The surviving portion of the Second Fort Crawford in March 1864

A painting of the Second Fort Crawford, circa 1840

Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin during the 19th Century. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Prairie du Chien is a city in and the County seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Prairie du Chien is a city in and the County seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien actually spanned the lifetime of two fortifications, both of them named Fort Crawford. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for 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. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort St Anthony, is a former Military Fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis Minnesota, was the only natural major Waterfall on the Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Fort Armstrong ( 1816 - 1836) was one of a chain of Frontier defenses erected after the War of 1812. Rock Island is a City in and the County seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. 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. 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 This article is about the US Army fort For the civil township of the same name see Fort Winnebago Wisconsin Fort Winnebago was a 19th century Fortification Portage is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. Fort Howard was a 19th Century Fortification of the US Army located in Green Bay, Wisconsin 's first white settlement and an Green Bay is a city in and the County seat of Brown County in the U

The First Fort Crawford

The U. S. Army's presence in Prairie du Chien began during the War of 1812, when Fort Shelby was built on an island of the Mississippi River that formed part of the town. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies Fort Shelby was a United States military installation in Prairie du Chien Wisconsin, built in 1814 and renamed Fort McKay later that year On July 19, 1814, Fort Shelby was captured by British forces and renamed Fort McKay. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common 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. The Treaty of Ghent ( signed on December 24 1814, in Ghent, currently in Belgium, was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 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. William Harris Crawford ( February 24, 1772 &ndash September 15, 1834) was an important American politician The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington 's administration James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding Built entirely of wood except for the magazine, the fort measured 343 ft on each side and included Blockhouses at its northwest and southeast corners. See also firearms magazine for an explanation of the magazines used to load man-portable weapons In Military science, a blockhouse is a small isolated Fort in the form of a single building 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. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth, a former U. Henry Leavenworth ( December 10, 1783 &ndash July 21, 1834) was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military 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. 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

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. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood 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. The Ho-Chunk, or Winnebago (as they are commonly called are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what are now Wisconsin and Illinois. Red Bird was a war chief of the (cho-cheek (or "Winnebago" Ho-Chunk) tribe This incident was the start of the Winnebago War of 1827, and prompted return of soldiers to Prairie du Chien. Winnebago War, also referred as the Le Fèvre Indian War, was an armed conflict that took place in 1827, in the southwest region of the state of Wisconsin 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. Stephen Watts Kearny (IPA; "Kar-ney" ( August 30, 1794 October 31, 1848) was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers

The Second Fort Crawford

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. Zachary Taylor (November 24 1784 &ndash July 9 1850 was an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by 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. William Beaumont ( November 21, 1785 - April 25, 1853) was a surgeon in the U 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. The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. After the Battle of Bad Axe near present day Victory, Wisconsin, Chief Black Hawk surrendered to Col. The Bad Axe Massacre, also known as the Battle of Bad Axe, occurred 1&ndash2 August 1832 between Sauk (Sac and Fox Indians and United States Victory Wisconsin is a small unincorporated community within the town of Wheatland in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Black Hawk or Black Sparrow Hawk ( Sauk Makataimeshekiakiak ( Mahkatewi-meši-kehkehkwa) "be a large black hawk" (1767 &ndash Zachary Taylor at Fort Crawford. Black Hawk was imprisoned at the fort until he was escorted by Lt. Jefferson Davis to St. Louis, Missouri. Jefferson Finis Davis ( June 3, 1808 &ndash December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Davis, who had been assigned to Fort Crawford in 1831, would later become 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 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 (birth March 6 1814, Vincennes Indiana - death September 15 1835, St Colonel Taylor disapproved of the relationship between Davis and his daughter, and in 1834 Davis was reassigned to Fort Gibson in Oklahoma. Fort Gibson, now located in Oklahoma in what is called Fort Gibson Historical Site, was established 1824 in Indian Territory by Col Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. 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. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America.

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. US Route 18 ( US 18) is an east-west US highway in the Midwestern United States. Madison is the capital of the US state of Wisconsin and the County seat of Dane County. 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. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

Fort Crawford Museum

Except during the American Civil War, when the fort was used as both a recruitment center and hospital for Union soldiers, Fort Crawford was left unoccupied between 1856 and 1933. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South 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 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR is a lineage -based membership organization of women dedicated to promoting Historic preservation, Education 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. A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Beaumont and early medicinal practices, adjacent buildings are now filled with exhibits on other aspects of Prairie du Chien history.

External links

• Prairie du Chien Museum at Fort Crawford