FORT HOGAN - Furthest Eastern Black Hawk War Fort.

[Cliff Krainik]

FURTHEST EASTERN BLACK HAWK WAR FORT - FORT HOGAN


During the early days of the Black Hawk War word of the impending danger reached the white settlement at Nottawa-Sippi Prairie located in the northern part of St. Joseph County [Michigan]; which at that time was the home of the Pottawattamie Indian reservation. Fearing that the Pottawattamies would join Black Hawk’s forces, the settlers assembled and elected militia leaders and decided to erect a defensive structure – FORT HOGAN. The details of this historic event are given by S.C. Coffinberry in “St. Joseph County. Incidents Connected with the First Settlement of Nottawa-Sippi Prairie in St. Joseph County,” [Michigan], read at the annual meeting of the State Pioneer Society, Feb. 7, 1878.

We excerpt here from Mr. Coffinberry’s address:

“It was certain, from the various reports of these daring couriers, that the Pottawattamme Indians on the Nottawa Reservation were instruments in the hands of Black Hawk, and that they also were collecting the implements and munitions of war, and would soon prove formidable foes in the approaching dangers which were to ‘try men’s souls.’ These Pottawattammes, it was true, could only muster about 50 warriors, enervated, enfeebled and trembling with dissipation and its concomitant diseases and infirmities, and although they had no arms, nor the means to procure them, still, their war-hoop might prove fearful. … The hostile intentions of these Nottawa Indians, by indubitable evidence, had been reduced to a certainty. Many facts existed, and were commented upon, which were sufficient to carry conviction to the minds of a majority of the settlers of the murderous purposes of the Pottawattammes. …

What was to be done in this crisis of danger? The number of the guards were increased, the patrols were strengthened, and a meeting of the entire settlement was demanded to deliberate upon the public safety, and to devise ways and means of securing it against the inevitable attacks of the Nottawa Indians. Already women fancy themselves burning at the stake, while their husbands, the brave militia, fancy their names enrolled in the pages of history, surrounded by a halo of living glory among the heroes of the battle-field.

The meeting was called, and ‘there was mounting in hot haste.’ The strong men of the neighborhood came together. The assembly was held at the house of Captain Powers, who commanded the valiant militia.

The meeting was duly organized and presented a formidable array of citizen soldiers, armed with rusty cavalry swords, shot-guns, rifles, and muskets, all of which, from their appearance, had seen service in former wars. There was to be seen, also, soiled and tattered uniforms, crushed and tarnished epaulettes and dimmed bullion lace. …

After many speeches and the most solemn deliberation, it was determined to erect a strong fortification on the lands of Daniel Hogan, located near the east end of Nottawa Prairie, to be known as Fort Hogan. Andrew McMillan now owns and occupies this farm; the walls of Fort Hogan, which had received the labor of one day and a half from about 40 settlers, have long since been leveled by the plowshare of the husbandman.

At this time a large body of militia, under the command of General Brown, was massed at Niles, in Berrien County, slowly advancing toward Chicago, the rendezvous of the operative military forces under General Atkinson.

On the day following this memorable meeting the work commenced upon Fort Hogan. Plows, scrapers, and ox teams were in requisition. Manual labor was lustily applied until sunset, and a northeast angle of Fort Hogan had arisen in an earthwork of black prairie soil about two feet in height, extending west most three rods and south some two rods.”

Cliff and Michele Krainik, Warrenton, Virginia

[Larry Koschkee]

Cliff and Michele...This is a very interesting post, indeed and a welcome addition to my Winnebago and BHW fort file.

What struck my curoisity was Coffinberry's description of the fort.

After one day of labor the workers had constructed an earthwork of black prairie soil about two feet in height, extending west most three rods and south some two rods. Coffinberry said the walls of Fort Hogan, which had received the labor of one day and a half from about 40 settlers. Therefore, are we to assume the fort walls were completed with a half days work the following day?

Are we also to assume the finished walls were only two feet high or was there more to the fort then that?

Were the walls nothing more than a earth berm or breastwork? Or when Coffinberry said: and a northeast angle of Fort Hogan, had arisen in an earthwork. he was stating that the walls were built on top of or into the earthwork, such as vertical pickets?

