wisconsin
Victory, Wisconsin
Victory, Wisconsin is a small unincorporated community in the Town of Wheatland in Vernon County, Wisconsin. It is located 4.5 miles north of De Soto and 6.2 miles south of Genoa on the Mississippi River along the Great River Road . The Battle of Bad Axe, the final battle of the Black Hawk War of...
, Chief Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
surrendered to Col. Zachary Taylor at Fort Crawford. Black Hawk was imprisoned at the fort until he was escorted by Lt. Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Davis, who had been assigned to Fort Crawford in 1831, would later become President of the Confederate States of America
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
. It was while assigned to Fort Crawford that Davis met and fell in love with the daughter of Zachary Taylor, Sarah Knox Taylor
Sarah Knox Taylor
Sarah Knox Taylor was the daughter of General Zachary Taylor, later President of the United States and Margaret Taylor, and was married to Jefferson Davis before he became President of the Confederate States of America.While living at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where her father commanded Fort...
. Colonel Taylor disapproved of the relationship between Davis and his daughter, and in 1834 Davis was reassigned to Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson, now located in Oklahoma and designated Fort Gibson Historical Site, guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 until 1890...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Shortly afterwards, Davis resigned his commission in order to pursue his relationship with Sarah in Prairie du Chien. Upon discovering that Zachary Taylor would not consent to their marriage, the couple eloped to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, where Davis married Sarah Taylor in 1835.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
over Military Ridge, which is so named because of the military road which followed its crest. After the road was completed and the Winnebago Tribe was relocated from Wisconsin to Minnesota, the fort had little use. It was abandoned in 1849. In 1855 Fort Crawford was reoccupied when rumors circulated of an impending uprising among the remaining Native Americans, but no such event occurred, perhaps because of the fort's reoccupation, and troops left the fort for the last time on June 9, 1856.
Fort Crawford Museum
Except during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when the fort was used as both a recruitment center and hospital for Union soldiers, Fort Crawford was left unoccupied between 1856 and 1933. In 1933, the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
began work on restoring a portion of the fort's hospital, while clearing away the remaining parts of the dilapidated fort to allow for development. The fort's hospital was then transformed into a museum of medical history called the Fort Crawford Museum of Medical Progress. This museum, which focused around the experiments of Dr. Beaumont, but also featured exhibits on other aspects of early medicine, was operated by the Wisconsin Medical Society until 1995. In that year, the museum was sold to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society and converted into a museum of local history called the Prairie du Chien Museum at Fort Crawford. While the fort's hospital, which is registered as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, still houses exhibits primarily on Dr. Beaumont and early medicinal practices, adjacent buildings are now filled with exhibits on other aspects of Prairie du Chien history.