Chicago's History Is Punctuated with Devastating Fires-- Part 1: Burning Down Fort Dearborn in the War of 1812

From the September 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune by Rick Kogan.

Earlier last month Chicago commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago fire on October 8.  That fire literally reshaped the landscape of the city that had grown so fast that little was done with planning.

But, there have been more fires in the city's history.

The first took place even before the city was here.  It happened the day after Potawatomi Indians killed more than 60 soldiers, women and children as they evacuated Fort Dearborn, moving south along the lakefront.  That day, the Indians burned down Fort Dearborn.

This fort had been called "the neatest and best garrison in the country."

Pandemics in Chicago-- Part 3: Cholera and Fort Dearborn

Continued from April 21, 2020.  Before I got on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  You can catch up on the first two posts by clicking on the label Chicago below this entry.

Adam Selzer is quite knowledgeable about Chicago's history and its epidemics and pandemics.  He leads guided tours of cemeteries including one of the bigger ones called Graceland.

One of the epidemics that plagues Chicago in the 1800s was that of cholera.  Multiple outbreaks took place in the city in the 19th century.  He says the first major epidemic took place in 1832 (Chicago became a city in 1837).

It was brought in on a ship by Gen. Winfield Scott who arrived in town by ship with soldiers from the Black Hawk War. Dozens died as they occupied the old Fort Dearborn and Scott later said that the disease scared him more than any enemy because there was no way to fight it; he couldn't fortify his walls against it or even offer terms of surrender.

Fort Dearborn was the site of the infamous Fort Dearborn Massacre in the War of 1812.

--Cooter

August 15, Quite a Day in History

From the August 15, 2018, Kenosha (Wis.) News "Today in History."

1812--  The Battle of Fort Dearborn took place.  Fort Dearborn is where Chicago is today, but back then was just a frontier fort.  This took place during the War of 1812 and is also called a massacre.

1914--  The Panama Canal officially opens as the SS Ancon crossed between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

1935--  Humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post killed in airplane crash near Point Barrow in Alaska Territory.

1944--  Allied forces landed in southern France in Operation Dragoon during WW II.

1945--  In a pre-recorded radio address, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted terms of surrender ending WW II.

1961--  As workers begin constructing the Berlin Wall, East German soldier Conrad Schumann lept to freedom over barbed wire in a scene made famous in a photograph.

1965--  The Beatles played to a crowd of 55,000 at New York's Shea Stadium.

1969--  The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opened in upstate New York.

Like I Said, a Pretty Important Day in History.  --DaCoot

Fort Dearborn: Massacre or Battle

From the Aug. 14, 2009, Chicago Tribune "Another Fort Dearborn skirmish at the park" by Ron Grossman.

Generations of Chicago and suburban school children have been taught about "The Fort Dearborn Massacre" a sad part of early Chicago history when many early settlers and soldiers were killed by Indians during the War of 1812.

Today, a new battle brews, what to call it.

Back in 2009, a patch of ground at 18th Street and Calumet Avenue was dedicated the "Battle of Fort Dearborn Park."

This apparently is a bit of political correctness, but it sure goes against the city's legend and lore.

What took place here back on August 15, 1812, was horrible, however. Back then the U.S. and England had gone to war for a second time. Soldiers and settlers abandoned Fort Dearborn and, arriving at the site of the park, were ambushed by 500 Potawatomi warriors. Two-thirds of them, 61-63 men, women and children were killed along with 15 Indians. Ever since then, it has been called the Fort Dearborn Massacre.

The Indians won and took the survivors captive and later sold them into slavery to the British and they also burned Fort Dearborn. However, this just made the US government more sure about a complete Indian removal to west of the Mississippi River. By 1833, when Chicago was incorporated, all Indians had been removed from the area.

Of course, calling it a massacre would be insulting to Indians. Any group that massacres is always seen in a negative light in history.

More to Come. --Cooter