Larry Koschkee

[gorentz]

AFAIK, Coffinberry was not a first-hand observer of the construction of Fort Hogan. I don't think he moved to this part of Michigan until after the BHW. Here is a link to the only account I am aware of that was written by someone who worked on the project.

<http://members.tripod.com/~tfred/lorancie2.html>

Coffinberry told an entertaining story, and I'm sure there was much in it that was true, but sometimes it seems to me it was one of those things that got better each time he told it.

As to whether Fort Hogan was the fort that was furthest east, I suppose it depends on what you call a fort. It certainly was not the easternmost place where settlers gathered for protection.

John Gorentz

P.S. If it is preferable to start a new thread when responding to ones as old as this, let me know and I'll do it differently next time.

[gorentz]

Come to think of it, I know of two that were slightly further east of Fort Hogan. These two were in LaGrange County, Indiana. (Several years ago I talked to a gentleman, then in his 90s, who claimed to have seen the remains of one of the forts when he was a boy. Some of the logs still remained at that time, he said. But the place he saw them was then (and now) under water, and it is puzzling to me why settlers would have built a fort on low ground rather than the nearby higher ground.)

John Gorentz

[gorentz]

Here is information about the two "forts" that are a bit further east than Fort Hogan on the longitude scale. It's from the 1882 LaGrange (IN) county history:

"It was during the Black Hawk war (summer of 1832) that the citizens of Greenfield and surrounding townships were thrown into a fever of fear by what is remembered as "The Gage War." Two men, named respectively Gage and Langdon, went one day to the mill in the northern part of Springfield Township. Before this, considerable talk had been indulged in concerning the probability of the Indians arising in war against the settlers, as large bands were then in the county, and the border struggle farther west was not unknown to them. This talk prepared the minds of the settlers for what was to follow. Gage, Langdon, the miller and others at the mill renewed the gossip, continuing it until late at night, when the former two retired with some serious misgivings in their minds. After they had gone to bed, it was resolved by three or four at the mill to give them an "Indian Scare" early the next morning. Two or three, or perhaps more, assisted by several Indians, dressed themselves in full Indian war costume, with war paint and blanket and tomahawk, etc. The next morning, while Gage and Langdon were talking in front of the mill with the miller, a large Indian suddenly showed himself from behind a tree near by, and, raising his rifle quickly, fired, and the miller fell to the earth apparently in the agonies of death,exclaiming, "My God, the Indians! I'm shot!" The Indian who had apparently shot the miller and one or two others came leaping forward, swinging their tomahawks and yelling like demons. Gage and Langdon instantly fled from the scene at the top of their speed, Gage going north in the excitement, and Langdon south. They made excellent time across the country, informing every one they saw that the Indians were coming, that they had shot all at the mill, and were sweeping out through the surrounding country. The result may be readily imagined. The most intense excitement prevailed, and families fled in every direction. Gage reached Lexington, and the families in that neighborhood gathered at the blacksmith shop of George Donaldson, into which the women and children were thrust, while the men began to fell trees and cut logs, for the purpose of hastily building a fort (afterward called Fort Donaldson). Families living in the western part hastily resolved to fortify the island in Cedar Lake. There they fled, and began the work of constructing the fort. Many very interesting incidents occured, but, within a day or two, the delusion was dispelled. The logs cut for "Fort Donaldson" remained at the spot for many years."

Here's a URL: <http://www.rootsweb.com/~inlagran/1882Greenfield1.html>

Cedar Lake is located a couple miles ENE of Howe, IN. The place identified in this story as Lexington is now known as Brighton, and is located 6 miles east of Howe on state highway 120.

There are Gage gravestones in a small cemetery in the area (south of Brighton) and the name still appears in the local phonebook. I've talked to one Gage descendant by e-mail, and she knew of this story but didn't know any more than what was in the county history. I'm pretty sure Langdon's first name was Gideon, but I can't say for sure. I have a few leads on him, but it's a long shot as to whether I'll ever find out more about him.

There is still a dam at the mill site (Mongo) where the incident took place, but it's a newer concrete structure.

