Volume 1- Issue 3
The Federalist
The General Society of the War of 1812 in Iowa Newsletter
The General Society of the War of 1812 Annual Meeting will be held in
Nashville, Tennessee on the weekend of August 23-24, 2013. A visit to this
area of Tennessee is rich in War of 1812 sites and General Andrew Jackson’s
home “Hermitage” located just outside Nashville. The weekend promises to be
a memorable event for all those attending and it is open to any and all members
of the General Society in good standing. If you are thinking or planning on
traveling to this event please see your latest “War Cry” for complete details.
The General Society of the War of 1812 in Iowa is also planning on
having their annual meeting on Saturday June 15th. This will once again be in
conjunction with the Sons of the American Revolution meeting. The details of
time and venue will be sent out within the week.
The month of August is also the 200th anniversary of a War of 1812 event
very close to home. In August 1813 the 1st US Infantry detachment garrisoned
at Ft. Madison, Iowa was compelled to abandon and fire the fort located there.
After being under siege for some time by Indian forces supplied by the British
and led by Chief Black Hawk, the garrison evacuated the fort when rations of
food and water were near exhausted.
War Gaming the War of 1812
Most of us can remember the day many years ago when playing a game meant
dragging out a box and setting up the pieces to it. We all spent hours of time
playing board games with friends face to face around a table. In this day and
age the youth of our nation primarily turn on the television and plug in their
favorite video game sometimes playing with friends on-line across town.
Well Compatriots thanks to Academy Games and their board game “1812-The
Invasion of Canada” you can sit down with 2-4 players and relive those days.
This game allows players to relive the combat of the War of 1812 along the New
York/Canadian border. The game is an intermediate level game with a
recommended starting age of 10 years old. The players can assume the roles of
British Regulars, Canadian Militia, Native Americans, American Regulars or
American Militia.
This is an excellent way to learn more about the War of 1812 or introduce the
history to a younger generation without technology being the entertainment.
Retails for about $ 38-65.00.
http://academy-games.com/games/birth-of-america/1812-the-invasion-of-canada
Another War of 1812 board game is from Columbia Games it’s titled “War of
1812”. This game also gives the players the opportunity to play various roles of
the different combatants in the war. This game is available for about $ 45.00
http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/cfg/zoom.cfg?product_id=3002
Stealing History
Not even a month ago several members of our organization were involved in a
remembrance and headstone dedication in another capacity for a Civil War
veteran in Colfax, Iowa. While at this event one of the local citizens explained
to Compatriot Tom Gaard about a nearby cemetery where some headstones
were vandalized. Two of the headstones that were vandalized belonged to War
of 1812 veteran Peter Nedrow who served in the 5th US Artillery during the
war. These acts of vandalism are not only a crime but they are also an
unforgettable reminder that if we do not step up and replace these stones our
history will be lost and our veterans’ sacrifices will be forgotten. Efforts are
underway to see if the headstones can be repaired. We will keep you informed.
Remember to Recruit New Members!
The lifeblood of any organization is new members and the General Society of
the War of 1812 is no exception. I would urge all our Compatriots to actively
seek new members. There are many of us that are willing to help potential
members document their family line if necessary.
Political Cartoon of the Age
One of the best ways to gain insight into a period of history in my humble
opinion is to view the political cartoons of the time. This cartoon needs little
explanation. President James Madison is fighting “John Bull”, the British
equivalent of our Uncle Sam, and given him a nose bleed. The statement of
“another bloody nose” most likely refers to the first bloody nose being the
Revolutionary War.
War of 1812 Artifact
Shortly after Ft. Madison was evacuated and burned in August 1813 it was
soon after decided to return to the area and build another fort. This time
however it was decided to construct a fort on the Illinois side of the Mississippi
River rather than the Iowa side. Ft. Johnson near Warsaw, Illinois was
abandoned soon after the War of 1812 ended but a recent archeological dig
produced these artifacts.
Remember Our Website!
Compatriot Dan Rittel continues to work on our website. Please remember to
visit the site for General Society of the War of 1812 in Iowa information! And
remind friends and people with an interest in history to visit it as well.
http://www.iowa1812.org/
War of 1812 Ancestor
William Simpson was born 1780 in Ballycrum, County Londonderry, Ireland.