John Gorentz

[Larry Koschkee]

Interesting bit of fort information, John. You and Cliff have cast a pretty wide net here on these forts. Both accounts are an excellent addition to my BHW era fort files.

Thanks for your research.

Larry Koschkee

[gorentz]

On the contrary, Larry. For me, at least, it doesn't take a wide net to catch those. They're in my own backyard almost.

In 1996 I did a 3-week bike ride to all the ballparks in the Midwest League (Class A minor league baseball). But I had read Allan Eckert's book about the BHW earlier that year, so also visited a few of the history sites between games.

Then, I got home and started reading some of the history of places I had been, and was surprised to learn that there was Black Hawk history right in my own back yard, so to speak. The story of Fort Hogan especially caught my attention. I remember locating the site on the old plat maps, and noting that I had almost ridden past it on my tour. As soon as the weather was fit, I took a ride down there to look at the site. (It's about 30 miles from where I live.) One thing led to another, and I've identified over a hundred sites in southern Michigan and northern Indiana (and now Ohio) that I link to Black Hawk or the BHW in one way or another. Only a few of them are fort sites, though.

I've visited them mostly by bicycle. Some of the people on this board learn history by dressing up in militia garb and using old-time militia equipment. That's not my thing, but I sort of understand how it works. I do something different, but in some ways it's similar. For me, I go over the terrain at a speed closer to that at which the settlers and native peoples did, sometimes using the same trails they did, and get an appreciation for the lay of the land, the river crossings, etc.. getting to know it up close and personal.

For me, a wide net is what it takes to catch the fort sites where the actual conflict took place out in Illinois and Wisconsin. I was fortunate to have two weeks to go riding to some of the sites this month.

BTW, you guys have a lot more terrain than we do! I'm glad I put lower gearing on my bike before doing it.

On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend I rode to the Waddam's Grove area, the area of the Spafford killings, the Pecatonia battlefield, Fort Hamilton, Fort Defiance, and Fort Jackson. I was patting myself on the back for all the ground I was covering (though the hills were far from the most challenging I had to deal with on the trip). Then, during one of my rest breaks, I re-read some of the information about the Spafford killings, and learned about the man who escaped on foot all the way to Fort Defiance (if I remember correctly) and read about all the militia movements between all those places, and felt quite humbled when comparing my exertions to those.

John Gorentz

[Larry Koschkee]

John, I too, like to abandon motor vehicles on field trips. It seems one becomes more atune to or aware of the surroundings. I have used a canoe effectively to survey the lay of the land at the Battle Of Pecatonica, Wisconsin Heights and Battle Of Bad Axe. In addition, I have conducted river crossings with horses at the Battle Of Pecatonica. I have made several field trips on various legs of Black Hawk's route north of the Wisconsin River with horses and bivouacked in the vicinity of General Atkinson's camp site on the Kickapoo River near Soldier's Grove, Wisconsin.

I would love to ride my horse out on the east side of the Wisconsin Heights battle site, dismount, scream at the top of my lungs and then remount and charge my steed on the ridges and ravines, but the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources frowns on the use of horses on "their" property.

Speaking of the north side of the Wisconsin River. John did you get a chance to ride the BH trail route through the Ocooch Mountains to the Mississippi River? There you would make good use of your lower gears. If you have not travelled that leg of the trail and get a chance to, I recommend taking along a copy of Dr. C.V. Porter's route description. I do believe that information was posted on this message board by Mr. Robert Braun.

Larry Koschkee

[Robert Braun]

gorentz said:

I've visited them mostly by bicycle. Some of the people on this board learn history by dressing up in militia garb and using old-time militia equipment. That's not my thing, but I sort of understand how it works. I do something different, but in some ways it's similar. For me, I go over the terrain at a speed closer to that at which the settlers and native peoples did, sometimes using the same trails they did, and get an appreciation for the lay of the land, the river crossings, etc.. getting to know it up close and personal.

John Gorentz

John and all--

As a point of clarification, our intentions regarding research on the BHW is to ferret out as much information as possible, then use the information to duuplicate a small segment of the material, social, and martial culture of the period, in order to better understand the time period.