He attended school at Trinity studying to become a medical doctor. While at
Trinity, he was befriended by Robert Emmet, Ireland most famous Patriot.
Here he also met his future wife, Marguerite McAlpine. A lineral descendant of
King Malcolm McAlpine of Scotland.
Dr. Simpson accepted an Major's commission in the United Irish and was
captured and sentence to hang after the unsuccessful 1798 rebellion. His crime
was accepting that commission. He spent several years in prison, but his
sentence was later commuted to banishment from the British Empire. They
first left and settled in France, but later he and his wife promptly departed for
America, after the American Congress repealed the sedition and alien law. On
the voyage to America they gave birth to their oldest child, Mary Simpson about
1806.
I never found any records where they embarked, but according to the Secretary
of Mississippi Territory, when he and all British Alien had to report to the
local authorities, when war was declared on Great Britain. Dr. Simpson stated
he was living in the United States since 1807. He was living in Madison
County. On October 4, 1813, he enlisted as a private in Col. Peter Perkins 7th
Mississippi Militia. On that day, Col. John Coffee was dispatched by his
brother-in-law, Gen. Andrew Jackson to take post at Huntsville, Alabama, to
protect its citizens from Indian Attacks after the Fort Mimms massacure. The
battle of Horseshoe Bend ended hostilities when Chief William Weatherford
surrendered to Andy Jackson.
Dr. Simpson reputedly helped save the wounded leg of a young Lt. name Sam
Houston, destined to become President of the Republic of Texas and it's first
Governor when it became a State. With hostilities ending the Indian uprising,
things settled down in Alabama, militia men returned to their homes and settle
down. It was during this time more settlers started migrating into Alabama.
News broke out that the British were heading towards New Orleans to try to
take it before the war ended. Andy Jackson again deployed troops in New
Orleans, and Dr. Simpson with his comrades were marching to New Orleans to
support Jackson. However, they arrived there after the great battle was over
and the British retired after being defeated. But they remained just in case the
British changed their minds and come back for another fight. However, the
British then received news that the war had ended weeks prior and they
returned home to Britain.
Dr. Simpson as well as thousands of soldiers who served in New Orleans didn't
survive too long afterwards, many succumbed to an unknown disease that took
many of their lives shortly after the war was over. The disease we know today
was malaria, and Dr. Simpson was infected, he was going to be decharged later
in May 1815, but he left a week earlier without permission and returned to
Alabama to be with his wife and children. Less than a year later, he died from
that unknown disease age 36 at his home in Liberty, Madison County, Alabama
and was buried in an unmarked grave on Hobbs Island, where his wife,
Marguerite (McAlpine) Simpson Lacy was later laid to rest beside him.
(Faithfully Submitted by Compatriot Dennis Simpson)
The War of 1812 in Iowa
In 1808, a small military post, Fort Belle Vue, was built on the West side of the
Mississippi about ten miles above of the rapids North of the mouth of the Des
Moines River to protect U.S. trade with the Indians and discourage foreign
traders, particularly the British. Sometime later the fort was renamed Fort
Madison in honor of President James Madison.
Home to about 60 men of the First U.S. Infantry, the fort was not in the best
location to make a strong defense, but was suitable for Indian trade. Between
1808 and 1813, Indians traded lead and furs for guns, blankets, traps and other
goods at the northernmost U.S. trading depot in the Mississippi Valley.
John Johnson’s 1810 Plan of Fort Madison
In 1813, Indians friendly to the British attacked and laid siege to Fort Madison.
Not being able to properly defend the fort for a long period of time, the military set
fire to the fort and escaped downriver.
In 1965, work began on some construction at the site of the Sheaffer Pen
Company and archaeologists were called in to investigate the site as it had been
rumored that the original location of the fort lay underneath the company’s
parking lot. Enough evidence was found of the fort’s foundations to confirm its
location.
The above information was taken from “Fort Madison 1808-1813″ by Marshall B.
McKusick as printed in the 2009 book Frontier Forts of Iowa, edited by William
E. Whittaker.
For more, click the following link for an article, written by Brenda Knox in 2009,
about the history of Fort Madison: History: ”Fort Madison’s Fort.”
In 2011, the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa published
the report Investigating the Archaeological Context of the Original Fort
Madison (13LE10) Battlefield and Black Hawk’s Ravine, Lee County,
Iowa by Joe Alan Artz, John F. Doershuk, Cynthia L. Peterson, and William E.
Whittaker.
Fort Madison Burials
We received the following information from Eugene Watkins, site manager at the
“Old Fort Madison” in Riverview Park, concerning the deaths and burials of
soldiers between 1808 and 1814 at or near the Fort Madison site.
I wanted to pass on the names that we have collected so far of the soldiers who are
currently buried here in unmarked graves and threatened with development.
The exact location of the fort’s cemetery is unknown but it is believed to be near
where the fort stood. The fort site and adjacent battlefield area are vacant
parking lots today slated for development, which, if purchased and built over, will
cost us the last obtainable battle site associated with Tecumseh’s 1812 offensive as
well as one of Iowa’s largest battlefields and earliest settlements. We hope to
place several battlefield interpretive markers on city property around the edges of
the site, as well as a small memorial sign listing the men who are still buried here
on 28 May 2012.
Soldiers Buried at Fort Madison 1808-1813
Sergeant Samuel Keeley
12 October 1808 (Disease) Pinkney’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Corporal George Ilginfritz
March or April 1809 (Disease) Pinkney’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Nicholas Tracy
2 August 1809 (Disease) Pinkney’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private John King
19 September 1809 (Disease) Pinkney’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Daniel O’Flanagan
22 February 1810 (Disease) Pinkney’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private James Moore
October 1811 (Disease) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Hugh McNeal
5 February 1812 (Disease) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Corporal James Leonard
3 March 1812 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Gregory Rogan
April 1812 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private John Cox
5 September 1812 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Thomas Sampson
2 June 1813 (Drowned) Owens’ Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Samuel Heritage
8 July 1813 (KIA) Desha’s Company, 24th U.S. Infantry
Private John Minard
8 July 1813 (KIA) Owens’ Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Corporal William Elsey
16 July 1813 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private Thomas Faulkner
16 July 1813 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private John Bowers
16 July 1813 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Private John Ritts
16 July 1813 (KIA) Stark’s Company, 1st U.S. Infantry
Taylor’s Rock River Expedition August-September 1814
Private John Pointer
31 August 1814 (Buried at the Ruins of Fort Madison on 1 September)
Callaway’s Company, U.S. Rangers
I have collected some biographical information on nearly all these men, although
it relates almost entirely to their military careers. Little if anything is known
about them before their enlistment. The deaths of Corporal Ilginfritz and Private
Rogan cannot be confirmed one hundred percent at this time, but the evidence
indicates that they did die. There may be more soldiers buried here as well. So
far I have not been able to obtain the records for the artillery detachment
stationed at Fort Madison or for any of the militia or ranger companies that
occasionally served at the fort. These units may have buried men here too.
Save Fort Madison
An effort is currently underway to try and save the remains of Fort Madison from
probable future development of the site. Since the confirmation of the fort’s
location in 1965 – under a parking lot – the site has been sold a couple of times the
latest being to developers in 2007. For more information, please go to the
following website:
Save Fort Madison
Fort Madison in the News
FM saw early stages of War of 1812.
Fort Madison Daily Democrat, March 22, 2012
Man traces family back to Old Fort soldier. The Hawk Eye, August 9, 2010
Possible burial site. Keokuk’s Daily Gate City, February 19, 2010
Letter points up Fort’s woes. The Hawk Eye, December 3, 2000
Other Related Links
Thomas Hamilton, First Infantry by Thomas G. Shaw & David M. Grabitske
Thomas Hamilton was in command of Fort Madison during the War of 1812.
(Article courtesy of the War of 1812 Iowa Society website)
(Picture Courtesy of Compatriot Ron Rittel)
Newsletter Editor: Louis A. Zenti Jr.