Most of the learning is done via painstaking research in libraries and manuscript rooms. We consult archaeological finds, period newspapers, death inventories, and numerous other sources in order to get a handle on the depth and breadth of the issues, the chronology, and the people involved in the BHW. Only then do we begin to attempt to replicate items from the material culture of the 1830s.

The visable and perhaps more "glamorous" interpretive scenarios hinted at by John are only the tip of the iceburg that you can see.

Our work has allowed us to reasonably reconstruct even rediscover numerous pieces of material culture and historical subtlties either indifferently regarded or forgotten today (was Henry Dodge LEFT handed?) Part of our interpretive mission is to ensure that some aspects of the conflict's material culture do not dissappear completely. Another part is to attempt to replicate some of the daily routines, practices, skills, and nuances of the period, so that these, too, do not completely dissappear either.

I completely agree with those who have indicated that the only true way (often the only practical way) to explore battle grounds and historic sites is to tramp the terrain. This I, and my friends, have done many, many times. Because we might on rare occasions tramp the ground in replica period clothing and equipage-- and out of the public eye-- does not diminish our investigation, or our commemoration of our ancestors and the events that shaped their lives.


Regards, Bob.

[gorentz]

Larry,

I found it interesting that when I say bicycle, you say horse! Last time I got a reply like that, it was from a Potawatomi woman who just so happens to be descended from one of the Potawatomi men in the Black Hawk story. He's listed at least once in Whitney's volumes, anyway.

We were discussing some locations from her girlhood, many of which were places I knew about from riding to black hawk places by bicycle.

And yes, I certainly did get to experience those hills north of the Wisconsin River. I wish I had found C.V. Porter's descriptions before I went. I had Stark's book along with some other things, but I got to wishing I had his original descriptions so I could know a little more exactly just where this trail was, and get some idea how he knew. It was a little frustrating to find those markers that had recently been moved "a short distance". I wish I knew exactly where! I was hoping to check some of my best guesses with you folks, now that I'm back.

I rode from Plain to the Corps of Engineers campground at Victory last week Wednesday. But it got too late in the day by the time I got to Soldiers Grove, so from that point on I rode as fast as I could to get to the campground before dark. A week ago today I rode up the gravel road in "Battle Hollow" and took some photos, and then finally gritted my teeth and rode back up out of the Missipppi valley and rode to as many of those C.V. Porter sites and others mentioned in Stark's book as I could find.

John Gorentz

[gorentz]

Bob,

I meant to imply just what you said, that getting into those details of dress and equipment leads you into all sorts of detailed research. It was listening to you guys talk about it on this board over the past few months that got me to appreciate the value of what you're doing, and to recognize it as similar in some ways to what I'm doing. But it's good that you explained it in plain English.

I didn't do a lot of detailed research for my Illinois-Wisconsin trip, other than for one site south of Mt Horeb that has a Michigan connection of special interest to me. I figure you guys are the ones to deal with that -- I have my hands full just researching the Michigan/Indiana/Ohio sites. But usually the riding leads me to research in libraries and archives, which leads me to more rides, and on and on. I've used 30-some libraries/archives in the region to try to nail down details of who, when, and where, etc.

The times when I'm spending a day in the archives breathing the dust from old journals I usually wish I was out riding to the places I'm studying, and then when I'm out riding I'm itching to get back to the archives to check things out.

John Gorentz

[Greg Carter]

Commenting a bit late on Larry's first posting here, I would guess that log pickets were stuck in the 2-foot earth berm. A 2-foot high wall would only protect militia firing in the prone position, and would provide no cover at all for persons moving behind the walls, even if they were crawling.

The use of earthworks is not completely unheard of, for instance Dixon's Fort, and earthworks thrown up to protect a trading post overlooking the Illinois River near Marseilles. However, mixed log/earth forts also come to mind, including the mighty Fort Meigs in Ohio and a few others.

The practice of using earth elevated provides a virtually bullet-proof shield at the base of the walls, elevates the pickets several feet higher, and can at times provide a firing step to riflemen behind the walls also.

Just my 2-cents.

GMC

[gorentz]

Greg,

Fort Hogan was located in very flat country. It's toward one edge of Nottawa Prairie, which was the preferred farming country for the first settlers. And around here, our prairies are small, but when we say prairie, we mean flat. Choice spots for settlers were at the edge of the prairie where they could get wood and water on one side, and on the other could put the plow in the ground without having to go through the laborious process of clearing out treees.

I don't seem to have a scanned photo of the site handy, or I'd post it so you could see.

The fort site was right smack up against the legal edge of the Nottawasipi reservation, which was all the land the Potawatomi people had left in Michigan (except for another reservation in what is now Berrien County). The Chicago Treaty of 1821 left about 100 sq miles of small reservations, which later in the decade were all consolidated into the one at Nottawasipi.

The native people had thought they had kept some of Nottawa prairie for themselves for farming, and were unhappy when they found out that none of it was theirs. But they weren't in a position to do much about it. I don't know for sure what happened in this particular case, but some recent research has shown just how devious Gov Lew Cass could be in these dealings with Michigan Indians re their land boundaries. (I heard the paper presented in June, and it's going to be published in Michigan Historical Review in one of the next few issues. I also had a chance to talk to the author who gave me some leads on how I could research this particular case at Nottawasipi. I haven't yet done that.)

Anyhow, the native people were at the time of the BHW trying to make the best of the situation. The fort site was on prairie, but there were trees for timber along the St Joseph River and Nottawa creek to the north, and to the east where the Schellhouses lived. There was a case (before the BHW, I believe) where one of the settlers tried to cut logs from land on the reservation, but John Moguago, one of the Potawatomi men who was determined to be as friendly as possible without compromising his rights, confronted him and stopped it. (John Moguago is one of my favorite characters in these stories. I got to meet one of his descendants from the local Potawatomi reservation several years ago when we were both at the local library trying to use some of the same material.)

Anyhow, I doubt that at the time of the BHW any of the settlers would have dared to go north to try to cut timber from the reservation. But there was other timber they could get to the east.

Until I found the Lorancie Schellhouse description on the web, I was under the impression that no timbers had actually been put up at the fort site. Some of the accounts written by others referred laughingly to the dirt that had been dug up. But Schellhouse's is the only first-hand account I know of, and he talks about cutting timber.

BTW, when the alarm reached Michigan, most of the militia companies were sent east along the Chicago road. But the Nottawa Prairie company was told to stay and keep an eye on the local Indians. (I also got a chance a few years ago to meet the descendant of one of the members of this company. The descendant is now Brig. General, Retired, in the U.S. Army. He said that one of his own sons had recently gotten his star. He has a house on the edge of Nottawa Prairie that was built not too long after the BHW, in one of those choice spots I was telling about.)

Nottawa Prairie is one of my favorite places to visit. There are interesting history anecdotes all over the place. And for riding, it's nice and flat. I got enough hills for this year following Black Hawk's trail in Wisconsin.

John Gorentz

[gorentz]

Hmm. I've always taken at face value the statement that the local militia at Nottawa Prairie were told to stay behind and keep an eye on the Indians. (I'm not sure offhand the source for the statement. It's something I've often repeated from memory.) But Schellhouse's account seems to contradict it. I just now looked it up, wondering if perhaps there were two different companies, and if the men from Colon were not part of the Nottawa one. But Schellhouse's brother George and the millwright Kirk[e] were both members of the only militia company I know of from Nottawa prairie.

The information source I used to look this up is: "Michigan's Early Military Forces : A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War" by Le Roy Barnett and Roger Rosentreter, copyright 2003.

John Gorentz

[gorentz]

All the talk about Nottawa Prairie inspired me to ride down there Sunday afternoon and take some photos. It was a nice ride, and there were NO HILLS! In 74 miles of riding, I don't think I used my small chainring at all. That's quite different from SW Wisconsin (where I wouldn't have been able to ride anything like 74 miles in the same amount of time).

Here's a photo of what I presume is the fort site. The road intersection is also the intersection of four townships. The fort was in the township that is kitty-corner across from the street sign. The old histories say the fort was at the extreme corner of the township.

www.iserv.net/~jgorentz/pix/Dscn3668.jpg

Prairie Corners Road follows what was the reservation boundary, and the sign is on what was the Indian side of the boundary.

John Gorentz